Bathroom Remodeling: Showers, Tile, Vanities, Lighting, and Design Details
Host:
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction. You can find them online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is easy to remember: 636-EDGE.
Of course, I mentioned the website, EdgeConstructionCompany.com. It is such a great, cool website with a lot of pictures and information about Edge Construction. There are also links to Facebook, Pinterest, and Houzz, where you can get ideas if you are thinking about doing some remodeling.
If you are thinking about remodeling, they would love to talk with you at Edge Construction. Their telephone number again is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
Joining us this morning from Edge Construction is Mr. Mike Twohig. Mike, how have you been?
Mike:
Great. Good to see you.
Host:
I just called you “man.” I do not know. We are just hanging out.
Mike:
Yeah, that is what the kids are doing.
Host:
We are going to talk bathroom remodeling this week.
But real quick, I am looking out the window at the green grass and noticing leaves on the trees. As Wisconsinites, once it starts to get like this, we suddenly start taking action. Is this the time of year when you start hearing from a lot of folks saying, “Let’s start talking remodeling”?
Mike:
It is. It is a good time of year to get that conversation started because it generally takes a couple of months before we get the jobs started.
This is a year where we have a lot of bigger jobs, and then we infill with bathrooms, kitchens, lower levels, and things like that. That is one reason we are talking about bathrooms today.
Those bigger jobs for us sort of go on in the background. Sometimes they are actually easier than you think. We bring in other parts of our company to help. We bring our framers in to get things framed up. Then those jobs move into mechanicals, and there can be a lot of downtime for our remodeling team.
So this is usually the time of year when we are looking at these kinds of jobs. It is a good time. Hopefully the doldrums of winter are almost gone.
Although I did see that it snowed in South Dakota last week.
Host:
Did it really?
Mike:
A couple of my friends out there sent me pictures. They had about a foot of snow. I thought, “You guys can keep that. We do not need that anymore.”
Host:
The bison like it.
We are going to talk about bathrooms, and a little bit about design as well. One thing I love about bathrooms is that they are a smaller space in your home, but there is a lot to them.
It is far from being a closet. There are mechanicals. There is water, and sometimes that water does not want to stay where it is supposed to. If you have kids or grandkids, you know what I mean. My son, for whatever reason, cannot keep the water in the shower. I do not know how that works.
Mike:
What does he tell you when you ask him?
Host:
He knows how to play me. He will not deny it. He just says, “Oh, I am sorry,” and acts like, “Aw, shucks.”
Mike:
Are you doing jumping jacks in there?
Host:
Exactly.
Bathrooms are very specialized spaces. As we talk about design and construction, there is a lot that goes into that little area, isn’t there?
Mike:
There is. I always think about every job in two parts: the design side and the construction side.
On the design side, we might have people doing what we call the main bathroom or the kids’ bath. It is not the master bath. It is the other one.
A lot of those bathrooms are smaller. A five-by-eight bathroom is very common, especially in houses from the 1980s and 1990s. It is about the smallest bathroom you can have where it still feels normal.
There are not a ton of choices. The toilet sits where it sits. The vanity sits where it sits. You have a tub and shower, probably. The design for those does not need to take months, especially if we are not moving things around.
With a master bath, it can be different. If the house is from the 1970s or 1980s, it might have a whirlpool tub. For some reason, a lot of those bathrooms had a big tub and a tiny shower. In today’s world, that does not work.
If we are going to redo that space, we get to make choices. We might still have a tub, but we definitely want to find room for a legitimate shower.
I am a taller, bigger guy. I do not want to have to stoop to get under the shower head. I want plenty of room in there.
Then there is the double-sink thing. We have that in my life for the first time as of last year, and it is really nice. I am relegated to my area. I stay in my lane, but it is really nice, and I know my wife appreciates it.
In those spaces, design becomes more important. We want to make sure we get it right.
And that is before we even talk about all the options: cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring, glass, fixtures, and all the features. It takes some time to wade through those options.
