[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It is around the house. Don't ruin the beautiful bathroom you're putting in. Start with getting before you start that remodel project, get your water tested and get your water system dialed in so you don't have to worry about hard water spots on shower doors, fixtures, all that stuff gets your water quality fixed first before the remodel so that.

[00:00:30] Eric Goranson: That way when you put all the new plate pieces in, if you have iron or sulfur or hard water, it's one of those things. Get it taken care of now 'cause it's just gonna do damage later. Don't want to see that happen. Now, here's another one that I want to talk about, and this is a key before we get into the planning stage, which will be in the next segment.

[00:00:51] Eric Goranson: But there's a trend out there of people not putting shower doors in, or when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a. [00:01:00] We've got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to the Around the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education.

[00:01:10] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. Well, on hour number two, I wanted to talk about the secrets to bathroom design before you remodel. All those things that need to happen, and I don't care if you're gonna be starting out a project where it's a D I Y project, or you've found the best contractor known to mankind that you're absolutely in love with.

[00:01:29] Eric Goranson: These are all things that, uh, well should help you get things dialed in. Now that's the key. Today's episode is brought to you by Root Quencher and root quencher.com. Make sure that, uh, if you've got a watering system out there where you're putting water and you've got trees maybe on a slope or they're not doing so, well talk to root Quencher because they put water down at the roots, not at the top where it's running off down the hill.

[00:01:53] Eric Goranson: If you want healthier trees, shrubs, and bushes. Check out root cher.com. It'll save you money on that [00:02:00] water bill and you got healthier plants at the end. Root cher.com. Well, let's talk about the secrets to bathroom design here, because you know my background, I'm a certified kitchen designer. I have done bathroom remodeling and design for about 30 years out there.

[00:02:16] Eric Goranson: So I've designed thousands of bathrooms and these are things that I've learned over the years that have really. Probably help people realize where those pitfalls are that can cost you money and in a worst case scenario, force you to have to do it again. So the first one here is an important one, and it's a hard one to talk about.

[00:02:40] Eric Goranson: This is understand your abilities. If you are going to go in. Do the tile work, the tub, the plumbing, the electrical, the flooring, the drywall work, the ventilation, all of those things, and the electrical that go into that bathroom. Are you capable in all of those [00:03:00] fields? Can you do it well? Can you do it right enough to not cause a water leak, cause an electrical fire, cause damage to yourself or others?

[00:03:14] Eric Goranson: Know your abilities. Now I'll be the first to say, Hey, take on that powder room bathroom model. Figure it out, learn, do it. Right? What I'm talking about is when you decide to do your master bathroom model and you gut it to the studs, do you have the skillset to put it back? And this is where remodeling comes in.

[00:03:33] Eric Goranson: If you don't, that's okay. You have two choices. You can either learn and figure it out, take it step by step, or you can hire the best contract you can find out there. But understanding your abilities is one of the biggest keys in home improvement. So you don't have to buy materials twice. You bought it once.

[00:03:52] Eric Goranson: Then you bring in the professional to do it right for you, and it gets thrown away and they start over with more materials. So this is a big [00:04:00] pitfall for you to watch out for. So if you understand your abilities, awesome. Whether that's good or wow, I'm bringing in a pro, it's okay. Just be aware. Now let's talk about the biggest mistakes that happen in bathroom remodeling.

[00:04:18] Eric Goranson: And these are the ones that are probably the most expensive, and this is where the mistakes happen. And this happens either from a d I Y person or a contractor that you hired thinking that you found the best contractor and you didn't. The biggest mistake that I see, the number one, Is not waterproofing, A walk-in shower or a walk-in bathtub or just a regular bathtub correctly.

[00:04:47] Eric Goranson: So the walk-in shower or a tub, shower, not doing that correctly is one of the biggest mistakes where I see in a bathroom. It's caused to start over. Now let's talk about this for a minute. [00:05:00] If you're doing a shower system, you've gotta have waterproofing behind the tile. 'cause tile and grout are not waterproof, so you really gotta dive in and do this correctly.

