Don't forget the lighting

If I could name one constantly overlooked aspect of successful kitchen or bathroom renovation projects, it's the addition of proper lighting.  I always recommend additional lighting to make it more comfortable for the client, allow for a wider range of colour possibilities in cabinets or tile, and to give that "showroom" appearance to the room.  Some people point out that the room already has a light "that's good enough"  I'm here to tell you it seldom is.
   

 

Remember, builders are required merely to provide light to every room, which usually means a basic fixture to fulfill the technical requirements of the building code for safety.  Meaning the homeowner has to be kept from bumping into things, nothing more.  Very few homeowners expand upon this bare bones lighting to truly enhance their rooms, so years later, the house still has the bare minimum in each room, and has grown accosted to not having enough..

Halogen recessed lighting is the most common way to add quality lighting to a newly renovated room.  Most family sized bathrooms can use three; two over the floor, and a wet-area approved one over the tub or shower area, in addition to the vanity lighting.  Splitting a single light over the mirror into two sconces is another way to provide more light, although I'd almost always recommend at least a couple pots.   People are surprised that recessed lighting can be $150-200 each, but on a second floor especially, it means the light itself, a metal insulating box and vapour barrier in the attic, and of course the running of the wire and switch.   It can be done cheaper, but normally without a permit, which is something you never want to get into, or with inferior lights.  An qualified electrician will usually supply his own potlights that have been proven to fit snug against the ceiling (look for cheaper lights to have trim that never sits quite tight to the ceiling). 

Good lighting trumps the old fear of "dark colours making the room look smaller".  They don't.  Not on their own.  It is the lack of light being cast upon the dark colour (or whatever colour for that matter) that makes the room seem smaller.  Nice crisp halogen lighting lets you expand your colour palette to whatever tickles your fancy. You are missing out on a lot of choices if you don't at least consider a dark colour, even as an accent to a room.  And a black granite or quarts top looks fantastic on a lot of wood cabinetry if wanting a sophisticated look.    

Regarding a permit-do not ever consider doing electrical without one, or get talked into one not being needed.  The Electrical Safety Authority for Ontario http://www.esasafe.com/ has blitzed the radio stations the past year outlining the risks.  If un-permitted work should cause fire, other damage or injury, the homeowner has been forewarned-you should not expect to have a claim covered.  You will be liable in a worse case scenario, and the contractor can be fined $50,000 in the blink of an eye.  I have no idea why anyone would avoid a $100 permit.  I always use a master electrician who pulls a permit for the project. And with a a certified electrician on site, it's a good opportunity to get other odds and ends done that you always wanted to tackle.  It can all be done under the same permit as long as you give a little notice to the electrician.

Keep the Tub or Convert to Shower?

One of the most tossed about decisions I seem to get from clients, especially in the family bathroom is weather to install a new acrylic tub or convert to a full shower.  The kids are grown up, everyone in the house showers, but they just can't let the tub go and are worried about eliminating the tub completely for "resale value".
    

A former tub area converted to shower.  Could you get used to this?


A simple question seems to propel the decision: "When are you selling?"  Almost without exception, there is no timeline for selling in the foreseeable future.  As soon as the homeowner hears what is coming out of their mouths, they realize their concern is unfounded.  There is no reason to sacrifice your day to day comfort and lifestyle for some imaginary person ten or fifteen years down the road who may or may not want a tub to remain in the bathroom, even the main bathroom.  

Showers are becoming the norm by far.  Ten years from now, it may be a person who also loves showers who is sold on the full shower in your bathroom.  There is just no predicting who is going to buy your home a decade or even from years from now.  Don't even try.  Do it for yourself.      

Now, if it's the comfort of the current tub that is the issue (and it is probably a builder's steel enamel clunker that you've been stuck with), then a nice new, ergonomically designed acrylic tub might turn you into a bath person again, so do spend time testing out new tubs for the feel.  But if you just know your lifestyle makes you a shower person, then by all means go for the full shower conversion.   

I'd say 90% of the time when we renovate two bathrooms in a home, one of them is being converted from a tub into a full shower and the tub is being eliminated.  The existing ensuite likely has a separate tub and shower in most modern houses, so that becomes the default tub.  But even in older homes where the ensuite also has just the tub/shower as a single unit, it's still 30-40% of the time that both tubs are being converted into showers, so you will be part of the norm on the market down the road, if that is your concern. 

A shower conversion can be $15-1800 more than a tub replacement however, to account for the substantial base and waterproofing as well as for the custom frameless glass usually installed, so consider that as well.

So, to sum up-if you are on the fence, picture your existing tub area with a larger, more comfortable acrylic tub, maybe the bulkhead removed and a light above to brighten the whole area up.  If you think this change will entice you and your family back to using the tub for bathing rather than just as a shower receptor, then by all means stick with a tub set up. If you are a grown family with a busy lifestyle, need to get clean then out of the bathroom. staying put in the house for a while, treat yourself to a conversion to full shower.