Host:
You mentioned older homes with giant tubs and tiny showers. It seems like showers are finally getting their due.
When people are remodeling, obviously you need a tub somewhere in the house. If you have kids or grandkids, it is certainly a need. But showers, as spaces in bathrooms, have really changed. Expectations have gone up for good reason.
The design and the actual space in a shower have become really important, haven’t they?
Mike:
They have. A shower is not just utilitarian anymore. How it looks has become important. It needs to be attractive.
You can design something ugly and spend just as much as you would designing something attractive, so why not do it in a way that is pleasing?
You also want it practical. I have a saying: right-sizing things.
You may have been in houses where the kitchen feels too small and the great room feels too big. That is part of the design process. You want to get these things right.
The same goes for showers. We have built showers where I thought, “This is a little too big.” You want a cozy element. You are not having a party in there — at least not at our house.
Right-sizing those areas is important. You want it just big enough to do everything you need to do. We have had people push for very large showers and later say, “I know I pushed for this, but it can actually be a little chilly in there when it is colder out.”
If you right-size it, you can really hit the mark.
Host:
One thing I really like about showers now is the frameless glass. I do not know what percentage of master baths you are using it in, but it really adds something.
It opens the space without actually taking out walls. Because it is glass and not a wall or one of those plastic surrounds, it makes the room feel bigger. It also makes the shower look really nice.
Mike:
The standard has become frameless glass, just like quartz has become the standard for countertops.
Frameless glass has taken over showers. As little as 20 years ago, when we were doing big, fancy houses, showers did not have much glass. A lot of times, you would walk into a room that was the shower. It might not even have a door. It would just be a tiled room with lights in it.
Now, those probably feel like walking into a tunnel.
Everything we are designing now is light and airy, with a lot of glass. You do not feel closed in, and you can see out.
There are a lot of glass options. We have a clear-glass shower, and the treatments they can do now make clear glass much easier to clean and keep looking nice than it was 10, 15, or 20 years ago.
You can also do other things. You can use waterfall glass or textured glass. You can have texture at mid-height, so light comes through and you still get some privacy.
Host:
What does waterfall glass mean?
Mike:
I may not be using the exact term, but it has texture to it. You cannot quite see through it. Light comes through, but it is hard to look through. It is a little distorted.
Host:
That is a good description. When you mentioned waterfall, I pictured something wavy that distorts a little bit.
You also used the phrase “light and airy.” Since you can see into the shower now, the tile on the walls, floor, and other areas becomes much more visible. That has obviously become a much more important part of design too.
Mike:
It has.
We are pretty conscious of how many design elements, colors, and textures are going into a room.
If you are looking at a bathroom, you may have the tile shower walls. You might have a couple of niches in there, and those may have another texture. You might have a curb with a piece of quartz on top. That is another texture.
Just in the shower, you have the tile, niche, curb, glass, and fixtures. Then you still have the bathroom floor, plumbing fixtures, sink fixtures, mirror, paint, cabinets, and light fixtures.
All of those things have to work together.
That is where a good designer can really help. Most people are not able to have that objective look at their own space, especially with all the options available. A designer can come from the outside, pay attention to what you like, and help you filter through all of those options.
Host:
It is a real skill. Because there are so many options, things can get busy really fast.
I was at one of the big-box stores with my father-in-law, and we were walking through the light fixture section. Some of the fixtures looked really cool, but they were so busy. There was so much going on.
Whatever happened to something simple?
You used the word niche. For people who do not know, that is something I am guessing you include in almost every shower you do. It serves some important roles in a shower, doesn’t it?
Mike:
It does.
For one, it is a place to store your stuff. You can put whatever you use in the shower there: razors, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and so on.
A lot of times in our showers, you will see a lower niche too. That is for someone who shaves their legs. They can put their foot up and get that done.