[00:05:13] Eric Goranson: Now there's a ton of great systems, whether it's Wheaty, whether it's rx, whether it's Schluter, those are three great systems right there you can use to waterproof it behind that. My first thing is if you're putting drywall up behind the shower, whether it's greenboard or not, I'm gonna tell you, you got the wrong material back there.

[00:05:36] Eric Goranson: I think it's just the wrong material period. And I don't like the mud set pans unless you're doing something crazy custom where that's kind of your only option. And I don't like it where people in California and in the Southwest put down hot tar. I think those are all old technologies and like many old technologies, their time has passed, in my opinion, especially when you [00:06:00] can install the proper system and have something that's gonna last longer.

[00:06:04] Eric Goranson: 'cause it's got a little bit of the flexibility so it doesn't crack and have problems later. So really understanding the waterproofing, whether you're hiring a contractor or not, whether you're gonna take this on and say, this is a D I Y project I can handle. I want you to understand the waterproofing system that you should find and hire your contractor based on that.

[00:06:28] Eric Goranson: I don't want them to come in, put a hardy backer board, throw a masica on the wall and throw some tile up. That's a huge mistake, and that's a mistake that's gonna cost you a lot in the future because when that shower fails, you're now paying for all that stuff to get hauled off, and you gotta pay for it to go to the dump, and then you gotta buy the material over again.

[00:06:51] Eric Goranson: No one wants to pay $5,000 for a cheap shower, remodel and then turn off to pay to do it right, another seven to 10. [00:07:00] It's, it's a, a huge waste of time. Uh, money as well. So just something to consider. The biggest problems I see is right here. This is that. Gotcha. And this is really where, where most of the contractor issues happen.

[00:07:17] Eric Goranson: Where, you know, like the sledgehammer contractor that got busted for ripping off Amber, that was on a poor tile job that was not waterproof nor installed correctly. So this is where you want to have that C t i tile setter. Somebody that's got the training, the testing, and the accreditation to be doing that.

[00:07:36] Eric Goranson: This is where you want the professional. So something to consider understanding as well, how to deal with a window that's maybe in a shower or a bathtub enclosure. That's a huge area where not having the right system and not having it waterproof correctly is a big deal. They can easily be done. They need to be tempered [00:08:00] glass.

[00:08:00] Eric Goranson: They need to be in the right location depending on your building code, and they need to have the right ceiling system around them so you're not dropping water in right behind it. So that's a big one right there. It can work correctly, but that's where it's, now here's the thing here is getting the right and correct materials to install it on time and correctly.

[00:08:23] Eric Goranson: Is another part of this. There are plenty of great contractors and tile places out there that sell high quality materials. Generally speaking, I'm gonna say when you're thinking of tile, when you walk into the home improvement stores, you are finding the cheapest and lowest in product that might not perform the best, but it's gonna get you on price.

[00:08:45] Eric Goranson: Now, price isn't always what I'm thinking about when I'm. Expensive tile on the wall. I want to have the right masac. I want to go, man, if I spent 20 extra bucks, I wouldn't have to spend $5,000 more to do this again. So pay attention to the materials, [00:09:00] pay attention that they're installed correctly, and following the manufacturer's recommended instructions.

[00:09:06] Eric Goranson: There are times that I have been there with professionals that knew what they're doing, and the product rep that was on site went, Hey, we gotta prime that before we put the mast on it or the thinset. And you go, what? And that is where the professionals really have to play a part of this to make sure that you've got the right deal.

[00:09:26] Eric Goranson: This is complex. You wanna know that you have the right answers and the right product for that install. We come back. We got so much more to talk about the secret to bathroom design before your model. Just as soon as.

[00:09:57] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is Stick and Satchel from [00:10:00] Steel Panther and you are listening to Around The House with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:25] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round The House Show, where we help you get the most outta your home through information education. Doesn't matter if you're listening on the radio. Thanks for tuning in. We're one of our many thousands of podcast listeners out there. Appreciate all of you today. We've been talking about the secrets to bathroom design before we remodel 'em.

