Bathroom Remodel Pawling

Good afternoon homeowners, friends, colleagues, fellow DBS employees, and anyone else who may be reading this blog for a little insight into a bathroom remodel! Our goal is to keep you safe and comfortable while remodeling your home, and to give you the right tools to choose the remodeler that is right for you and your family. I, personally, am not a remodeling guru, so to get this information, I sit down with one of the more knowledgeable men in our company and ask them to rattle off the ‘must-knows’ when doing a specific job type. Then, since I am pretty close to having the same knowledgebase that you, reading this has, I translate it into layman’s terms! These blogs are by no means meant to pinpoint a specific persons’ job, nor do we promise to cover every exact detail in a remodel; rather, our goal is to give you a few things to think about when considering a remodel. With that being said, let’s get right to it!

We will start with one of the focal points of the bathroom. That’s right, you guessed it… the shower/bathtub! This can make or break your bathroom with how it’s executed. It also really comes down to preference. Sometimes the deciding factor is due to outside factors, like when the real estate market tells you that in order to list and sell, you have to have to have at least one tub in your house. Also, a lot of choices are made by following trends. Scenario: wife see’s a b-e-a-utiful bathroom in a home magazine. “Honey, I must have this bathroom!” The catch is, the family had already agreed on turning their tub space into a stand up shower to allow for more practical, useable room. Both of these ideas (tub & shower) prove to be effective, however we find that the big current trend is that people are turning their tubs into beautiful, custom shower stalls. The great thing about converting to a shower stall is that it can be completely your own. For instance, you can choose between an acrylic shower base and a custom tiled shower. Homeowners can decide if they want a traditional wall shower, if they’d like to halve out the partition wall or take it out all together and replace with glass to open up the room. Another design option is a frameless glass shower door!

While continuing to think about your shower, another option is to add, or not to add a bench. If your answer is “yes, we definitely want a bench!”, the next question is whether to build it into the wall and continue with the tile design, or to attach a flip down bench to the wall so that no space is lost. This now raises the question of shelving and where you will put your shower accessories! Will you get a shower caddy, install corner shelves, or build in niches into the wall so that they are not obtrusive?

As we continue on this road to constructing your new shower, a point raises itself. That point is mobility. Are you planning on aging in this house? No one wants to think about it now, but the reality is that it’s going to happen to all of us. Why not prepare now? DBS is a CAPS (Certified Aging in Place) remodeler and endorses and understands Universal Design. We are always thinking ahead, and this is why we offer the placement of grab bars, as well as low threshold, barrier free shower entries!

Storage tends to be a bit of an issue, especially if your bathroom is on the smaller side. A big decision to optimize for space is your vanity selection. Choose a vanity with plenty of drawer and counter space. A few other options for added storage could be a medicine cabinet with mirrored faces, or a toilet tank topper. Keep in mind that if you are looking to expand your bathroom and don’t mind losing space in another room, an alternative is that we can always knock out a wall to give you that extra bit of room that you are looking for!

Style of fixtures can really spruce up your bathroom! Faucets, handles, showerhead, lighting, racks, right down to the handles on the doors of your storage units! Finishes (brass, bronze, copper, etc.) make a big difference and normally, should be consistent throughout – but that’s your prerogative! The remodeler that you are working with will normally recommend you to a retailer where you can make your selections in their showroom, keeping in mind the room, spacing, and code requirements of your space at home. A few things to also choose styles for are sinks (trough, vessel bowl, under mount, etc.), toilets, showerheads, etc.

Now, let’s move onto the floor! This tends to be a big deal for most homeowners, as you can imagine how slippery it gets on new tile when you get out of the shower with no mats. It can be very dangerous! Some companies do make a non-slip tile to use on your floor. Also, utilizing bathmats can be a good alternative, as well as gain you points on the style roster. A nice feature that we are seeing more of is radiant heating in the floor, which allows the floor to warm before you step onto it. Whether you use cables or tubing in the floor, the methods of installing electric and radiant systems in floors are similar. There is nothing worse than a cold, hard, tile floor on your bare feet!

Speaking of heat, an easy way to keep your bathroom nice and toasty is to install a kick space heater under the vanity, and/or heat lamps in the ceiling!

Now for the practicalities! The bathroom needs an exhaust fan, whether it be manual or on a timer (this was the first I, personally, had ever heard about fans being on a timer. Brilliant!) We all know this to suck the steam from the shower out of the room so that mold and mildew don’t see your brand spankin’ new bathroom as a beautiful home! This allows fresh air in so that you can actually see the mirror to do your makeup, or get a nice shave. That point is a great segway into the next topic, which is lighting and why lighting around your sink space is very important! Make sure there are no obstructions in the lighting, this way the mirror has a clear view of your face. Recessed light into the ceiling with a lens tends to be a great way to get plenty of light around your bathroom. Also, keep in mind night lights so that you and your family can find your way around a dark bathroom without flipping on the lights when your eyes are not adjusted. There is nothing worse than that!

We hope this has helped shape and mold your bathroom a bit, and that you are more on the right path to choosing your design! We want to remind you that there are all ideas that you are not limited to, but there are also a plethora of others across the internet. Do your research!

You can always visit us at www.DBSremodel.com or give us a shout at 845.485.8343

Happy Friday, all!