We do that a lot in showers that do not have benches. A bench can serve that same purpose. We have a bench in my shower, and I can honestly tell you I have never sat down on the bench in the shower to read a book or anything. But my wife says it is great for shaving legs.
Those are all design elements.
A bit of a trend now is to avoid taking big chances on the main shower tile. But in the niche, you can let the design stand out a little more and add some personality.
Host:
That niche becomes a design element as well as form and function.
Working with designers is important here too. You can use software and visual tools to help people see what that will look like. I think sometimes kitchen spaces are easier to visualize, but bathroom design can be harder for me. Having visual aids would go a long way.
If you have a contrasting niche with a slightly different, wild, or unique tile, I need to see it. That is one of the cool things about working with the designers at Edge Construction. You get to see what those choices might look like.
Mike:
When our designers get new tile samples, they get pretty excited. They find things they like.
Sometimes it may not be a tile you would use for an entire shower because that would be too much. But they will pair it with other tiles that go well with it. They are kind of loading the gun for when people come in.
We have the CAD programs and software that can show you what the space will look like with the choices you make.
But also, if you come into our design studios, we have two design studios. On the shelves in the back are all the jobs we are working on and the ones in design. They will have cabinet samples, tile samples, flooring samples, wood flooring, paint colors, and so on.
You get to see jobs that are being put together. That is one of the most fun things for homeowners to do. I like doing it too because I like seeing what they are doing.
People will say, “I really like that tile. I never would have thought I would like that.” Sometimes it is because of what it was paired with. That is where a designer can really help.
Host:
We are talking this morning with Mike Twohig, owner of Edge Construction. The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
We are talking this week about bathroom design and bathroom remodeling. We will continue our conversation with Mike.
In the meantime, head over to EdgeConstructionCompany.com. Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
We will talk more bathroom design with Mike next as the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction. You can find them online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
We are talking bathroom design and bathroom remodeling this morning with Mike Twohig of Edge Construction.
Mike, one of the things we were talking about at the end of the last segment was all the options and how things pair together. We have touched on this with kitchens and other spaces too.
It used to be a lot simpler. Everyone had the same basic tubs, showers, surrounds, and tile. There were maybe four options, and everyone had the same thing.
Now there are infinite combinations. The value provided by designers is having an understanding of how everything will fit together. There are so many options, and a designer can interpret when someone says, “I like this, but I do not know why.”
It used to be easier, but thank goodness for uniqueness and options. It does require a special person to put all of this together so the space looks right, functions right, and is something people will love for years.
Mike:
The options can be intimidating for a lot of people. That usually comes up in our first discussion, when we come out and brainstorm the project.
Most people bring up that they are overwhelmed by what they see online. A designer can really help with that.
If you look behind the curtain, yes, there are a lot of options. But finding options that fit well into budgets is its own challenge, especially with tile.
We had one project where the homeowner fell in love with a tile they found online. We sourced it. It was about an inch thick and 14 inches by 14 inches square. They called it a cement tile. I am not exactly sure what it was, but we had to reinforce the floor just to install it.
It was a very expensive tile.
Sometimes homeowners find something online and the product is no longer in production, or it simply will not fit the budget. Our designers work hard to find workarounds that fit the budget and are actually available.
On probably 10 percent of our jobs, we go through our selection process, then go to order the tile and find out there is none left in the country or the world, and the manufacturer quit making it.
That is a bit of a minefield, and a good designer can really help you through that process.
Host:
Is tile virtually the go-to now for bathrooms?
Mike:
We do see other things, but I am a little torn on it.
If I were king, I would say only tile in bathrooms because I think our installation process has become really great.
The tile on top is the artwork of the floor, but the membrane underneath is at least as important. There are parts of the installation you do not see that are very important.
Tile is durable and handles water better.
The LVT people will say their product is waterproof. If you take a strip of LVT and dunk it in a five-gallon pail of water, it will be fine. But if your son, my grandsons, or our daughters are goofing around in the bathroom and water finds its way underneath any product — tile, LVT, or certainly floating floors — then what happens?