[00:10:41] Eric Goranson: Before we get into that, just wanted to say the ways to track us down, head over to around the house online.com for the website and you can generally find everything there, including the television show. Uh, our YouTube videos, we've got over a hundred of those. So if you're looking for made in U Ss a products [00:11:00] to d i y projects you can tackle and new products as well.

[00:11:04] Eric Goranson: One other fun little thing I've been doing is I've been going on Amazon. Buying the cheapest tools, products, things like that. And we're testing to see if it works. Does the $20 drill work does the $30 pocket chainsaw? It's powered by a battery work, you know? How about the, uh, flex tape flood protection?

[00:11:27] Eric Goranson: What does that do? We got a lot of that stuff coming up that we're gonna be testing. So each week we are testing a new product to see if I can break it. And if it's doing what it says, and then I'll give you a, uh, star review on it as well. All that. You can find those videos over, uh, at around the house online.com.

[00:11:44] Eric Goranson: And then just go to the, uh, basically just go to, uh, YouTube and find our playlist from there. And that's over on the, uh, Fox 12, uh, TV page. But the links are all over and around the house online.com. Well, we've been talking about, um, you know, understanding your abilities, [00:12:00] making sure that you understand.

[00:12:02] Eric Goranson: What some of the biggest mistakes that happen in a bathroom are. Before we start talking about how to plan this out, I just wanted to talk about the big mistakes that happen to get expensive. And another one, and it comes down to planning, understanding the details of clearances so things don't run into each other.

[00:12:20] Eric Goranson: You know, do you get a round toilet bowl that is shorter or an elongated so you have more space? Does that get in the way of a shower door or a bathroom door? What are the clearances for everything, because sometimes in many bathrooms you run into issues that really get to be a problem, especially when you've got like that hall bath that you've put a, a shower in instead of a bathtub.

[00:12:44] Eric Goranson: You can have swinging door issues with shower doors and a door that's coming in maybe from a hallway, and you've got things hitting each other, and that's, that's a bad day, especially when you're putting things back together and you realize you might have to move things and that can get expensive [00:13:00] quick.

[00:13:01] Eric Goranson: So understanding all the details and clearances and door swings, you know, can you get the drawer open next to the vanity? Will it hit the door handle? All those kind of different things. Will it work? Is the door trim getting in the way? You know, those are things to deal with. Now, another thing that I want you to really think about, and it's one of the most important in the bathroom outside of the other safety, is ventilation.

[00:13:23] Eric Goranson: You need to have a high C F M vent fan that is going to vent to the exterior. Uh, check your local building code, but in many places you'll have to have a timer on that that'll run for at least 20 minutes. So, uh, that way it can evacuate all that high moisture content outta the bathroom after you're done.

[00:13:41] Eric Goranson: And, uh, that will work well for you. So make sure that's vented, vented correctly outside. Just having a window doesn't count. You wanna make sure you have that and then have a big enough space under the door or another air intake. So that that air can come into the room and replace it. Because if you think about it, if you [00:14:00] get a 90 C F M bathroom fan that is 90 cubic feet per minute of air, you need to have a place where you can make up that air to come in.

[00:14:09] Eric Goranson: So under the door, maybe putting another vent in over the shower or something to bring air in. That way you've got a place to move the air out and it will drag that moisture with it. 'cause if you put it where you only have just a small gap under the door, And what happens is, is you're not moving enough air.

[00:14:27] Eric Goranson: You're, you're, you're just, it's trying to drink a, uh, a, you know, a thick ice cream shake and a coffee straw. It's pretty tough to get that all through there. So something to consider, but make sure you've got that ventilation dialed in completely. And the location of the fan goes well is, uh, you know, for me, I have my steam shower, so I wanted to put that fan right by the door.

[00:14:50] Eric Goranson: So when I opened the door, it had the best, easiest place to get out. So those are keys. Where are you putting that? Is it going over the toilet because it's a powder room? Is it going right in [00:15:00] front of the shower door or next to the tub? Or where is that going? Make sure you've got that in the right place.

