5 "Dream" Bathroom Upgrades You Should NEVER Get

Comments · 64

• SA

  @sandratierney8786 · 3 months ago

  The other thing about free standing tubs is the cost of a free standing faucet!

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• SA

  @Sapere_aude-u3q · 1 month ago

  I live in Germany. We have excellent plumbers here. They are very well trained. So, the majority topics you describe here as potential problems are actually no issues at all when you have a good plumber. Many of the features you showed here are pretty normal where I live.

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• CO

  @Coppertop-x5g · 3 months ago

  I have a zero entry shower and would never give it up.  Our home is a custom build 4 yrs ago - built for a retirement home to age in place.  The shower is 8' x 10' - If the shower is built correctly there won't be  water leaking any where.  I live in the desert where winter temps go to freezing temps, and we get snow.  My shower isn't cold during or after a shower. We have 'zone' hvac and warm the bathroom when we get into the shower. We also have multiple shower heads, including a handheld. There's no pressure problem.  Also, using a tankless hot water heater is energy efficient since it heats water on demand not continuously keeping it hot 24/7.  It's not possible to run out of hot water.    All the control handles for the shower heads are at the entry side wall to the shower and the heads are mounted on the opposite, meaning we walk into a shower that's running at the right temp and not get in the shower and get blasted by a shower that's not running the correct or comfortable temps.  The shower really has no negatives.  It was our design thought to allow using a wheelchair or walker if the need ever came to be.  2 months after moving in, my husb was in an accident where he required hip surgery and came home with a walker.  He rolled right in, was able to move the walker aside so it didn't get wet or in his way, he showered, and got out alone. No way would he have been able to accomplish that in a regular home with standard bathing.    The shower is also easy to clean and virtually no maintenance - I have textured matte tile on the walls, the floors are small 2"x2" with stainfree grout 100% solids epoxy grout. Unlike porous cement-based options, epoxy is completely non-porous, waterproof, and naturally resistant to stains, grease, and harsh chemicals. It never requires sealing and it doesn't crack in the many small earthquakes like my grout did in SoCal (I'm from San Diego too).  The biggest benefit of the shower is bathing my 70 pound golden retriever with no mess, he can shake the water as much as he wants without splashing the rest of the house.   We built from the ground up, but this shower would be very possible in an existing home doing a remodel.

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• JE

  @jefffree6990 · 1 month ago (edited)

  DCOF (friction) is the measure of how slippery or not  a tile.  Check that it is greater than  .42

  2

• PA

  @paulwinge4173 · 3 months ago

  When we remodeled our primary bath, we selected several of the design choices you listed. We worked with a highly recommended contractor who made sure we didn't make any poor choices. Wall-mounted facets, a curbless shower, and a free-standing tub. The faucets (for the vanities and the tub work well, but we were mindful of the 'reach' to ensure they matched the sinks and tub. The shower required jackhammering out a section of the concrete foundation to ensure proper drainage, and we chose a frameless door to contain the water inside the shower. We don't use the tub, but included it simply for resale value. And to your point, our first choices were the floor & wall tiles.  We are thrilled with the result.

  3

• MS

  @Msfelixthecatz · 3 months ago (edited)

  It's funny; the travertine you're planning to take out is what we're currently putting in.  We're renovating our big bathroom to be Tuscan style, the walls, ceilings, and floors will all be tiled.  We're using that grout that doesn't stain,  and put in a curbless shower (correctly sloped, etc).  It does take a ton of planning and foresight, but hopefully we'll have no surprises, lol.  Another thing we did (because I am very tired of bathroom cabinets that wind up developing warped shelves-ours was totally unusable) was order an Amish bathroom cabinet.  That baby will outlast the house, and is GORGEOUS!

  1

• SA

  @Sapere_aude-u3q · 1 month ago (edited)

  My faucet is also wall mounted. A beautiful Axor Citerio. I definitely don‘t regret it. Of course the length and the height need to be chosen appropriately. That’s why you have professionals installing it. The sink is so much easier to clean.

  3

• LU

  @lunamikx · 3 months ago

  My dream bathroom is a Japanese Wet Room. They a separate place for the shower and the toilet but most importantly it's open enough to be wheelchair accessible.

  3

• NO

  @nonaise1629 · 1 month ago

  Biggest issue with bathrooms is poor ventilation, no exhaust fans, too small, or improperly installed.  After that, most people just need a clean, functional bathroom, which works, can be cleaned with ordinary cleaners, won't leak, and not generating fights over water pressure or draining the hot water tank.  Heated floors, even a small section where you exit the shower, makes a lot of sense and they're not super spendy (well under $1k installed).  We are currently working on a tiny master bath complete gut & replace all, including the copper supply lines.  Going to keep it all very simple, and tile will be lighter colored, let the medium maple vanity be the touch of warm color, and after that we as well as all future owners can spice it up with towels, rugs, artwork, etc.  I'm not going to waste one dime on fancy tile or even light fixtures.  Maybe some glass knobs for the vanity, and a wider-set faucet.  That's it!  We have 2 or 3 more bathrooms to gut/replace, as well as kitchen expansion, and all flooring including hardwood.  The cost of labor is sky high....not going to waste it on anything fancy, just good solid basic long-lived tile, wood, and let the decor come from furnishings, not the expensive to replace surfaces.  Get good long-life surfaces and when we sell 10-20 years down the road they will still look new.

  1

• RI

  @Rianewjob01 · 1 month ago

  Helpful video. Thanks.

  1

• AL

  @Alicia-ij6gt · 1 month ago

  Wall-mounted taps have one advantage over vanity-mounted taps. Drips from wet hands don't dry up at their base, causing water scale buildup. Properly dimensioned/positioned, they are better.

• MA

  @markp1612 · 3 months ago

  Excellent video Penny. I'm guessing that you cover toilets in another video but it's a critical part of the bath remodel. There's the rabbit hole of design so the bowl stays cleaner and simply works better per flush. Then you have elongated vs round and height choices. One non-negotiable that I recommend is side skirts to make cleaning an easier task.

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