Does it dry out? Does the water sit down there and rot something?
A great installation helps with any product. When we have the chance, I like to do a glue-down product. Then we know it is secure to the floor, and we can caulk the areas around the tub to help keep water from getting underneath. I believe that is a good installation, and we do that often.
Once in a while, we will do a floating application. We still try to stop water from getting underneath it.
But if push came to shove, I would say tile is the best product.
Host:
Do they make wood-look ceramic tile? If someone wants that wood look but also wants the benefits of ceramic tile, is that an option?
Mike:
There is an option. In my head, I always call it the petrified look, like petrified wood. It is not going to fool anybody into thinking it is wood.
Some of the LVP and LVT products really do look like wood from a bit of distance. But with tile, the wood-look options are different.
The people who do not like tile generally dislike the grout, or they think tile is cold or slippery. Manufacturers have really worked on the slippery part. We have tile in all our bathrooms, and I do not really think it feels cold, even in the basement bath. Maybe you get used to it.
Grout is something to deal with. Back when there were fewer choices, we did really big grout lines. You might have half-inch grout lines, and they were hard to keep clean.
Now the grouts we use come pretreated. You are not supposed to have to clean them, though the secret is that you still do. But the products are good, and if you keep up with it, it is not as bad as it used to be.
It is easier to maintain now than it has ever been.
Host:
Is tile also popular because of the option to heat it? Is that another big reason people go that way?
Mike:
I think a heated tile floor is one of the greatest things that has ever happened.
Host:
Yeah.
Mike:
It helps a lot. We have had customers who did not do it and later asked why we did not talk them into it.
Budget-wise, it is hard to do everything. But if I could go back, I would say, “The kids’ bath will be fine without it, but we are going to do it in the master bath.”
The products we have for heated floors are much better than they have ever been. We can custom-heat the floor almost anywhere you want. We wind our own wire through there now. It is pretty efficient, does not cost a lot to run, and it is really comfortable.
Host:
Do we ever see carpet in bathrooms anymore?
Mike:
Boy, it would be great if we never saw that.
I always joke with our guys when they have to demo one of those: bring gloves.
I do not know when that was popular — maybe the 1960s or 1970s — but every year we still find some.
Host:
That is for the new guy. You get to tear out the carpet around the toilet.
I understand some flooring options and why carpet was popular in living rooms. But in a bathroom, I never understood who first decided to put carpet there.
Mike:
It is pretty gross. Best not to think about it.
Host:
If you have one of those carpeted bathroom floors, you are definitely in need of a bathroom remodel. Edge Construction can gladly take care of that for you.
We are talking this morning with Mike Twohig, owner of Edge Construction. The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
It is a great time to pick up the phone and call Edge Construction to start that conversation about your project.
We will continue our conversation with Mike Twohig and talk more about bathrooms and bathroom design next as the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction. The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great website to learn more about Edge Construction and see recent projects. From there, you can also link to their Pinterest, Facebook, and Houzz pages.
If you are inspired and thinking about doing some remodeling, give them a call at Edge Construction. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
We are talking about bathrooms, bathroom remodels, and bathroom design this morning.
Mike, you do still need at least one tub somewhere in the house, right?
Mike:
You need a tub somewhere because young kids are going to use a bathtub.
The good news is that the older units we are taking out — those fiberglass units from the 1980s and 1990s — were shallow and poorly designed.
The new ones are better. We try to find a little more width. A lot of the older tubs were around 30 inches. If we can get to 32, 34, or 36 inches, that is a lot nicer.
The new designs, like from Kohler, have improved. They have made them just a tiny bit taller, but somehow they have a lot more space in them. A normal-sized person can sit in there and actually get covered with water, instead of only being half-covered like with some older tubs.
There is still demand for tubs. Some people do like tubs. If you do not have a house where you can fit a freestanding tub in the master bath, it is nice that manufacturers have improved the built-in options.