[00:15:06] Eric Goranson: So that is key. Now, here's one of the biggest mistakes that I see people make on their home is I'm gonna replace that bathroom, but they have not dealt with their existing water quality issues. Now, if you've got hard water or mineral content in your water that is leaving marks on things, please do yourself a favor.

[00:15:28] Eric Goranson: Don't ruin the beautiful bathroom you're putting in. Start with getting before you start that remodel project. Get your water tested and get your water system dialed in so you don't have to worry about hard water spots on shower doors and fixtures and all that stuff. Get your water quality fixed first.

[00:15:50] Eric Goranson: Before the remodel, so that way when you put all the new plate pieces in, if you have iron or sulfur or hard water, it's one [00:16:00] of those things. Get it taken care of now 'cause it's just gonna do damage later. We don't want to see that happening. Now here's another one that I want to talk about, and this is a key before we get into the planning stage, which will be in the next segment.

[00:16:14] Eric Goranson: But there's a trend out there of people not putting shower doors in or creating these big wet bathroom areas. Let me tell you the problem. The problem is it leads for a cold shower. So the, the general purpose of that shower door is one to stop water, but two, it keeps heat in. That's the beautiful part of that.

[00:16:35] Eric Goranson: So by keeping heat in, that makes for a warmer shower experience. You don't have to have the water on you all the time. So what you want to do is have a shower door or a curtain there to make sure that it's keeping that heat in. Otherwise, you have to get the whole room humidity filled and hot, which is not a comfortable shower.

[00:16:57] Eric Goranson: So I'm gonna say about 85% of my customers [00:17:00] that I have worked on design projects with that said, I don't wanna put a shower door in. I just wanna leave this open concept every time I have left them an option to be able to put a door on later. At 85% of the time, they took that option later because they didn't like the cold air in the shower.

[00:17:21] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you've got something that can steam trap in there so that way it keeps it in there and it'll actually reduce your water 'cause you don't have to have the water on high and hot the time just to try to keep yourself warm. So think about that. That is something that can be, you know, troublesome and if you're doing a heated tile floor.

[00:17:41] Eric Goranson: Run that in the shower too. You can do that in many cases. So think about places that you can put heated tile. It will also help, you know, dry out that shower later. So if you do it there in the bench and then put in like an air modest system, which is that shower drying system, if you do something like that, it's gonna be [00:18:00] completely dialed in.

[00:18:01] Eric Goranson: So this is gonna be part of what we talk about your next segment, which is that planning stage that, okay, how do I design this? How do I plan this out? How do I save money? Where do I spend my money? These are all things that are super important when you're tackling that project, and I don't care if you've got the contractor or you're gonna tackle it yourself.

[00:18:19] Eric Goranson: These are all things that are important, and we'll talk about some of the key products that we're starting to see out there that can make things a little bit easier. And, uh, what's expensive, what's not, what can help you and where to spend that money all coming up and around the house in just a few minutes.

[00:18:35] Eric Goranson: Alright, everybody, we'll be right back after these important messages. Don't go anyway. A lot more bathroom design went around the house.

[00:18:59] Eric Goranson: Hey, [00:19:00] this is Ron Kehl, the metal cowboy from Kehl, the Ron Kehl Band. And Steeler, we are rocking around the house with Eric G. Ray is your best. Thank you. Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope to get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today.

[00:19:18] Eric Goranson: If you want more information about us, head over to around the house online.com. We've been talking about, uh, the secrets to bathroom design before your model. And we'll get into colors here in the next little bit, but right now I wanted to talk about planning and about getting this laid out correctly so you get the right materials, the right products in the right places.

[00:19:41] Eric Goranson: So first off, you know when you're designing this out, you really have to get all the pieces together before you pull the trigger. 'cause you want to have all the materials on site when you start day one. So you need to sit down and really. Plan ahead. Now, some of the things that when you want to build for the future, which is an [00:20:00] important thing to keep in mind, and maybe today you don't want a bidet toilet seat, but I think later you might.

