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The Bathroom Remodel Guide: What to Think Through Before You Spend a Dime · Repcolite Home Improvement Show

0:01
Speaker 1: Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in. You're listening to Home
0:04
Speaker 1: in Progress by Recoll Like Paint sponsored by Benjamin Moore,
0:08
Speaker 1: and today's episode, it's going to be epic. It's all
0:12
Speaker 1: about bathrooms. You know, bathroom remodels are getting a ton
0:16
Speaker 1: of attention right now. They're not overtaking kitchen remodels. That's
0:21
Speaker 1: still the most popular remodel that people are tackling right now,
0:25
Speaker 1: but the bathrooms are closing the gap. And the reasons
0:29
Speaker 1: for that are really, you know, really practical. Bathrooms are smaller,
0:33
Speaker 1: so they're less expensive generally speaking, than a kitchen is
0:36
Speaker 1: going to be. And they're also way more manageable. You know,
0:40
Speaker 1: it's just a smaller space. It's easier to pull everything
0:42
Speaker 1: together and to get everything wrapped up. And also, on
0:46
Speaker 1: top of that, bathrooms make a huge impact on your day,
0:49
Speaker 1: so the reward is big. You know, a kitchen has
0:52
Speaker 1: a huge impact on how we live our lives on
0:54
Speaker 1: a daily basis, but I don't know, I really bathrooms
0:58
Speaker 1: pretty big if you're weighing things by you know, the
1:03
Speaker 1: impact that a given space has on you during a day.
1:07
Speaker 1: So bathrooms they're seeing, you know, a lot of work
1:10
Speaker 1: right now, they're getting a lot of attention. It's probably
1:13
Speaker 1: the best way to say it. So if you're thinking,
1:15
Speaker 1: you know, maybe maybe you're one of those people. You're
1:17
Speaker 1: feeling the itch to tackle a project and you really
1:21
Speaker 1: want that project to have some major impact, and you're
1:24
Speaker 1: not sure. Maybe you're that person. You're not sure that
1:26
Speaker 1: you've got the budget or the time. You know that
1:29
Speaker 1: you can invest or whatever to redo the kitchen. Well,
1:32
Speaker 1: if that's you think about the bathroom, you know, maybe
1:34
Speaker 1: that's the place to put some energy. And if you
1:38
Speaker 1: do decide that updating the bathroom is something that you
1:41
Speaker 1: and your family would benefit from, don't start with your
1:44
Speaker 1: paint colors and your light fixed, your choices or your
1:47
Speaker 1: sink and your faucet picks and stuff like that. Before
1:50
Speaker 1: you get to any of that stuff, You've got some
1:52
Speaker 1: bigger things to get figured out first, to make sure
1:55
Speaker 1: that you spend your time and your money in the
1:57
Speaker 1: best way possible. And that's what I want to talk
1:59
Speaker 1: about out throughout the show. And then at the end
2:02
Speaker 1: of the show, I've got some you know, painting advice
2:05
Speaker 1: for working through a bathroom because they're small, but they
2:08
Speaker 1: definitely have a few little ins and outs. Little tricks
2:12
Speaker 1: that you're going to want to know before you jump in.
2:15
Speaker 1: So let's talk about some of the things that you
2:16
Speaker 1: should get figured out or think about before you jump
2:19
Speaker 1: into a bathroom model. And the first thing that I
2:22
Speaker 1: do is to just walk through the bathroom that you've
2:26
Speaker 1: already got and then make a list of everything that
2:29
Speaker 1: bothers you. And I know that probably sounds really dopey,
2:33
Speaker 1: but I really think it's a little touchy feely too, maybe,
2:38
Speaker 1: But anytime you're tackling something beyond just a repaint, first
2:43
Speaker 1: thing I would always do is just look at the
2:46
Speaker 1: space and then make a list of what bothers you
2:49
Speaker 1: in that space, What are the things that are really
2:51
Speaker 1: nagging at you. So in a bathroom, you know, what
2:54
Speaker 1: are the things that are bugging you. You know, new faucets,
2:56
Speaker 1: new sinks, new countertops, all of that can feel really
3:00
Speaker 1: good when you get it done. But if those new choices,
3:04
Speaker 1: if they don't solve any of the annoyances that you've
3:07
Speaker 1: got with your current bathroom, then your time and your
3:10
Speaker 1: money may not work as hard as they could. You know,
3:13
Speaker 1: they're not working as hard for you or as well
3:16
Speaker 1: for you as they could. If you're not solving the problems.
3:18
Speaker 1: So think about the problems, think about your actual mourning.
3:21
Speaker 1: You know, what does your actual morning in the bathroom
3:23
Speaker 1: look like? Don't get too detailed. I don't need to know.
3:26
Speaker 1: The people around you don't need to know. Just keep
3:28
Speaker 1: this in your head. But where does the room slow
3:31
Speaker 1: you down? You know, where does the clutter pile up?
3:34
Speaker 1: Where do you wish there was an outlet? Where do
3:36
Speaker 1: you need better light? Where do towels end up? And
3:39
Speaker 1: more importantly, where do you get a towel when you
3:42
Speaker 1: step out of the shower and you realize that there
3:44
Speaker 1: isn't one hanging where it's supposed to be, Because, let
3:48
Speaker 1: me tell you, at my house, that's a dicey proposition,
3:52
Speaker 1: it's dicey. You absolutely hate to step out of the
3:55
Speaker 1: shower and pat, you know, pat your hand along the
3:58
Speaker 1: wall and find there's no towel there, because really your
4:03
Speaker 1: options are pretty limited. You crack the door open a
4:06
Speaker 1: little bit, You take a peek up and down the hallway,
4:09
Speaker 1: and you listen for a second, because even though somebody's
4:12
Speaker 1: not there right now, that doesn't mean somebody's not on
4:15
Speaker 1: the way the minute they heard the door open. And
4:18
Speaker 1: you don't want to be standing in the hallway as
4:21
Speaker 1: God made you when somebody comes busting around the corner.
4:25
Speaker 1: So you crack the door open. You listen really well,
4:28
Speaker 1: and then your heart's pounding. You make a run for it.
4:32
Speaker 1: You run for the cupboard and you try to get
4:34
Speaker 1: a towel really fast and dive back into the bathroom.
4:38
Speaker 1: That's my house. That's one of my problems in the bathroom.
4:41
Speaker 1: Maybe that's not your problem. Maybe your problem, you know,
4:44
Speaker 1: is shampoo bottles all over the shower floor. That's actually
4:48
Speaker 1: a problem at my house too. Maybe you've got that one.
4:51
Speaker 1: Maybe you've got no counter space. Whatever the problem is,
4:54
Speaker 1: whatever the series of problems are in your bathroom, write
4:59
Speaker 1: it down. That's the first step. Start with the problems
5:02
Speaker 1: that the bathroom needs to solve. Now, once you've done that,
5:05
Speaker 1: once you've thought about the bathroom as a whole one
5:08
Speaker 1: of the biggest decisions. We're going to get to those
5:10
Speaker 1: problems and working through them later. But I want to
5:13
Speaker 1: talk about something else. That's it's pretty much key. Whenever
5:17
Speaker 1: you're talking about a bathroom remodel or renovation, the shower
5:21
Speaker 1: or the tub. That's what I'm getting at. You're gonna
5:23
Speaker 1: have to deal with that. You know, it's one of
5:25
Speaker 1: the biggest decisions that you'll have to make is going
5:28
Speaker 1: to be in regards to the shower or the tub.
