Bathroom remodel by one women - Complete renovation

Hello friends,

Today I wanted to share with you how I remodeled this bathroom.

This house was built in 1973, so it is almost 50 years old.

The shower did not have a hot water and the tiles were loose, not to mention the toilet water tank leaked constantly.

There was nothing I could really save, so everything needed to be replaced.

I got several estimates for remodeling this bathroom, but I realized that I could not get close to affording it, but I could not wait to change this bathroom.

So, I decided to do it myself and started to learn from pros on YouTube.

This was my 1st bathroom project, and I was nervous about the plumbing and electricity. I am extremely grateful for those amazing people who teach and share their knowledge on YouTube.

My goal for this bathroom is for it to last a very long time with no problem, so quality was my number one priority. Everything I used in this bathroom was very durable, beautiful, and still budget friendly.

When you demo, please be careful because there could be electrical wires and plumbing pipes behind the walls.

It can be a very messy job.

There were many times when I was scared to look at myself in the mirror.

It is super important that you do not breathe in the dust. It is always a good idea to clean as you go and keep your workspace neat.

When you are doing the electricity, make sure the power is off and always double check just in case. Since it is a 70s house, all the electrical wires are aluminum, so I attached a short section of copper cables to the end of the aluminum wire at every connection point because copper is better and safer. This process is called pig tailing.

If your home is built in 80s, 70s or earlier, it is a good idea to know if your home has aluminum or copper wires.

I was planning to put a pocket door inside the wall in the bathroom, but after I saw 4 studs there it seems serious and this wall could be a load bearing wall, so I decided to put a pocket door in front of the wall. I don’t want to mess with a load bearing wall because it holds the horizontal beam that carries your house weight.

I wanted the pocket of the door completely sealed because I live in Arizona and scorpions could find their way in.

After I watched numerous videos about how to build shower pan curbs on YouTube, I chose the method using no screws or nails used inside or on top of the curb. This is because I wanted this shower to be the most waterproof it could be.

Recessed medicine cabinet is nice to have in the bathroom, because if it isn’t there, stuff will be on the counter top. It’s surprisingly simple to install. Just make sure to inspect the wall where you want to install the medicine cabinet. I wanted another recessed medicine cabinet over the toilet, but a plumbing pipe was there.

It is extremely important to mix mud, cement, mortar, or grout exactly as the instructions say. Measure everything very carefully by using a measurement cup or bucket that are inexpensive and you can find in any painting department.

One time when I mixed my mortar, I eye-balled the water amount and learned my lesson hard way.

Clean your tools right away after using them, especially with mortar and grout related projects. I left my tools in a water bucket overnight thinking they will be as easy as cake batter in the morning. But they hardened more in the water and I spent 2 hours trying to clean my tools.

This bathroom is small, and the shower is quite narrow, so I wanted the shower wall to look deep, dimensional and reflective. So turned this wall into picture glass wall. This wall was the easiest part of the project, yet it turned out to be the statement piece. I will have a separate video about this wall so make sure to look out for it.

I find that small tiles are perfect for the shower floor because it would not be slippery and easy to slope.

Since we could not get hot water in the shower, I realized that we needed a new shower valve. So, I learned to solder from YouTube. Honestly, I was scared but now it feels great. I never knew I could do this until I tried.

Waterproofing was the most important part of the project.

I filled every screw hole and seam with silicone. Then I applied the Red Guard.

I really love this product. After 3 layers of Red Guard being applied, It looked and felt like a thick seamless plastic.

I chose big tiles for the shower wall because it would be faster and easier for a rookie like me.

Also, this tile leveling kit is a must have and I couldn’t imagine installing the tiles without this.