[00:20:08] Eric Goranson: So always, when you're doing that electrical, put another G F C I outlet right next to the toilets. You can put in that heated toilet seat B day down the road if you're concerned. Now all it takes is a shoulder surgery where you fall, you get hurt, or you're sick. And, um, you have a choice of either having that bidet toilet seat or you've got the choice of having somebody come in and do that for you, and that is gonna be much less dignified versus you handling it yourself.

[00:20:38] Eric Goranson: So that little outlet can be a lifesaver when the walls open up, put it in there, and then making sure as well that you've got that, uh, you've got a place for a heated towel rack if you wanna reduce your laundry. Those heated towel racks can save you a ton of laundry each year. Basically they save you a, a load of towels each week and that adds up.

[00:20:58] Eric Goranson: So make sure you've got the [00:21:00] time to go through and add these right circuits in the bathroom, including one for possibly for heated floors, and that's something to consider once you put heated floors in, you'll never not have 'em in there. It's something that really keeps it nice and warm and comfortable.

[00:21:15] Eric Goranson: As well as, uh, much healthier. 'cause you've got, uh, that moisture bacon off outta there and it dries that bathroom up even faster than it did before. So those are things to really consider. Now, as far as planning goes, I want you to think about what you want this to look like when you start. Now. Jump on Pinterest, take a look.

[00:21:38] Eric Goranson: Do your due diligence of the colors. That you want to go in there, and if you want it to fit the style of your house, you know, if you've got a mid-century modern house, maybe look at mid-century style. If you've got a traditional one, maybe look at the traditional stuff. Now, there's not a rule saying you don't have to, but if you're gonna go for this and you want the mass curb appeal, you know, [00:22:00] inside your house, if you want that to be the, the, the beautiful place that fits the house, you want to get the max return out of it.

[00:22:07] Eric Goranson: Make sure that it fits the style of the house. So that's another key right there. Now, when you're talking about this, planning goes a long way. Think about the materials you want to use. Does this have a shower in it? Okay, do I want a tile shower? Do I wanna put like slab, porcelain, or quartz or coin in the walls?

[00:22:27] Eric Goranson: Do I want a custom shower pan? Do I want to have it where there's a curb there where you step up over it into it? Do you want a curb less? You know, how do you want that to work out? Those are keys right there. Lighting. Do you have enough lighting in there? And here's what I recommend. If you are living in this space and you're gonna remodel it, take the time and have a notebook on the counter in there.

[00:22:51] Eric Goranson: Do I have enough counter space? I wish I had more counter space. Just write down your wishlist. Wow, the lighting's horrible. What I have to jiggle the handle on the toilet. You know, all those things. [00:23:00] Write 'em down, get 'em dialed in. That way you can address those things. 'cause maybe you'll forget about it later.

[00:23:05] Eric Goranson: Oh yeah, that's right. That always bugged me. Write it down. Take some notes, get that planned out. Now here's the next thing with this. You need to have this kind of a cohesive look throughout this. So figure out your shower first is my thing. Figure out the tub first. What do you do in there? And then chase it out from there.

[00:23:27] Eric Goranson: 'cause maybe you've got, you know, two or three colors in that tub shower. Well, maybe you want that shower floor to carry out into the room, so it looks like it's seamless with a curbless shower. So you wanna make sure you get that dialed in. So get your 30,000 foot level dialed in first. Get it figured out, right, and then start distilling it down to the pieces and parts that you have so you get that final picture, and now here's some of the problems you run into that you need to consider.

[00:23:56] Eric Goranson: One, you can't do that chandelier over the bathtub in many [00:24:00] cases unless you've got a 20 foot ceiling in there. Why? Even though it's on about every Pinterest bathroom page, they've made it so you can't be standing in the tub and reach out and touch an electric device, which would be like throwing the toaster in the bathtub with you.