5:30
Speaker 1: You know, it's the crown jewel in photos of bathrooms
5:33
Speaker 1: that we see all over the place. You know, go
5:36
Speaker 1: online look at bathrooms and it's going to focus either
5:39
Speaker 1: on an amazing shower or an amazing tub. You know,
5:42
Speaker 1: it's going to be a cool, free standing soaking tub
5:45
Speaker 1: or some amazing, beautiful walking shower right with amazon plants
5:51
Speaker 1: growing all over the place in there. I mean not
5:53
Speaker 1: like mold. I mean like good stuff. I've got some
5:56
Speaker 1: of the mold stuff growing, but that doesn't really feel exotic.
6:00
Speaker 1: But you know what I'm saying, You're gonna see these
6:02
Speaker 1: amazing bathrooms focused on either the shower or the tub,
6:07
Speaker 1: and most bathroom remodels are gonna miss the mark if
6:10
Speaker 1: they don't address you know, this issue. But this is
6:13
Speaker 1: also where you can drop some serious cash. So you
6:17
Speaker 1: really want to get this one right. You really want
6:19
Speaker 1: to think this through and get it exactly right for
6:21
Speaker 1: your family. Now, to help you do that, here are
6:24
Speaker 1: some things to think about. You know, First off, the
6:26
Speaker 1: easy part. What's more, you you know, ask yourself that
6:29
Speaker 1: what's more you shower or tub? Some people love a bath.
6:33
Speaker 1: They love to make soup and feel like one of
6:36
Speaker 1: the main ingredients in soup. They love a soaking bath.
6:39
Speaker 1: Other people they'll never ever take a bath if they
6:42
Speaker 1: can help it. There shower people all the day long,
6:45
Speaker 1: and they think baths are gross. Right, So what's more?
6:48
Speaker 1: You what fits your family? Better start with that. But
6:51
Speaker 1: the second part is also really important, and it's also
6:55
Speaker 1: pretty obvious, but sometimes we forget about it when we
6:58
Speaker 1: get swept up into the whole, you know, excitement of
7:02
Speaker 1: the remodel. The second part is you've got to keep
7:05
Speaker 1: in mind, keep you know, directly focused on the bathroom
7:09
Speaker 1: that you currently have. How does it layout? You know,
7:12
Speaker 1: what are the limitations. It's really easy to get excited
7:16
Speaker 1: about the idea of a beautiful, free standing soaking tub,
7:19
Speaker 1: for example, and to really set your mind on something
7:22
Speaker 1: like that. But if your bathroom layout isn't conducive to that,
7:27
Speaker 1: then things get frustrating and or really expensive as you
7:31
Speaker 1: try to make it happen. So figure out what's you
7:34
Speaker 1: tuber shower and then look at the reality of your
7:37
Speaker 1: bathroom layout, and then find the best thing that fits
7:40
Speaker 1: both of those, because there are always options no matter
7:44
Speaker 1: what you've got going on. So let's start with the tub.
7:46
Speaker 1: For example, Let's say that's your jam. You know, you
7:50
Speaker 1: just love tubs, love soaking tubs. And let's say you
7:53
Speaker 1: really want one of those free standing soaking tubs. You know,
7:56
Speaker 1: maybe you picture it sitting under a window, maybe with
7:59
Speaker 1: a floor mone fawcet, who knows, you know, something amazing.
8:02
Speaker 1: That's what you've got in mind. But in your bathroom,
8:04
Speaker 1: that might not be a simple swap. You know, a
8:06
Speaker 1: lot of our bathrooms we've got a standard tub and
8:09
Speaker 1: shower surround. You know, maybe it's fiberglass, maybe it's tile,
8:12
Speaker 1: but it's usually a basic alcove setup. You know, you
8:15
Speaker 1: got your tub against three walls, you got plumbing on
8:18
Speaker 1: one end, shower above it. The drain's already in place. Now,
8:21
Speaker 1: if that's what you're dealing with, then switching to a
8:24
Speaker 1: free standing tub can be pretty epic. You know you're
8:27
Speaker 1: gonna drop some serious cash to do that. You know
8:31
Speaker 1: you've got to ask where's the drain gonna go? Where
8:33
Speaker 1: are the water lines? You know? Am I gonna be
8:34
Speaker 1: able to get them where I want them? Well, I ken,
8:36
Speaker 1: you can always get anything anywhere you want it. You
8:39
Speaker 1: just got to bring the money to make that happen.
8:42
Speaker 1: You know, do you have enough money to bring to
8:44
Speaker 1: make that happen? Where's the faucet gonna go? Does the
8:47
Speaker 1: floor have to be repaired or retiled? You know where
8:50
Speaker 1: the old tub and the surround came out. Are the
8:52
Speaker 1: walls finished behind the old surround? They're not gonna be.
8:55
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to do a lot of work with that.
8:57
Speaker 1: You know? Is there enough space around the tub to
9:00
Speaker 1: make it look intentional and not just that you know
9:02
Speaker 1: you dropped it in place and you know you kind
9:05
Speaker 1: of just squeaked it in there, like it greased up
9:07
Speaker 1: the sides with crisco and slid it in there? You know,
9:10
Speaker 1: is there enough space to make it look intentional? And
9:12
Speaker 1: maybe most practically of all The thing that comes to
9:15
Speaker 1: my mind immediately is, let's say you can make all
9:18
Speaker 1: of that work, are you still going to have enough
9:20
Speaker 1: space to clean behind it? Because I can only imagine
9:23
Speaker 1: the hairballs that would be living there if I tried
9:27
Speaker 1: to do that in my space, it would take a
9:30
Speaker 1: lot of effort to get that stuff and to keep
9:33
Speaker 1: it clean on a regular basis. I know that's not
9:35
Speaker 1: really glamorous. It's pretty gross, actually, and I'm sorry about that,
9:39
Speaker 1: but it does matter, so keep it in mind. In
9:42
Speaker 1: a lot of cases. I guess what I'm getting at
9:44
Speaker 1: here is it's not gonna work to just remove that
9:47
Speaker 1: tub surround and drop in a free standing tub. It's
9:50
Speaker 1: gonna get way too expensive. It's going to require a
9:52
Speaker 1: lot of major work. But there are always other options.
9:56
Speaker 1: So if you love the idea of a soaking tub,
9:59
Speaker 1: don't that it's got to be a free standing one.
10:02
Speaker 1: You know, there are soaking tubs that are designed to
10:04
Speaker 1: fit more like a traditional tub. You can look at
10:06
Speaker 1: deeper alcove tubs, you can look at drop in tubs.
10:09
Speaker 1: You can look at tubs that give you more soaking
10:11
Speaker 1: depth without requiring the whole bathroom to be redesigned around
10:15
Speaker 1: a free standing fixture. And even if none of that
10:17
Speaker 1: is doable, you know, a new tub that fits the
10:20
Speaker 1: existing footprint exactly can still give you, you know, a
10:24
Speaker 1: lot of visual appeal in that space. You know, you're
10:26
Speaker 1: removing something older and putting in something newer that's going
10:29
Speaker 1: to look better and more modern in your setting, and
10:32
Speaker 1: that can be a big gain. So if tubs are
10:34
Speaker 1: your thing, approach it from this angle. You know you're
10:36
Speaker 1: looking for a better bathing experience. What are the realistic
10:39
Speaker 1: ways to get that in the space that you've got. Now,
10:43
Speaker 1: if you're not a bath person at all, that opens
10:46
Speaker 1: up a different door because in many existing bathrooms, replacing
10:49
Speaker 1: a tub surround with a walk in shower can be
10:52
Speaker 1: really practical. You know, you're often working in the same
10:55
Speaker 1: basic footprint, the plumbing maybe able to stay in the
10:58
Speaker 1: same general location. You just remove the tub, remove the surround,
11:01
Speaker 1: and build that space back as a larger shower. Now
11:04
Speaker 1: it's not automatically cheap. What's what's automatically cheap anyway? These
11:09
Speaker 1: days you still have waterproofing, wallwork, flooring, you know, glass
11:13
Speaker 1: doors or a curtain system. You need to take into
11:15
Speaker 1: account and buy fixtures, labor, you know, maybe code updates.
