Unexpected bathroom renovation

by Patti Boker Elkon on October 15, 2009

Subway tile 2

A small leak behind the shower body turned into big problems in our New York rental apartment.  This unexpected bathroom renovation was a costly surprise and I looked for ways to make it more economical.  Visiting a known tile resource in the area gave us a clear idea of what path to choose in terms of design, we went with “subway tiles“, named for the fact that this is the tile used in New York City’s subway system.

The fact that we chose subway tiles saved us big time.  By choosing this commonly found tile we cut our cost from the $4.85 a sq.ft down to $1.67 a sq. ft.  Instead of buying from the tile store we found the same product at The Home Depot.

Here is the tub area after the plumbers got their hands on it.  plumbers are notorious for ripping up the place in an unruly fashion.  Their only concern is to get to the leak. With an odd size tile, finding a match was not an option so instead of a patch job we had to do a re-tile for the entire bathroom.

Before

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More tile mess.

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After

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Shown below is a “rope” detail that we chose as a decorative accent to give the bathroom a little pizazz.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Rebecca October 15, 2009 at 10:51 pm

Sorry about your plumbing issue but the redo looks great. It’s also interesting to hear that you found the subway tile so much cheaper at home depot. As we’re currently looking for backsplash tile, I know the temptation to go with the fancy stuff at the high end stores but you’ve inspired me to take a second look at HD’s products!

Thanks!
Rebecca

Reply

Patti Boker October 16, 2009 at 12:07 am

Rebecca,
We here at Tchochkes are always glad to inspire.
~ Patti

Reply

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