Host:
Speaking of upping their game, freestanding tubs have come a long way too, haven’t they?
Mike:
They have. That is one of the most fun things for me to look at when I go to builder shows: the updated technology on tubs.
There is neat stuff happening. Have you heard of light therapy and oxygenating therapy?
Host:
No.
Mike:
There are tubs now with UV or red-light therapy. There are also tubs that do not have the big air jets like the old ones. Instead, they have little bubbles coming up. It puts more air into the water and is supposed to have a calming effect.
If you are in the tub, you are probably already pretty calm, but it is an option.
There is also mood lighting. You can pick the color of light that lights up the water. There are a lot of claims from different health experts about different light colors having different effects, and tub manufacturers have responded.
The freestanding tubs we sell generally range from fiberglass tubs at the entry level to heavier upgraded materials.
The entry-level fiberglass tubs are usually two-piece units. One part screws down, and an overlay goes over the top and mounts. It is a good, strong mount.
From there, you can upgrade to heavier materials. The advantage is that you get a thinner-wall tub that looks nicer. Some of these tubs weigh 200, 300, or 400 pounds.
They also hold heat better. Fiberglass tubs lose heat pretty quickly, while upgraded tubs with heavier materials hold heat better and are more comfortable.
Host:
As we talk about that, part of me wonders if the big tub was just a little slow to the game. If these options had existed earlier, maybe we would have seen more people using tubs.
There are some really amazing options now for tubs and bath features.
We have not talked about vanities yet, and that feels like it should be one of the first things to discuss.
Let’s talk about bathroom vanities. Going back to one of the first things we talked about, the bathroom environment has a lot going on. It can be humid, warm, cool, and dry. You really want a well-built vanity that can hold up to all of those conditions, don’t you?
Mike:
Yes. Vanities are subject to things that kitchen cabinets are not. You have moisture, humidity, and temperature swings.
You can find vanities on all ends of the scale, from particle board with a little overlay to plywood cabinets. Plywood cabinets are more in our wheelhouse because they tend to hold up better.
We are also picky about the finishes we buy. When we buy cabinets, we want finishes thick enough to hold up and last through that environment.
If you have a three-foot space for a vanity, there are not a lot of utilitarian options. You can get some drawers, a couple of doors, and some storage. As the vanity gets bigger, the options get better.
Design-wise, vanities in general seem to offer a few more options than normal kitchen cabinets. It is very popular to have more of a furniture look, maybe with feet or different materials. That is a nice option.
Host:
That is funny, because I jotted down “raised vanities.” Is that becoming the majority of them?
I think of older vanities that came all the way down to the floor. The newer ones with feet have a look I really like.
Mike:
I like it too. Especially if you have done more design work in the master bath, it can really spruce things up.
We also see them in a half bath or powder bath. You have more of a decorative element there, so those vanities can get fancier. Usually, we are doing something that stands out a little more.
I hate to say it, because we tore out enough wallpaper to last me a lifetime, but wallpaper is coming back. I really do like some of the new designs. They can make quite a difference in powder baths, and we are seeing more of that.
Host:
We are not talking about the old off-white wallpaper with brown honey pots or fruit, right? Those were never vibrant colors. It was always kind of yellowy-brown.
Mike:
Now they are almost like artwork.
Host:
And textured too. I feel like I have seen some nicer textured wallpaper.
Mike:
Like anything, some of those textured ones are chosen for durability too. You have a thicker product that may last longer and hold up better.
Host:
We have not talked about lighting, so I think we should do that next. After kitchens, bathroom lighting is probably one of the most important areas.
We will talk about getting a good look at the walls, the wallpaper, and every space in the bathroom.
If you have not been to the website recently, head over to EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
We will talk bathroom lighting next as the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction. You can find them online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great website. If you have not had a chance to check it out, definitely bookmark it. They are always updating EdgeConstructionCompany.com. There are also links to Pinterest, Facebook, and Houzz, where you can see a lot of great ideas and great work Edge Construction has done.