11:20
Speaker 1: Who knows what's going on, you know when you start
11:22
Speaker 1: working in there. But compared with trying to make a
11:25
Speaker 1: free standing tub work in a room that wasn't designed
11:27
Speaker 1: for it, a tub to shower conversion often you know
11:31
Speaker 1: it's going to line up more naturally with the space
11:33
Speaker 1: that you already have. It's going to be a little
11:35
Speaker 1: more economical, and that's why so many homeowners consider doing that.
11:39
Speaker 1: But there's one, you know, more thing to consider before
11:42
Speaker 1: you just go a whole hog and remove the tub completely.
11:46
Speaker 1: You know, think about this. Is this the only tub
11:48
Speaker 1: in the house. And I know everybody out there is
11:50
Speaker 1: smart and you would think this through. I'm just trying
11:53
Speaker 1: to connect the dots for the four people who already
11:56
Speaker 1: have the sledgehammer out of the garage. You know who
11:58
Speaker 1: you are, You know how how quickly you move when
12:01
Speaker 1: an idea strikes. I just want to give you a
12:04
Speaker 1: little bit of pause. Here. Is this the only tub
12:06
Speaker 1: in the house. You know, if you have another bathtub somewhere,
12:09
Speaker 1: removing the primary bathtub may be an easy decision, you know,
12:12
Speaker 1: but if this is the only tub that you've got,
12:15
Speaker 1: think a little bit harder. Take take a few more minutes,
12:18
Speaker 1: have another cup of coffee and think about it. Maybe
12:21
Speaker 1: go talk to somebody else in your home first. Put
12:23
Speaker 1: the sledgehammer down. You know. Families with the young kids,
12:25
Speaker 1: you're going to need a tub. Pet owners sometimes need
12:28
Speaker 1: a tub. Future buyers. Make care if you've got a tub.
12:32
Speaker 1: You know, even if it doesn't matter to you, it
12:34
Speaker 1: may matter to them, So think about that. That doesn't
12:37
Speaker 1: mean you need to keep it, just means you should
12:39
Speaker 1: make the decision intentionally. So showers and tubs, you got
12:43
Speaker 1: to think about them, and you got to work with
12:45
Speaker 1: the space that you've got. Big thing I want to
12:48
Speaker 1: end this part of it with is just remember there
12:50
Speaker 1: are options. No matter what you want, you can find
12:53
Speaker 1: a way to get that, or at least some version
12:55
Speaker 1: of that in a reasonably economical way into the bathroom
13:00
Speaker 1: you're dealing with. All right, those are the first and
13:02
Speaker 1: second points i'd consider as you're starting to you know,
13:05
Speaker 1: maybe look at a bathroom remodel. I've got more things
13:08
Speaker 1: to keep in mind, and we're going to get to
13:09
Speaker 1: them right after. This Home in Progress is brought to
13:13
Speaker 1: you by repc cooal Lite Paints and Benjamin Moore. You know,
13:15
Speaker 1: people often think of paint as just another line item
13:18
Speaker 1: on the project's supply list. But here's the thing. Everything
13:21
Speaker 1: you do, every hour of prep, every stroke of the brush,
13:24
Speaker 1: all comes down to the quality of the paint. The
13:26
Speaker 1: paint is the project. Make sure it's the best and
13:29
Speaker 1: we're back. You're listening to Home in Progress by Rep
13:32
Speaker 1: cooal Lite Paint sponsored by Benjamin Moore, And we're working
13:35
Speaker 1: our way through some things to consider before you jump
13:38
Speaker 1: into a bathroom remodel. And we covered the first two already.
13:42
Speaker 1: Now I want to talk about storage. And I know
13:45
Speaker 1: it's not the exciting part of the project, you know,
13:47
Speaker 1: not many of us get really pumped up about practical
13:51
Speaker 1: solutions for towels or toothpaste. But storage really may be
13:56
Speaker 1: the difference between a bathroom that feels calm and restorative
14:01
Speaker 1: and a bathroom that looks and feels messy and clutter
14:04
Speaker 1: just two weeks after the remodel's done. So before you
14:07
Speaker 1: make any big choices about a new vanity, go back
14:10
Speaker 1: to that list that we talked about earlier, the list
14:13
Speaker 1: of all the annoyances in your current bathroom. Is storage
14:17
Speaker 1: on that list? And if it isn't on the list,
14:19
Speaker 1: should it be? Because sometimes we get so used to
14:22
Speaker 1: working around a problem that we stop seeing it as
14:24
Speaker 1: a problem. It's just normal. So ask yourself some really
14:28
Speaker 1: practical questions here. Where do the towels go, Where do
14:31
Speaker 1: the extra rolls of toilet paper go? Where do the
14:34
Speaker 1: cleaning supplies go? Where do the hair tools go? Where
14:37
Speaker 1: do razors, toothbrushes, what else is in their makeup, medicine,
14:41
Speaker 1: contact solution. I don't know, kids, bath toys, extra soap,
14:45
Speaker 1: shampoo bottles, all the little daily use items. Where do
14:49
Speaker 1: they all go in your bathroom? And I know that
14:51
Speaker 1: maybe sounds ridiculous when you list it all out like that,
14:54
Speaker 1: but that's exactly the point. You know, bathrooms are crazy
14:58
Speaker 1: small rooms. Usually they're expected to hold like an enormous
15:03
Speaker 1: boatload of stuff. They're like the women's purse of the home,
15:08
Speaker 1: right the women's purse. You can never find anything in
15:10
Speaker 1: there because everything's supposed to be in there. That's what
15:13
Speaker 1: you've got going on in your bathroom. And if you
15:14
Speaker 1: don't plan for that stuff, it's going to end up
15:17
Speaker 1: on the counter, on the floor, in a basket, balanced
15:20
Speaker 1: on the back of the toilet, or just crammed into
15:23
Speaker 1: a cabinet where nobody can find it. So when you remodel,
15:26
Speaker 1: don't just ask what vanity looks good? Ask what do
15:30
Speaker 1: I need this vanity to do? Because the vanity with
15:32
Speaker 1: drawers may be more useful than a vanity with two
15:35
Speaker 1: big doors. You know, deep cabinets. They can hold a
15:38
Speaker 1: ton of stuff, but things disappear in the back drawers.
15:41
Speaker 1: Let you see what you've got, and if you use
15:43
Speaker 1: hair tools every day, you may want a drawer or
15:46
Speaker 1: a cabinet that has an outlet built into it so
15:48
Speaker 1: the cords aren't always spread across the counter. That kind
15:51
Speaker 1: of thing. It's not flashy, but it's the kind of
15:53
Speaker 1: detail that makes the bathroom work better every single morning.
15:57
Speaker 1: And that's really what we're after here. Now. If you're
16:00
Speaker 1: working with the same footprint and a lot of people are,
16:02
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of us aren't rehashing or redesigning
16:05
Speaker 1: that bathroom footprint. We're working with what we've got. If
16:08
Speaker 1: that's you, you may feel like you don't have a
16:10
Speaker 1: lot of options when it comes to storage solutions, but
16:13
Speaker 1: you probably have more than you think you do. Now.
