Woodland Bathroom Shower

Having specific goals in mind — replacing the closet with a shower — was a little tricky, given the space available for the shower. An additional complication is the wooden door casing to the bedroom was right next to the closet, so we were concerned about the potential for additional work (and therefore money) that might be required to actually move this door over a couple of feet.  Remember also we were doing this legally with permits and all of this was based on the assumption it would be within code.

We spoke with one plumber about the the job who said the door would have to be moved. We liked this plumber, he had completed some work for us and had thought we would keep him on for this job. Somehow we felt it was necessary to continue with estimates and other opinions.

After some investigation, we finally contracted with a local company who were able to offer us an option that would not involve moving the door and could still provide the shower. And at an agreeable price.

Because our kitchen, located below this bedroom/ bathroom area has a slightly dropped ceiling to compensate for recessed lighting, we knew there would be adequate space for the bathroom pipes. However the odd size of the closet would prohibit the use of any standard-sized pre-molded shower base.

It seemed we were faced with the option of having the space custom tiled or use a solid surface that could be customized. We ended up choosing Remée Casting (a company right here in Penn Yan) for the shower in a “cultured marble” option.  In all honesty there was something that did and still does make me rebel in this selection.  But in reality given the customization needed it really did offer the best option to meet the goal and we went ahead and ordered it.  Above all we did and continue to have a budget in mind for all the updates.

For the shower, we also ordered brushed nickel Moen fixtures: a  seven-inch “rainshower”  shower head, and a hand held shower in the Kingsley design (with wall bracket).  Naturally we also ordered matching hardware for the rest of the bathroom.

What we contracted for and detail we did not realize at the time ended up costing us.  We wanted the shower to be thermostatically controlled (the valve needs a strong supply of both hot and cold for temperature mix) which makes sense to us with guests.   When we were asked if we wanted both the shower and hand held to work simultaneously we said “sure” not realizing the lack of a diverter valve would also contribute to the need for larger pipes. Ultimately we had to replace pipes with .75″ (inside diameter) width in order for all of this to work properly.  Ultimately this added another $500 [Llewellyn pulled the amended contract from the file, make that an addition of almost $2k] or so to the job.  It would have been good to know in advance, but honestly no regrets in terms of the results.

Results?  We are thrilled with how this shower operates.  We opted for a glass door which is  is wonderful,  and I am getting used to the cultured marble, though I would have probably ordered a different color had I realized what the final look would be.  I will say the success of the overall look and function should in part be attributed to Jeff, one of the contractors.  Jeff really is an artist with high standards of craftsmanship and an amazing eye for detail.