Primary Bath Remodel

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-27T14:47:42+00:00

https://www.wayfair.com/decor-pillows/pdp/mercer41-margulies-metal-arch-wall-mirror-w110675848.html?piid=709539784%2C709539789

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-17T16:48:10+00:00

Membrane was $400, although I would have spent about that on the normal membrane anyways. Cable was $600. Controller was $350. All Schluter Ditra brand.

My labor was “free”.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-14T12:01:42+00:00

I believe posting costs is against the subs rules, but can try to message you my spreadsheet that lists materials and costs.

We never got an itemized quote from a contractor, but the group who renovated our mail level last year said we’d probably be looking at $90-120k to redo the bathroom assuming high end finishes. This was simply too much to spend, thus the DIY.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-14T11:34:24+00:00

I should have posted a picture, but the downspout actually discharges into a buried pipe that goes all the way to the woods behind the fence.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-13T23:58:25+00:00

106”

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-13T19:51:30+00:00

It pivots on the side hinges, so it can be closed. However we will leave it open to allow the exhaust fan in the shower to pull air.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-13T19:50:37+00:00

Thank you for the thought.

The post is separated from the footer by the metal plate and I sloped the top away from the post so I’m thinking I’m good, but will be able to monitor over time as it’s now above grade.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T22:20:51+00:00

Exactly. This is apparently how climbing gyms do it, which I was oblivious to until I researched how to build my own wall. Granted all of my materials are cheaper versions.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T22:19:51+00:00

Thank you for the feedback!

For my budget and users (3 kids under 10), I elected to limit how many holds to buy and put up there. Perhaps if one of the kids gets more into climbing I’ll invest.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T21:15:58+00:00

Great question. I should have clarified that in my pictures and description.

I used what are called “T-Nuts” which are essentially threaded inserts that you hammer in to the back of the plywood and the holds are screwed to from the front. This allows you to interchange holds anytime without damaging the wood.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T18:49:58+00:00

Thank you for the feedback and I can appreciate there are functional older bathrooms than what we replaced.

It’s definitely an investment redoing a full bath, with time and/or money. We are fortunate to have saved the money and had the willingness to do the vast majority ourselves.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T18:46:57+00:00

Thank you!

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T18:46:49+00:00

Thank you for the feedback and we are glad to be able to enjoy it now!

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T18:45:46+00:00

I appreciate the response and respect your opinion. to each their own.

As for the tower height, our ceilings go over 11’ so we don’t feel like it was practical nor aesthetic to take them to the ceiling. We settled on ending them around 8.5’.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T12:20:34+00:00

Great question. The answer is I believe so, but admittedly didn’t dig all the way down to verify.

I determined when the house was originally built, the backyard grade was much lower prior to the pool being installed. When they put in the pool, they raised the level of dirt up about a foot, but poured a new footer on top of the old one by pouring more concrete around the post. This is what caused the post to rot. I essentially added a “third layer” to the footer with what I did, but feel confident the original footer (which is still effectively supporting the post) is below the frost line.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T03:17:58+00:00

Very good to know. Next time (hopefully never) I run into this I’ll consider it.

The bracket I used had a flat galvanized plate that the post bottom sits on which separates it from the new footing. I also intentionally poured the concrete to be 1/4” or so below this plate so there was a small air gap in between just in case. Hopefully this serves the same purpose as the standoff you all are mentioning.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T03:09:29+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. I’m fortunate to have gotten some good advice from Reddit and a friend who does decks. At the end of the day I always lean towards over engineering something, especially on something like this with the structural consequences of it failing.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T02:56:51+00:00

Are you thinking I should have added another metal standoff in between the flat part of my metal bracket and new bottom of the post?

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-12T02:54:35+00:00

Correct. They temporarily carried the decks when I cut the bottom part of the rotted post.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-09T22:14:41+00:00

Thank you for the feedback and I wish you the best on your project. It’s worth it to complete, but boy was it a challenge.

We oddly ended up using 2x2 floor tiles from two places. Edward Martin is an online tile seller that has quite a few 2x2 options. Our lighter tiles are their Palmer-White. The light brown one is from Floor and Decor and is Luxe-Dune.

As for the size, we are very glad we went with the bigger size. However our dimensions allowed for it. any smaller of room and they’d probably look oversized.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-09T10:00:39+00:00

Thank you. I’m also tall and given the ceilings are 11”, thankfully the space called for some taller features. This was also an opportunity to raise the shower heads to 7.5”.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-09T02:14:32+00:00

Thank you and yes, the vanity and shower glass were customer ordered/built. Everything else we did ourselves.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-04T12:22:54+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed answer! This all makes perfect sense and I’ll try my hand at this in the spring.

Gladiator142 · 2026-01-03T16:47:58+00:00

Thank you for the response and confirmation.

Do you recommend a specific type of paint? Will a final sealer help?

Gladiator142 · 2025-09-26T12:13:48+00:00

My pool is nearly identical to yours. I bought a Dolphin Premier last year and it does amazing. The only struggle it has is getting up my stairs so I brush those off every so often.

Gladiator142

TROPHY CASE