Now that we’ve had a few months to live with and consider some of our renovation choices I just wanted to share some of my thoughts.
One big change that I would make is to NOT go with fitting the standalone bathtub into an alcove. Even though they offer the bead kit that will prevent water from seeping through and damaging the wall, and even though Tommy made sure that there was going to be a great seal with caulking, etc. to back that up, the fact is that the bathtub itself lacks a sufficient slope for the water to cascade down the wall and flow into the tub. Instead it tends to accumulate around the base of the wall.
After each shower we make sure to quickly wipe up the excess water to prevent mould from forming from this accumulation.
Our toilets are GREAT, they have overcome our bungalow’s naturally sluggish sewer drainage and all perform consistently and well. However, Michelle didn’t favor the flush handles and so we installed some that protruded from the tank by a good inch or so over the original ones. This means that the toilet seat lid rests against the handle. The flush is VERY vigorous and can be felt through the handle when they are depressed. What this means is that the handles are wearing through the toilet seat lids.
It’s gotten bad enough that, if we’re not careful, the handle can actually be held down by the friction of the toilet seat and allow the water to flow slightly after the flush. This is remedied by pulling the seat forward when flushing but these handles will need to be replaced.In designing the bed end tables, I specified that the cupbard doors open “traditionally” with the hinge on the side and the handle in the middle. I was thinking of “normal” use such as accessing the cupbard when standing in front of it. This, of course, makes it awkward to open if you’re in bed which is when you want the most convenience. So I’d have these cupbards open the other way. I may be able to swap the doors from the right and left end tables… hmmm.
I had elected to have only the heating lamp and not the fan on a timer in our master bathroom. I’ve never had a fan timer before in there and I was simply used to it. But, given the risk of mould from the water accumulation above I’d now like to put in a timer for the fan so I can have it run for an extra hour after we’re done in there, but not for the whole day. Since the fan is on a half-size switch, I need to think about a way to do it, but nothing obvious comes to mind.
I don’t think there is anything I could have done about this, but the thermo-balanced faucet does come at a water-throughput price. It’s not nearly so bad as those severly “lo-flo” fixtures but I can see that it does limit the water somewhat. I don’t have a problem conserving water (you can just look at my water bill to see that) but my morning shower isn’t a place that I wish to scrimp. I temporarily replaced the new showerhead with the one that used to be there and I could tell that there was some restriction imposed by the new head itself. This was resolved by a quick trip out to the garage and drilling out the restriction. But there is still a limitation imposed by the faucet itself that I’m willing to accept for the great temperature control features that it offers.
Aside from those trifles (the bathtub being the one that I would most caution folks about) we’re still extremely pleased with the work and the results. It wasn’t cheap, but you need to invest your time and/or your money to get what you want in life. Lacking the great amount of time it would take (and some of the requisite skills) the money trade-off was well worth it to us.