16:15
Speaker 1: One option is to go vertical. You know, if you
16:18
Speaker 1: don't have floor space for a separate linen closet, can
16:20
Speaker 1: you use a tall cabinet. Can storage go from the
16:23
Speaker 1: counter to the ceiling? Can you use the wall above
16:26
Speaker 1: the toilet in a way that looks built in instead
16:28
Speaker 1: of temporary In a small bathroom, storage doesn't always have
16:32
Speaker 1: to get wider. Sometimes it needs to get taller, so
16:36
Speaker 1: think about that. Another option is recess storage. You know,
16:39
Speaker 1: a recessed medicine cabinet is the classic example. And I know,
16:43
Speaker 1: medicine cabinets they don't really sound terribly glamorous, but they
16:47
Speaker 1: can be incredibly useful, especially in a small bathroom. They
16:51
Speaker 1: keep the daily little items off the counter without taking
16:54
Speaker 1: up any floor space. And they don't have to look
16:57
Speaker 1: like the old metal medicine cabinets from nineteen seventy eight.
17:01
Speaker 1: You know, there are much better looking options out there now.
17:03
Speaker 1: Some can be framed, some look like regular mirrors. Some
17:07
Speaker 1: are designed to be much more integrated into the bathroom now.
17:10
Speaker 1: Another option is to steal space from awkward spots. This
17:13
Speaker 1: one's a little bit, a little bit out there, doesn't
17:15
Speaker 1: always apply to everybody, but maybe there's a dead corner
17:18
Speaker 1: in your bathroom where a narrow cabinet could go. You know,
17:21
Speaker 1: maybe there's a space between the vanity and the wall.
17:23
Speaker 1: Maybe there's room for a shallow cabinet over the toilet.
17:27
Speaker 1: Just consider those awkward spots if you've got them in
17:29
Speaker 1: your bathroom, and think if there's something you could do
17:32
Speaker 1: creative there to get you more storage. And sometimes the
17:35
Speaker 1: answer isn't more storage, it's better storage. So think about
17:40
Speaker 1: drawer organizers. They can turn a messy drawer into something
17:43
Speaker 1: that actually works pullouts. They can make the back of
17:46
Speaker 1: a cabinet usable. A bottom drawer in a vanity can
17:49
Speaker 1: be a great place for extra towels or toilet paper.
17:51
Speaker 1: A countertop tower that can keep everyday items close without
17:55
Speaker 1: spreading them all over the counter. The point isn't that
17:58
Speaker 1: every single bathroom needs every single storage idea. The point
18:01
Speaker 1: is that your storage should match your life. So if
18:04
Speaker 1: you've got kids, plan for kids stuff. If you've got
18:07
Speaker 1: a lot of hair tools, a lot of hair tools,
18:10
Speaker 1: it's like the eighties every day in there, plan for
18:12
Speaker 1: hair tools. If you buy toilet paper in bulk, plan
18:15
Speaker 1: for toilet paper. If towels are always the problem, don't
18:18
Speaker 1: pretend they're magically going to find a home after the remodel.
18:21
Speaker 1: Build the answer into the remodel. So when you're planning,
18:25
Speaker 1: don't treat storage like the leftover part of the design.
18:27
Speaker 1: Treat it like one of the main reasons you're remodeling
18:30
Speaker 1: in the first place. All right, how do you look
18:32
Speaker 1: when you're getting ready in the morning? Are you frustrated?
18:35
Speaker 1: Ever been there? Because you just never look right? You
18:38
Speaker 1: don't look good in the mirror. Well, good news maybe
18:41
Speaker 1: maybe good news. It could be your lighting. No guarantees,
18:44
Speaker 1: you know, I can't make any sweeping promises, but it's possible.
18:49
Speaker 1: It's just possible. What percentage I don't know, But it's
18:52
Speaker 1: possible that it's not your fault. You know it's not
18:55
Speaker 1: you could be that you're lighting in there is working
18:59
Speaker 1: against you and showing you in the most unflattering way possible.
19:03
Speaker 1: Lighting is another huge consideration in a bathroom, and we're
19:06
Speaker 1: gonna dig into it right after This home in progress
19:10
Speaker 1: is brought to you by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore.
19:13
Speaker 1: Think about it. You spend hours prepping, sandy, taping, and
19:16
Speaker 1: then finally painting. Don't throw all that work away with
19:19
Speaker 1: an inferior product. The paint isn't just another supply. The
19:22
Speaker 1: paint is the project. Make sure it's the best. So
19:25
Speaker 1: what do you look like? You know, when you see
19:28
Speaker 1: yourself in the mirror in the morning in your bathroom.
19:30
Speaker 1: You walk into your bathroom, turning on the lights. There
19:32
Speaker 1: you are staring yourself down. Do you like what you see?
19:36
Speaker 1: Or do you cringe? And just trying to look away
19:39
Speaker 1: as fast as possible. You're listening to Home in Progress
19:42
Speaker 1: by Repcolite Paints sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And if you're
19:45
Speaker 1: a cringer, you know, if you're a looker away, or
19:49
Speaker 1: I've maybe got some good news for you, you might
19:51
Speaker 1: not look the way you think you do. Right, that's
19:54
Speaker 1: really positive. That's good news for me. It could be
19:57
Speaker 1: our lighting that is causing all of this, all of this,
20:02
Speaker 1: this that we see in the mirror. It could be
20:05
Speaker 1: the lighting. You know, bathroom lighting is routinely, well not routinely,
20:09
Speaker 1: it's often terrible. You know, it's not unusual to have
20:12
Speaker 1: terrible bathroom lighting. A lot of bathrooms have got, you know,
20:15
Speaker 1: one single harsh light over the mirror, or a row
20:19
Speaker 1: of bulbs over the mirror, but that's where the light
20:21
Speaker 1: source is coming from, or one ceiling fixture in the
20:24
Speaker 1: middle of the room, and that's it. And so you
20:26
Speaker 1: end up getting shadows on your face and it makes
20:29
Speaker 1: you look old and shriveled or perpetually tired, you know,
20:33
Speaker 1: shadows under your eyes. It might not be you might
20:36
Speaker 1: not be your fault. You might actually look young and
20:39
Speaker 1: full of life, vibrant, excited, ready to go, you know,
20:43
Speaker 1: do things and be somebody. It's just your bathroom lighting
20:47
Speaker 1: that makes you look, you know, like you're the crypt
20:50
Speaker 1: keeper or like you're somebody telling a ghost story, or
20:54
Speaker 1: on the campfire, you know, the flashlight under your chin
20:57
Speaker 1: or something like that. You know it might be your
20:59
Speaker 1: lighting causing all of this angst and distress that you
21:03
Speaker 1: see in the mirror every morning. Now, to be sure,
21:05
Speaker 1: you know, let's not set this up too high. Lighting's
21:08
Speaker 1: only going to do so much right, There's only so
21:11
Speaker 1: many things lighting can do. But some of us, some
21:14
Speaker 1: of us don't need to start in the negatives. You know,
21:18
Speaker 1: we need as much as much forward momentum as is possible.
21:22
Speaker 1: So at least make sure the lighting is doing everything
21:24
Speaker 1: it can for you, because really this is where you
21:27
Speaker 1: start your day, usually in the bathroom. It's often where
21:30
Speaker 1: we wrap up our day, and having a faulty impression
21:33
Speaker 1: of how we look at either end of the day.
21:35
Speaker 1: That's not a great way to start or end. And
21:38
Speaker 1: lighting really does have that much power. So again, get
21:42
Speaker 1: your bathroom lighting right. And to do that, start by
21:44
Speaker 1: remembering that good bathroom lighting usually needs layers. Should be
21:49
Speaker 1: like an onion layers right. You don't want the whole
21:52
Speaker 1: room relying on one fixture. To do every job, you
21:55
Speaker 1: need general light for the room, and that might be
21:58
Speaker 1: a ceiling fixture, recess lights, or both. This is the
22:01
Speaker 1: light that makes the room feel open and usable. It
22:03
Speaker 1: helps you when you're cleaning, when you're getting dressed, when
22:06
Speaker 1: you're sorting laundry, if that's how your bathroom shakes out,
22:10
Speaker 1: or just moving around the space. But general light isn't enough.