If you are thinking about doing some remodeling, they would love to talk with you at Edge Construction. Pick up the phone and call 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
We are talking bathrooms this morning. During the last segment, I said we had not talked about lighting yet.
Mike, is it fair to say that after the kitchen, the bathroom probably has one of the more important lighting setups? There are a lot of fixtures, and you were even talking about tubs with lights earlier. Lighting is an important element in all design, but especially in the bathroom.
Mike:
It is.
In the past, I feel like we did a terrible job lighting the main areas of houses. Now, when we design a bathroom, we want to make sure it has enough light.
Our background lighting in bathrooms, just like everywhere else, is LED. We call them can lights, but they are actually one-inch-thick fixtures. There is no can behind them. They are fully enclosed fixtures, so we can use them in showers.
We still say we are adding a shower can, but what we mean is that we are adding a light in the shower — at least one light. It really helps.
When we are designing, we are looking at different areas. The light fixtures over the mirror and sink carry a lot of weight. In the past, they did a lot of the work in the bathroom.
Have you ever been in a bathroom with an obnoxious amount of light right above the mirror?
Host:
Oh yeah.
Mike:
It is trying to light the whole room.
Now we try to spread that out. Maybe we add a recessed fixture in a couple of other places. That allows the vanity light fixtures to get the job done without having to light the entire room.
It is more balanced, and we are always looking for ways to do that.
Host:
Lighting ties back into design. We talked earlier about older standalone showers that were tiled and really dark. They often never had enough light.
When I think about lighting and other design elements in a bathroom, windows are another area. Obviously, you want to bring in natural light, but there is a balance. You want light to come in, but you do not want the neighbors seeing in.
I remember when my son Mason was little. He was in the bathroom with the window open, and our neighbor Barb was outside. I could hear him yell from the bathroom, “Hi, Barb!”
It was sweet and innocent, but you also think, “You might want to close that window.”
Managing light is a big part of design. You want every area lit properly, whether it is day or night.
Mike:
It is. We talk in terms of daylighting every room.
If there is a place for a window, homeowners usually want one there. If there is already a window in a bathroom, we definitely design around it, because nobody ever wants to take a window out.
Sometimes it hinders us a little. Sometimes the best place for a shower is where there is a window, and then we have to figure that out.
Can we keep it? Can we replace that window with one that can withstand being in a shower? Sometimes we do that.
We want ways to keep the outside out and the inside in, viewing-wise. We work on that.
Daylighting every room matters, but so does being able to control it.
Host:
One final thing: bidets.
I was reading a Reddit thread where people were talking about unexpected life-changing products, and a bunch of people mentioned bidets.
Are we seeing more people opt for bidet options?
Mike:
I think we are a little behind the trend. We had three, four, or five years where it seemed to come up in every walk-through. People at least wanted the electrical component because many aftermarket bidets need to be plugged in.
Do you have an aftermarket one?
Host:
Yeah, and I am not going back.
Mike:
You are not going back?
Host:
Never. I look around and think, “Barbarians.”
Mike:
I have to get with the program.
If you did a new bathroom remodel, would you want a toilet with the bidet built in, or would you stick with the aftermarket one?
Host:
Having used one of the built-in ones, the other features are unbelievable. But I do not mind the aftermarket one I have. It works fine.
Mike:
For some reason, that has not come up in conversation much lately, but now that we are talking about it, we will probably get a couple of calls.
Host:
It is a great day to start that conversation. If you are thinking about your bathroom, kitchen, whole-home remodel, addition, or even a whole new house, Mike and the team at Edge Construction would love to talk with you.
Spring is here, and it is a great time to do that. Pick up the phone and give them a call at 608-636-3343. That number again is 636-EDGE.
You can also find them online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, right here on 1310 WIBA.