[00:24:12] Eric Goranson: No need for a horror movie here. Let's make sure and uh, not have it where you can grab something electric when you're bathing in water. So if you wanna do that big chandelier over the top, you better have the right ceiling height to do it. 'cause otherwise it's gonna be a no-go. Now, I've seen contractors put in blank out plates where they put the switch in all ready to go, but there's no fixture and the homeowner does it later.

[00:24:36] Eric Goranson: That's one thing. But when you've got a building inspector and you want to be safe about this, nobody wants to be slipping and accidentally grab a fixture and shock themselves, possibly take their own life by doing that. That's never a good idea. So even though it's against building code and we see people do it, that's probably not the right answer for anybody else.

[00:24:57] Eric Goranson: And if you had somebody get hurt in there, [00:25:00] guess what? It's your liability. So it's something to consider with that. You know, you're really best served by the time that you plan this stuff out. Make your materials list, understand what's going in there. And even if you've got a contractor doing it, you need to understand what's going in there.

[00:25:16] Eric Goranson: You know, are you getting a. $199 Home Depot brand toilet. Are you getting a $400 Toto? Are you getting a $6,000 toto? A $10,000 toto? You see where I'm going? Just because there's a toilet on there. It could be 150 bucks or 10,500 bucks. That should be spelled out in your plan and your budget. If you've got a contractor doing this, awesome.

[00:25:43] Eric Goranson: In your planning stage, I want you. To be working with the contractor to make sure every little piece is identified. It's the same thing as we talked about the kitchen last week. When you're dealing with these products and these projects, I want you to be able to look [00:26:00] down and see that every single thing, every materials on this list, what color knobs and handles, what grade do they $2 Home Depot specials, or are they, you know, $40 Baldwin ones?

[00:26:12] Eric Goranson: What are they doing? Are they $200 ones? What are they? Understanding what the greater materials are that are going in this are gonna be what define that project. Because you could have somebody come in and say, Hey, I'm gonna give you a a hundred thousand dollars master bathroom model and you're paying a big penny for it.

[00:26:31] Eric Goranson: You need to know where those products are and what great a products are. 'cause if they're putting in laminate countertops and a fiberglass tub shower, they're keeping a lot of money in their pocket in most cases. So you wanna make sure that you've got those things to find out. And what's going in?

[00:26:47] Eric Goranson: Everything from pink colors to trim. Are they doing a tile base around there, you know, or is it a wood base? You know, on many bathrooms, I think the tile base is a smart way to go. 'cause you can call it in and [00:27:00] uh, you've got a semi waterproof area there that's gonna help protect the walls. So these are all things that you should be considering on this kind of project.

[00:27:09] Eric Goranson: Planning is the biggest key to having a successful project is getting that plan dialed in and making sure that everyone is on that same plan. So if you're the contractor yourself and you're like, I'm d I ying this whole thing, awesome. Just make sure that you know, start to finish what's going on. Okay.

[00:27:29] Eric Goranson: You're gonna tile your first shower. Great. Do you understand how to get the slope for the shower floor? Do you understand how that's gonna go? You understand that you've gotta put the waterproof again behind the shower and when you, uh, go to grout it, you, anytime you change correct directions, you don't put grout in there, put in silicone.

[00:27:48] Eric Goranson: So again, there's all these little tips of the tricks of the trade. I wanna make sure that you, your contractor or you the D Iyer have understood, 'cause there's a lot of these things out there, and making [00:28:00] sure that those go together is gonna be the key to your success. Now, there's a lot of other things you can add in that bathroom here as well.

[00:28:06] Eric Goranson: There's accessories, there's design elements. There's a lot of different things. There's mirrors that have TVs in 'em. You can do a tile, backsplash, floor to ceiling behind the vanity. There's a lot of little things going on here. But you understanding them as part of the plan is the key to saving money, not doing things twice.

[00:28:25] Eric Goranson: We'll, right back with some more tips just as soon as.[00:29:00]

[00:29:01] Eric Goranson: It's the end of the show now. Drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again. Welcome back to the Around The House Show where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. We've been talking about the secrets to bathroom design before you remodel.