22:14
Speaker 1: The most important light in the bathroom is usually the
22:16
Speaker 1: task lighting at the mirror. That's where you shave, It's
22:19
Speaker 1: where you put on makeup, It's where you fix your hair,
22:22
Speaker 1: where you fix your face as best you can. You
22:26
Speaker 1: work with what you got and you try to do
22:28
Speaker 1: the best with it. So I tell myself every morning,
22:31
Speaker 1: this is where you shave your eyebrows. You know, you
22:33
Speaker 1: trim them back so they don't look like you know
22:36
Speaker 1: Gandolf from Lord of the Rings. Every single day, this
22:40
Speaker 1: is where you decide whether you look rested, exhausted, healthy, pale, mysterious,
22:45
Speaker 1: or like you spent the night sleeping in a ditch somewhere.
22:49
Speaker 1: And the key with mirror lighting, you know this task
22:51
Speaker 1: lighting is this. You want light on your face, not
22:54
Speaker 1: just light above your head. If all the light comes
22:57
Speaker 1: at you, you know, from one fixture over the mit,
23:00
Speaker 1: it can throw shadows down and across your face, under
23:03
Speaker 1: your eyes, under your nose, under your chin. It's not
23:05
Speaker 1: flattering and it's not very useful. So again, it might
23:09
Speaker 1: not be you, you know, you might not be the crypt
23:11
Speaker 1: keeper for real, right, it could just be that lighting.
23:14
Speaker 1: That's why lighting from both sides is really way way better.
23:19
Speaker 1: So look into that sconces on either side of the mirror.
23:21
Speaker 1: They can put light more evenly across your face. It's
23:24
Speaker 1: going to reduce shadows, it's gonna make grooming easier, and
23:28
Speaker 1: they're usually gonna make that whole vanity area just feel
23:31
Speaker 1: more intentional. Now, if side lights aren't possible and overhead
23:35
Speaker 1: vanity light can still work, but pay attention to the fixture.
23:38
Speaker 1: A long, horizontal fixture that spreads light across the mirror
23:42
Speaker 1: is usually going to be better than one tiny, harsh,
23:45
Speaker 1: you know, prison bulb blasting straight down at you. And
23:48
Speaker 1: if you're choosing a fixture with exposed bulbs, think about glare.
23:52
Speaker 1: You want useful light, not interrogation room light. Also, another
23:57
Speaker 1: thing to keep in mind when we're talking lighting is
23:59
Speaker 1: to pay attention to height and placement. If side sconces
24:02
Speaker 1: are too high, too low, or too far away from
24:04
Speaker 1: the mirror, they're not going to do the job as well. Right.
24:08
Speaker 1: If they're too low, you've got that flashlight at the
24:10
Speaker 1: campfire effect going on. They're too high again, you got
24:13
Speaker 1: the shadows you know, under your eyes and stuff like that.
24:17
Speaker 1: Not sure how you're going to work it out for
24:18
Speaker 1: people of multiple sizes. Just pick the person who needs
24:21
Speaker 1: the most help at the mirror and don't vote on that.
24:25
Speaker 1: Let that person just decide for themselves who they are
24:28
Speaker 1: and then just leave it there, you know, don't address
24:30
Speaker 1: this anymore. But let that person determine the height of
24:34
Speaker 1: the sconces. You know, I don't know if that's good
24:36
Speaker 1: advice or not. I'm just shooting from the hip here.
24:39
Speaker 1: You do you and do what you've got to do
24:42
Speaker 1: to figure out the right height for your family. Remember
24:45
Speaker 1: the goal here is to get your face evenly lit
24:48
Speaker 1: from roughly face level. You don't want to create dramatic
24:50
Speaker 1: shadows like you're you know, telling that ghost story. Moving on,
24:54
Speaker 1: think about the shower. It's another place for lightning. If
24:57
Speaker 1: you're building a larger shower, or if the shower has
24:59
Speaker 1: wall you know, glass or a curtain that blocks light.
25:02
Speaker 1: It may need its own light. A darker shower never
25:05
Speaker 1: feels very nice, not on a regular basis. It doesn't
25:08
Speaker 1: feel as nice, as clean, as comfortable, or as inviting
25:11
Speaker 1: as it should. It feels like a prison shower. Again.
25:16
Speaker 1: We've got a shower where the bull burned out and
25:19
Speaker 1: it took me a long time to replace it. And
25:21
Speaker 1: at first it was kind of wow, this is like
25:23
Speaker 1: a little spa or something, and then later it was like,
25:26
Speaker 1: what's in the corner? Is that a rag? Or is
25:28
Speaker 1: that a rat? I don't know. You don't want that.
25:31
Speaker 1: You want good lighting in the shower, So consider that.
25:34
Speaker 1: Make sure it's a part of the plan as you're
25:36
Speaker 1: working forward. Another thing to think about is nighttime. And
25:40
Speaker 1: this is one that people forget. You know, the light
25:42
Speaker 1: that you need at seven in the morning isn't always
25:44
Speaker 1: the light that you want at two in the morning.
25:46
Speaker 1: So consider a dimmer or a small night light or
25:49
Speaker 1: toe kick lighting, or a softer secondary light source that
25:53
Speaker 1: lets you use the bathroom without turning on every bright
25:56
Speaker 1: bulb in the room and waking yourself all the way up.
25:58
Speaker 1: That one small choice can make the bathroom feel much
26:01
Speaker 1: more thoughtful. Last thing I want to talk about with
26:04
Speaker 1: lighting is the temperature of the bulbs. We talk about
26:06
Speaker 1: it all the time when we're talking about paint colors,
26:10
Speaker 1: but bulb temperature can make a huge difference. You know,
26:12
Speaker 1: good light fixtures, everything placed right, but if you've got
26:15
Speaker 1: the wrong temperature bulbs, everything can look wrong and feel wrong.
26:19
Speaker 1: If it's too cool, the bathroom can feel sterile or
26:21
Speaker 1: almost blue. If it's too warm or too yellow, the whites,
26:25
Speaker 1: the creams, the tile, the countertops, even skin tones can
26:28
Speaker 1: all look strange. So for a lot of bathrooms, a warm,
26:31
Speaker 1: neutral bulb is a really good place to start. Something
26:34
Speaker 1: that feels clean but not icy, bright enough to be useful,
26:38
Speaker 1: but not so cold that the room feels like a
26:41
Speaker 1: surgical sweet It's not usually what you want in there,
26:44
Speaker 1: and whatever you do, try to keep the bulbs consistent.
26:47
Speaker 1: If the vanity bulbs are one color temperature and the
26:49
Speaker 1: ceiling light is another, the room is going to feel
26:52
Speaker 1: off and you may not know why. You know, in fact,
26:55
Speaker 1: that could be happening in your bathroom right now. If
26:57
Speaker 1: the room feels weird, you're really not sure exactly why.
27:01
Speaker 1: It could be as simple as that you know, you
27:04
Speaker 1: could have one light that's that's kind of warmer in
27:06
Speaker 1: temperature in one of the fixtures, and one that's cooler,
27:10
Speaker 1: and that can make everything look a little bit weird.
