Conclusion & Lessons Learned - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Conclusion & Lessons Learned

SCHEDULE:

Actual starting date of this project was 10/25/2013 and officially finished (including cleaning) on 1/3/2014, which is 70 full days total. My original plan was to finish the project in 30 days. My working time was limited because I had to work on this project after work (~after 5 pm) , and most of the time during demolition and framing, I could not work late at night because of the noise to the neighbor. (This is what I don't like about townhomes.) Most of the day, I only able to work ~3 hours or so. If I divide 70 days into 3, I can say I might have finished this project in ~23 days if I worked full-time. Anyway, I have failed to plan all the time restrictions I actually had.

BUDGET:

I have spent ~$4000 for the all the parts + tools for this project. It can be divided into ~$3487 of parts, $129 of sales tax, and ~$428 of the tools. Detailed breakdown is shown below table (Table 1). I have originally paid $15 for the shipping of the glass blocks from Homedepot. But it was refunded when they gave me credit for the damaged blocks.


Table 1. Detailed spending table.

	DECORATION	DISCOUNT	FRAMING	PLUMBING	SHIPPING	TAX	TILE	TOOL	Grand Total
amazon.com	$31.88		$887.44	$569.36				$244.56	$1,733.24
Home Depot	$5.77	-$76.33	$441.86	$85.63	$0.00	$116.59	$1,245.29	$181.21	$2,000.02
Lowes		-$34.22	$155.32			$12.41	$174.61	$1.97	$310.09
Grand Total	$37.65	-$110.55	$1,484.62	$654.99	$0.00	$129.00	$1,419.90	$427.74	$4,043.35

Below table (Table 2) summarizes the spending compared to the planned budget. I have spent 16% more (whole discount amounts are applied to the parts) on parts and 43% more on tools but saved 35% on the sales tax by using online orders such as amazon.com. Overall, I have spent 16% more which is acceptable (if not great) for me.

Table 2. Summary of actual spending compared with the original plans.

	Plan	Actual	Percentage
Parts	$3,000	$3,487	116%
Tools	$300	$428	143%
Tax	$198	$129	65%
Overall	$3,498	$4,043	116%

LESSONS LEARNED:

Project duration and budget planning looks like the main concern for almost everyone. But the quality of the outcome can sometimes be overlooked but the duration and budget is frequently affected by the final quality of workmanship. I had to redo some of the shower floor tiles and walls because it did not meet my expectation. I had to spend quite a time and effort to redo the work but if I did not spent time doing that, I might have encountered bigger problems at the next stage.

Amateur performance and workmanship can somewhat be overcome by better tools. If you do not know what tool to buy, ask the professionals and get tools what they use (if it is too much expensive, get one level below.). Do not buy cheap ones. It won't last long and you will end up spending more time and money to replace.

Spend lots of time to research. Before the first demolition day, I have spend lots of time (at least 3 months) to plan for the rough design and feasibility. I have searched and watched youtube and found one good guy (Thanks for the video, TilemasterGA!) with all the detailed instruction video.

Be careful about the scope creep. Scope creep is a term used in Project Management which means "uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project's scope". Try to focus on what you have planned. Try not to add more jobs as much as you can. For example, someone suggested me to add steps outside the tub. I was thinking about adding them but decided not to, because it will increase my budget and time to finish. I have to recalculate the number of tiles and materials for the frames and so on. My wife wanted to add the niche next to the sink. I accepted to add it and it cost me over $100 more in total and it impacted the project duration as well.

Fig 47. Mission accomplished!

REFERENCES:

TilemasterGA on youtube.com: All about the tricks and steps for the old bathroom demolition and the new tile installation.

Tiletools.com: Information about trowel size selection.

Autodesk Homestyler Floorplan design: Free online rough design of the floor plans.

Johnbridge.com: Shower floor deck mud calculator.

Tile estimator: Tile floor and wall planner.  Very nice tool to estimate number of tiles.  Estimated amount of thinset and grout is also calculated.  But you cannot save your creation.  Don't forget to print out.

Pittsburgh Corning: Glass block installation

Google Sketchup: Very detail 3D design tool.

Glass blocks & shower door - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Glass blocks & shower door

GLASS BLOCKS:

Now it is time to finalize the shower back wall - Glass blocks. Pittsburgh Corning web site provides the instruction for four different glass block installation methods.  Since I have decided to use ProVantage II method, I bought spacers for the Thinline blocks and the wall brackets.  I realized that they do not have brackets for the Thinline blocks so I had to cut the side of spacers to use with the regular-sized (for 4-inch thick blocks) brackets (Fig 41).

Because the side walls for the glass blocks are tiles, I had to drill the holes at each side of the bracket, total 14 holes.  I have used regular drill bit for the bricks, but it did not last long.  It became dull after drilling 5 holes.  So I bought better ones as in Fig 42.  These worked great and did the job much faster.  

I have used the special adhesive for the glass block (Pittsburgh Corning Glass Block Sealant from Homedepot) as recommended in the instruction.  Due to poor precision of the hole location on either side, the grout lines should be carefully inspected before the sealant dries.  After one day, the glass blocks became very sturdy.

Fig 41. Spacer for Thinline does not match with the regular-sized metal bracket.

Fig 42. Bosch glass and tile drill bit set from Homedepot (Courtesy homedepot.com).

 I have installed 7 rows of glass blocks in a few hours.  The most time consuming job was to drill the holes at each row.  Installation using the sealant was clean and easy.  I personally think it is as good as the traditional mortar method for my indoor application.  I let it dry for about 24 hours and worked on the grout.  I used white grout that is designed exclusively for the glass blocks (Pittsburgh Corning ProVantage 15 lb. Grout Mix).  My local Homedepot did not carry this item so I have to drive about an hour to Fairfax, VA to pick it up.  After the grout is dried, I applied the sealer because the spec said Mold/mildew resistant: NO, Stain resistant: NO.  Figures 43 and 44 shows some pictures during the Glass block installation.

 Fig 43. Glass block installation. 

Fig 44. Picture showing after putting the glass block grout.

SHOWER DOOR:

Frameless shower door that I used is 3/8 inch thick tempered glass manufactured by Dreamline (DreamLine SHDR-61487610-07 Frameless Sliding Shower Door 44-48 by 76 Chear 3/8 Glass Door: Brushed stainless steel).  I purchased it from Amazon.com.  One thing you have to keep in mind is that the price at amazon goes up and down very frequently.  So you have to be careful not to buy this item when it is too expensive. I recommend you check the price change even after you place an order.  If it drops, call or chat with them to get price adjustment.

My shower width is 46 inch so I had to cut the rail pipe by 2 inches.  Since I do not have blade for the metal cutting, I used hand tool to cut it.  It takes time but it is doable.  Sliding door is more expensive than the regular swing door.  The sliding door works better in my situation because of the location of the sink.  The particular sliding door I bought had 4 inches of wiggle room (between 44 and 48 inch width).  But if you want to use swing door, the width can only be adjusted within 1 inch.  

The glass door is very heavy.  Moving or installing the glass door requires at least 2 people.  Instruction was straightforward so I did not have any trouble installing.  Vertical and horizontal level is the most important factor at this moment.  Spend more time to make sure the levels at different surfaces.  Figure 45 and 46 shows the pictures of the bathroom after clean up.

Fig 45. Upper: before renovation.  Lower: The new shower with the frameless door.

Fig 46. Panorama picture of the finalized master bath after clean-up.