27:12
Speaker 1: Paint will look different in different parts of the room,
27:15
Speaker 1: the tile can shift color a little bit, the whole
27:18
Speaker 1: space can feel a little bit unsettled. So because of
27:20
Speaker 1: all of that, before you start finalizing paint colors or
27:24
Speaker 1: looking at samples or anything like that, you know, samples
27:27
Speaker 1: of fixtures, you know, I'm talking about sinks and all
27:30
Speaker 1: of that stuff. Before you look at any of that stuff,
27:33
Speaker 1: start with your lighting and make sure it's consistent and
27:35
Speaker 1: that you've got the right temperature bulb in the fixtures
27:38
Speaker 1: that you've got. And if you're going to be replacing
27:41
Speaker 1: fixtures and doing a lot of work with them, you know,
27:43
Speaker 1: if you are going to put sconces or something else
27:46
Speaker 1: in to enhance the lighting in the space, I'd probably
27:49
Speaker 1: get some of that done before you start considering lots
27:52
Speaker 1: of other choices because that potentially, you know, the light
27:55
Speaker 1: that you bring into that space can change how everything looks.
27:58
Speaker 1: So get the lighting right. You know, you could spend
28:01
Speaker 1: thousands on tile and countertop and everything. You know, the
28:05
Speaker 1: shower and all of that, but if the lighting's bad,
28:08
Speaker 1: the room can still feel wrong. Now. Another thing to
28:11
Speaker 1: think about when you're tackling or remodel is that as
28:14
Speaker 1: you're getting everything torn apart, this is the time to
28:17
Speaker 1: think about upgrades that get way harder to bring into
28:21
Speaker 1: your space later. You know, some bathroom changes are easy
28:24
Speaker 1: to make down the road. You know, change the paint color,
28:26
Speaker 1: you know, the towels, the mirror, cabinet, hardware, all of
28:29
Speaker 1: those things easy to change down the road. But other
28:32
Speaker 1: things can be way easier to do when the room
28:36
Speaker 1: is torn apart. So heated florus, for example. In a
28:39
Speaker 1: big room, heated floress can feel like a major luxury,
28:42
Speaker 1: But in a bathroom, the square footage is usually pretty small,
28:46
Speaker 1: and if the old floor is already coming out, this
28:49
Speaker 1: is the moment to at least price it out. You know.
28:51
Speaker 1: Maybe you do it, maybe you don't, but it's worth
28:53
Speaker 1: asking about before you put new tile down. Same thing
28:57
Speaker 1: with ventilation. If the fan is loud, weak and effective,
29:00
Speaker 1: don't ignore it. You know, a beautiful bathroom with poor
29:03
Speaker 1: ventilation is a problem waiting to happen. You can always
29:05
Speaker 1: add ventilation. You know later. It's that part's not hard,
29:09
Speaker 1: But you don't want to go through all the work
29:11
Speaker 1: of converting your bathroom or remodeling it or renovating it
29:14
Speaker 1: and leave poor ventilation in place and allow a problem
29:18
Speaker 1: to happen. You know, steam moisture. All of that can
29:21
Speaker 1: lead to peeling paint, mildew and lingering odors that are
29:25
Speaker 1: not exactly spa like. So while you can change the
29:28
Speaker 1: fan out later, do it if it's in trouble, if
29:31
Speaker 1: it's if it's limp and along. Do it now before
29:34
Speaker 1: a poor fan causes a problem that you're gonna deal
29:37
Speaker 1: with later. This is also the time to think about
29:39
Speaker 1: extra outlets, better outlet placement, you know, built in niches
29:44
Speaker 1: or niches. However you're supposed to say that, I don't
29:46
Speaker 1: even know anymore. The kids laugh at me when I
29:50
Speaker 1: say niches, I mean, for heaven's sake, I spent forever
29:54
Speaker 1: in school not saying the word at all because I
29:57
Speaker 1: didn't know how to say it. Then I finally figured
29:59
Speaker 1: out it's niche. And now that's the big joke. I'm
30:02
Speaker 1: supposed to say niches. I googled it. It's either either
30:07
Speaker 1: one is cool. So if you're a parent and you're
30:10
Speaker 1: locked into niche and it's hard for you to shift.
30:12
Speaker 1: Don't worry about it. We're all cool, you know, amongst ourselves. Anyway,
30:18
Speaker 1: what am I even talking about? I don't even know
30:20
Speaker 1: how I got there. Think about adding a niche if
30:24
Speaker 1: you even need that, or a niche, or however you
30:26
Speaker 1: want to say it. Think about lighting in the shower,
30:28
Speaker 1: blocking in the walls for future grab bars. Maybe you
30:31
Speaker 1: don't want the grab bar right now, but adding that
30:34
Speaker 1: blocking in the walls can make it easier to add
30:37
Speaker 1: in the future. Just think about these things. As you've
30:40
Speaker 1: got things torn apart, you know this is the point
30:42
Speaker 1: or the time to add them in now. Another thing
30:44
Speaker 1: to think about while you're planning all of this, plan
30:47
Speaker 1: on long term living. That's the wrong way to say it.
30:50
Speaker 1: We should all plan on long term living. We should
30:53
Speaker 1: think about, you know, aging in place, I guess is
30:56
Speaker 1: what I'm getting at. You know, if you're thinking about
30:58
Speaker 1: being in the home for a while, you know, a
31:00
Speaker 1: long time. Yet, as you're doing this renovation, now's the
31:03
Speaker 1: time to make decisions that will benefit you as you age,
31:08
Speaker 1: and don't feel like you're taking a hit. Esthetically, if
31:11
Speaker 1: you're doing that because that's generally how we feel. We
31:14
Speaker 1: feel like if we go with things that are going
31:17
Speaker 1: to be you know more you know, helpful or beneficial
31:20
Speaker 1: as we get older, that it's going to look like,
31:23
Speaker 1: you know, like a nursing home bathroom or something like that.
31:27
Speaker 1: It doesn't have to anymore. You know, you're not taking
31:30
Speaker 1: that esthetic hit these days. You know, a low threshold shower,
31:36
Speaker 1: for example, can look modern, A curbless shower can look beautiful.
31:40
Speaker 1: A wider shower entry feels more open and more comfortable,
31:43
Speaker 1: A shower bench can feel spa like. A handheld shower
31:47
Speaker 1: is useful for almost everybody, so much easier to watch
31:50
Speaker 1: the dog when you've got a handheld shower, better lighting,
31:54
Speaker 1: that's going to help everybody. Slip resistant tile, that's smart
31:57
Speaker 1: at any age. You know, if your klutz slip resistant tile,
32:01
Speaker 1: think about it. Comfort height toilets, they're common. They're common.
32:05
Speaker 1: I need a boost to get onto one and a
32:08
Speaker 1: boost to get off of one, but hey, they're common.
32:11
Speaker 1: You might want to think about it. Grab bars. I
32:13
Speaker 1: talked about that a little bit a little bit ago.
32:15
Speaker 1: They don't have to look institutional anymore. They can if
32:18
Speaker 1: that's your jam, that's your vibe. You want institutional all
32:21
Speaker 1: the way, you can find those things, but if you
32:24
Speaker 1: don't want them to look that way, they don't have to.
32:26
Speaker 1: You know, there are attractive options that you can get
32:29
Speaker 1: that look intentional in any room. And even if you
32:32
Speaker 1: don't want the grab bars now, like we said, if
32:34
Speaker 1: the walls are open, add the blocking, you know, with
32:37
Speaker 1: this in mind, so they can be installed later. I
32:39
Speaker 1: already said that, but it's worth saying again. It's the
32:42
Speaker 1: kind of thing that is much easier to plan for
32:44
Speaker 1: during the remodel than to wish you had done later. Now,
32:47
Speaker 1: there are a lot of other things that I could
32:49
Speaker 1: talk about in regards to a bathroom model and making
32:52
Speaker 1: sure you're thinking everything through. Can't hit everything on the show.
32:56
Speaker 1: I think I covered the basics, but there is one
33:00
Speaker 1: glaring thing that I've left on unmentioned to this point,
33:05
Speaker 1: and it's this, what bathroom remodel conversation would be complete
33:08
Speaker 1: without talking about painting the bathroom. It's a big topic
33:12
Speaker 1: because painting a bathroom brings its own set of decisions,
33:15
Speaker 1: and if you want the paint job to last, there's
33:17
Speaker 1: a lot of other things to think about beyond just
33:19
Speaker 1: the color we're going to get into all of that.
33:22
Speaker 1: Right after this, you're listening to Home in Progress, where
33:26
Speaker 1: the projects are real, the mistakes, they're educational, sometimes painful,
33:31
Speaker 1: mostly educational. And the only thing more stubborn than that
33:35
Speaker 1: old wallpaper on your bathroom wall is your determination to
33:38
Speaker 1: get it fixed. Probably sponsored by Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore,
33:43
Speaker 1: Paint with a purpose, people who care and everything you
33:45
Speaker 1: need to get the job done right. And we're back.
33:48
Speaker 1: You're listening to Home in Progress, brought to you by
33:50
Speaker 1: Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore, and all show long, I
33:55
Speaker 1: have blathered on and on about looking at bathroom remodels
33:58
Speaker 1: and some important things that I I think you should
34:00
Speaker 1: consider if you're tackling one in the near future. And
34:04
Speaker 1: as I get to the end of the show, I
34:05
Speaker 1: want to talk about painting the bathroom, because really, what
34:08
Speaker 1: remodel is complete without a new paint job. And even
34:12
Speaker 1: if you can't swing a whole remodel right now, you know,
34:15
Speaker 1: maybe you don't have the time, Maybe economically it's not feasible.
34:20
Speaker 1: There's so many things in my life that are economically
34:22
Speaker 1: not feasible. This summer, you know, groceries. Now I can
34:27
Speaker 1: get groceries. But that's about all the fun we're having
34:30
Speaker 1: is groceries this summer. But maybe you don't have the
34:32
Speaker 1: money for a bathroom remodel, maybe you don't have the
34:34
Speaker 1: time for it. I just remember that a new paint
34:37
Speaker 1: job can go a long ways towards making the space
34:40
Speaker 1: feel new and improved. But painting a bathroom is often
34:43
Speaker 1: quite a bit different from painting, you know, a living
34:46
Speaker 1: room or a bedroom. So let's talk about some stuff
34:49
Speaker 1: to know to make sure that you get it right.
34:51
Speaker 1: And I want to start right off the bat with
34:53
Speaker 1: the paint itself. You know, for years, the standard advice
34:56
Speaker 1: if you were going to paint a bathroom. In fact,
34:58
Speaker 1: anybody who's been around you know, if you're listening, you've
35:01
Speaker 1: been around, You've done a lot of painting. And I
35:03
Speaker 1: ask what sheene should you use in a bathroom? Most
35:06
Speaker 1: people who've been around are going to say, you've got
35:08
Speaker 1: to use something with a sheene, like a satinchine or
35:10
Speaker 1: a semi gloss, you know, something like that, And that
35:13
Speaker 1: advice isn't wrong. You know, generally speaking, the shinier the
35:18
Speaker 1: paint is, the more washable and the more moisture resistant
35:21
Speaker 1: it's going to be so, a satin sheen, a semi gloss.
35:23
Speaker 1: Those are standard answers for a bathroom. But paint technology
35:28
Speaker 1: has changed quite a bit in the last few years,
35:31
Speaker 1: and a great example is Benjamin Moore's Aura Bathroom Spa.
35:35
Speaker 1: And what makes Aura bath and Spa really interesting is
35:38
Speaker 1: that it's a matt finish, but it's specifically made for
35:41
Speaker 1: high humidity rooms like bathrooms and spas, so you get
35:44
Speaker 1: that softer, richer, less reflective look on the walls without
35:48
Speaker 1: sacrificing any moisture resistance. And that's really a big deal
35:52
Speaker 1: because shiny paint pretty much shows everything, you know, every patch,
35:57
Speaker 1: every drywall seam, every roller mark. Basically, shinier finishes expose
36:02
Speaker 1: every flaw in the wall or in the paint finish,
36:06
Speaker 1: and a mate finish is going to hide a lot more.
36:08
Speaker 1: So it's a much better way to go. If you
36:11
Speaker 1: can use a mate finish, you're going to see far
36:13
Speaker 1: fewer flaws in all of that in your walls. Now,
36:17
Speaker 1: a shinier finish is still recommended sometimes absolutely. You know,
36:20
Speaker 1: if you've got a kid's bathroom that you're dealing with,
36:23
Speaker 1: maybe a rental, a bathroom with poor ventilation, maybe a
36:27
Speaker 1: space that just gets wiped down constantly. If that's the case,
36:30
Speaker 1: then a satin machine or a pearl or a semi
36:33
Speaker 1: gloss that can still make a lot of sense. And
36:35
Speaker 1: when it comes to trim doors, cabinets, you know, areas
36:39
Speaker 1: like that. I still also really like a sheine for
36:42
Speaker 1: those like a satinchine or a semi gloss, but for walls,
36:46
Speaker 1: especially if you want a more elegant look and you
36:48
Speaker 1: want to minimize flaws or at least the visualization of
36:52
Speaker 1: the flaws, or a bathroom spot is going to give
36:55
Speaker 1: you a really great option. You're going to get that
36:57
Speaker 1: great performance, you know, with moisture and all of that,
37:00
Speaker 1: without making the room look glossy. Now, the next thing
37:03
Speaker 1: to think about is this, don't put the bathroom back
37:05
Speaker 1: into full service too quickly. That's a mistake a lot
37:09
Speaker 1: of people make, you know, and we make it because
37:11
Speaker 1: we just want to get things back to good as
37:14
Speaker 1: soon as possible, you know, back to normal use as
37:17
Speaker 1: soon as possible. So we paint the bathroom in the morning,
37:20
Speaker 1: clean everything up, wait till the paint's dry to the touch.
37:23
Speaker 1: Then we put towels back on, you know, the towel
37:25
Speaker 1: holders and towels and all of that, and then later
37:28
Speaker 1: that night somebody takes a super long, super hot shower
37:32
Speaker 1: and that's where the problems start. You know, when freshly
37:34
Speaker 1: text paint gets hit with high humidity too soon, you
37:38
Speaker 1: can sometimes get something called surfactant leeching. We've talked about
37:42
Speaker 1: it on the show a bunch of different times. Sounds technical,
37:46
Speaker 1: but basically all I'm getting at is when certain water
37:48
Speaker 1: soluble ingredients in the paint are drawn to the surface
37:51
Speaker 1: prematurely by moisture, you might end up seeing shiny streaks,
37:55
Speaker 1: sticky spots, brownish marks, or kind of a soapy looking
37:59
Speaker 1: residue the wall or the ceiling. And when people see
38:02
Speaker 1: that they freak out. You know, they think the paint failed.
38:05
Speaker 1: They think they've got, you know, something big going on.
38:08
Speaker 1: Maybe the house is possessed. They think mold or mildew
38:12
Speaker 1: has like claimed the bathroom overnight. They think a lot
38:15
Speaker 1: of scary things. But really the issue is pretty much
38:18
Speaker 1: almost always the fact that the room got too humid
38:21
Speaker 1: too soon after painting. Surfactant leaching. When you see that
38:25
Speaker 1: on the walls, it's not damaging your finish. You know,
38:28
Speaker 1: the paint isn't compromised or anything like that. You can
38:30
Speaker 1: wipe it clean and it will go away. But it
38:34
Speaker 1: is something that freaks people out. So one of the
38:36
Speaker 1: best bathroom painting tips is really boring, but it's super important.
38:40
Speaker 1: Just give the paint time to dry. You know, when
38:42
Speaker 1: you've got to use the shower in there, try to
38:44
Speaker 1: keep the shower shorter, keep the fan running, get the
38:48
Speaker 1: door open as soon as possible, keep that fan running
38:51
Speaker 1: for like twenty minutes after the shower's over. You know,
38:54
Speaker 1: if you've got another bathroom in the house, use that
38:56
Speaker 1: one for a few days if possible. You just do
38:58
Speaker 1: everything you can to minimum eyes the moisture on the
39:02
Speaker 1: walls in that freshly painted room. That little bit of
39:05
Speaker 1: patients can prevent a lot of weird looking, you know,
39:08
Speaker 1: panic inducing problems. All right, now, let's talk about prep.
39:12
Speaker 1: Bathroom walls collect all kinds of invisible contaminants, you know, soap, film, hairspray,
39:17
Speaker 1: and so on. So before painting, you've got to wash
39:20
Speaker 1: the walls down with a good cleaning agent like TSP
39:23
Speaker 1: or a mild solution of don Dish soap, and then
39:26
Speaker 1: rinse everything really well with clean water and then let
39:29
Speaker 1: it dry completely. So make sure you do that. Don't
39:32
Speaker 1: skimp on the prep. The next step empty the room
39:35
Speaker 1: more than you think you need to. Sometimes, because the
39:38
Speaker 1: room is small, people think that they'll just work around everything.
39:42
Speaker 1: But in a small bathroom, every obstacle becomes a big obstacle.
39:46
Speaker 1: So clear that space out. Take down the towel bars,
39:48
Speaker 1: if you can remove the toilet paper holder, take off
39:52
Speaker 1: switch plates and outlet covers. Remove wall hooks, take down shelves.
39:56
Speaker 1: If the mirror can be removed safely, consider removing it.
39:59
Speaker 1: If tape it off carefully. Basically, the smaller the room,
40:03
Speaker 1: the more important it is to clear the space. Now.
40:06
Speaker 1: One of the classic, you know bathroom painting problems is
40:09
Speaker 1: painting behind the toilet. Right it's a tight little area.
40:12
Speaker 1: How do you get your roller back there? How do
40:14
Speaker 1: you do that? A lot of people start wondering if
40:17
Speaker 1: they need to remove the toilet, and most of the
40:19
Speaker 1: time the answer is no, you don't need to do that. Instead,
40:23
Speaker 1: start by taking the lid off, you know, the tank
40:25
Speaker 1: lid off. That's going to give you a little extra
40:27
Speaker 1: room right away. And then use a small brush or
40:30
Speaker 1: a mini roller sometimes they're perfect for getting behind the tank.
40:33
Speaker 1: Paint what you can reach. And if there's a tiny
40:36
Speaker 1: little strip or square behind the tank that nobody can
40:39
Speaker 1: see and no tool can reach, you know, you got
40:42
Speaker 1: permission to let that go. You're not being lazy, you're
40:45
Speaker 1: being smart. So consider that it's okay to leave that unpainted.
40:51
Speaker 1: Another awkward area in the bathroom is painting behind faucets
40:54
Speaker 1: and around the vanity. This is where a really good
40:57
Speaker 1: angled brush is going to matter. And a short handled
40:59
Speaker 1: brush can be really helpful in tight bathroom spaces because
41:03
Speaker 1: you're not banging the handle into the mirror, the faucet,
41:07
Speaker 1: the opposite wall, or anything. So there are any number
41:11
Speaker 1: of short handled brushes that we've gotten the stores. Stop
41:14
Speaker 1: in and check them out. They really can be a
41:16
Speaker 1: lifesaver in these tight little areas. All right, now, let's
41:20
Speaker 1: talk about ceilings, because in a lot of bathrooms the
41:22
Speaker 1: ceiling is going to be a real problem area, especially
41:26
Speaker 1: over the shower. You know, if you see peeling paint
41:29
Speaker 1: in there, you can't just paint over that. You've got
41:31
Speaker 1: to scrape the loose material off, sand the edges, prime
41:35
Speaker 1: where you need to prime. If you've got mildew or
41:38
Speaker 1: anything like that, you've got to deal with that first
41:41
Speaker 1: you see glossy brownish streaks that could be surfactant leeching
41:44
Speaker 1: like we talked about earlier, and that residue needs to
41:47
Speaker 1: be washed off before you repaint. Basically, a bathroom ceiling
41:51
Speaker 1: is going to take a ton of abuse. Warm air rises,
41:54
Speaker 1: steam rises, moisture collects there. So the ceiling deserves the
41:57
Speaker 1: same kind of attention as the walls, sometimes more, you know,
42:01
Speaker 1: when it comes to the prep work. So make sure
42:03
Speaker 1: you put your time in prepping that ceiling. And if
42:06
Speaker 1: you're painting the ceiling over a shower, don't use you know,
42:10
Speaker 1: some cheap flat ceiling paint. Use something that can handle
42:13
Speaker 1: the environment. Talk to us in the store and we'll
42:15
Speaker 1: make some recommendations to put the right product in your
42:18
Speaker 1: hand for your situation. Last thing I'll talk about here
42:22
Speaker 1: is cock. A lot of people forget about that. You know,
42:24
Speaker 1: bathrooms have a lot of cock in there, and not
42:27
Speaker 1: all cock is paintable. You know, if you paint over old, cracked,
42:31
Speaker 1: dirty or silicone cock, you may end up getting peeling,
42:34
Speaker 1: fish eyes or areas where the paint simply won't stick
42:37
Speaker 1: at all. So inspect the calk before you paint. If
42:40
Speaker 1: it's cracked, if it's moldy, cut it out and replace it.
42:44
Speaker 1: If it does need to be painted, make sure you're
42:46
Speaker 1: using a paintable cock. Pure silicone is great, great in
42:50
Speaker 1: wet areas, but but paint isn't going to stick to it,
42:55
Speaker 1: so you can't use pure silicone in areas. If you
42:58
Speaker 1: plan to paint over that car, keep that in mind again,
43:01
Speaker 1: ask us about it in the store. We'll make the recommendations.
43:05
Speaker 1: All right. I could keep going, but that's gonna do it.
43:08
Speaker 1: You know that gives you the project in some and
43:11
Speaker 1: there's certainly more things we can go into, but you
43:13
Speaker 1: know we've got a limited amount of time, so I
43:16
Speaker 1: hit the highlights. Remember, if you have any questions at
43:19
Speaker 1: all about a bathroom repaint or any paint project, just
43:22
Speaker 1: swing by your closest Repcollite store. Talk it over with us.
43:25
Speaker 1: This is our eightieth year in business and we know
43:27
Speaker 1: paint back and forth. Let us help you, all right,
43:30
Speaker 1: last little bit of business here in the stores, all
43:33
Speaker 1: Rep Coolite stores until the end of June. We've got
43:36
Speaker 1: some savings on Endura Repcolites, Endura exterior paint. All our finishes,
43:41
Speaker 1: some of them are up to thirty eight bucks off
43:43
Speaker 1: a gallon. You can get that until the end of June.
43:47
Speaker 1: Just stop in and ask about it. And we also
43:49
Speaker 1: have handy paint pails. I'm going to talk about them
43:52
Speaker 1: next week. They're cut in buckets, incredibly handy handy paint
43:57
Speaker 1: pail and they're on sale as well. Stop in check
44:00
Speaker 1: them out. All right, that's going to do it for
44:02
Speaker 1: this episode. If you want to catch it again, you
44:04
Speaker 1: can find it online at Repcolite dot com. Whatever you
44:07
Speaker 1: do today makes your paints a part of it. Have
44:09
Speaker 1: a great weekend, everybody, and I'll see you next week.
44:12
Speaker 1: For Home and Progress by Repcolite Paints. I'm Dan Hansen.
44:15
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.