[00:29:17] Eric Goranson: And let's talk about some safety issues here in the design process. I wanna make sure that you understand, for instance, slick floors, polished marble, you know, any one of those stone floors, including some of the more polished ones or a bad idea for the bathroom. You know, anything, um, any one of the limestones, any one of those out there are a really bad idea for a bathroom.

[00:29:44] Eric Goranson: Even marble can be troublesome. Here is why most of those stones have a nice polished finish to 'em. This is where I will tell you, if you want that look, embrace it, but change over to porcelain. That's the right slip coefficient, so you're [00:30:00] not eating it on a polished floor. Can't tell you how many times that I had clients going up.

[00:30:04] Eric Goranson: That's what I want. That's what I want. That's what I want. Sign away the release. Okay, I am gonna do it that way. Sign away the release and they come back and go, you were right. Yeah, 'cause you're gonna have a head injury in that bathroom if you don't. Careful. So no polished walking surfaces in a bathroom period is a great rule for you.

[00:30:21] Eric Goranson: Something that's glossy is gonna be slippery. And slippery means you're gonna fall. And there's a lot of people that die in bathrooms from falls, so we're gonna prevent that by saying no to that. Now you can get some marbles that are porcelain that look like beautiful pictures of it. That have that texture to it.

[00:30:39] Eric Goranson: So if you get water on the floor, you're not gonna eat it, or most likely not going to eat it. Can't promise you everything. But that's, you know, you're gonna be pretty set in where you're, where you're standing. So that's good. And that's a key right there, making sure you got that dialed in. And then I'm not a big fan in bathrooms of using M D F for trim.[00:31:00]

[00:31:00] Eric Goranson: Wood trim. I like a tile base trim. If you're doing a tile floor, if you're doing vinyl, You could do a vinyl base, a code base, or you could go in there and do a wood trim. The problem is, I don't like wood trim up against the bathtub or shower. It gets nasty if it swells up. Interior paints don't work as well with it.

[00:31:16] Eric Goranson: You don't wanna use exterior paints inside. So it's a troublesome area. So anytime that you can get away with using a tile or something like that, you're better off. That's gonna be a better and really more durable product for you. So something to consider with that. Make sure you've got the right pieces going into that.

[00:31:34] Eric Goranson: Now cabinets, you know, I'm okay with having a particle board cabinet in the bathroom as long as it's not a kid's bathroom with lots of water. I tend to lean a little bit more to having, um, you know, a, um, a plywood box in that situation. But let's be honest, if you get a big flood in there, plywood box is gonna get ruined just as a particle board.

[00:31:53] Eric Goranson: One is, I just like that little extra added durability of the plywood, so I'd be tempted in a kid's bathroom to go there. [00:32:00] Now the other thing is, is this is where in those hall bathrooms, for instance, that you should really spend some time making sure the van fan works good and then putting in a high quality toilet.

[00:32:10] Eric Goranson: I want you to see if you can get like a Toto or, or a stay away from the home centers guys. I'm sorry, sorry, Lowe's. Sorry. Home Depot. Sorry, Menards. All you guys out there. Stick to a plumbing wholesaler, get a higher quality toilet. 'cause really the big box retailers, generally speaking, have lower end toilets on the shelf, really, where they start to get into what they call their high-end stuff on the sales floor.

[00:32:35] Eric Goranson: That is kind of the medium end stuff. So don't let them kind of lull you to sleep with these knockoff products or off-brand products. It's something that is, uh, widely known and it'll keep it so you don't have to have a plunger in your house if you get the right toilet. You know those totos, they're glazed all the way down through the inside, so toilet paper doesn't tend to get stuck in there.

[00:32:55] Eric Goranson: It's a really good deal, and that's how you're gonna keep that under control. Now let's talk [00:33:00] colors for a little bit here. Let's talk colors. Now, paint in a bathroom. It's a paint in the butt to paint a bathroom. I know it's a small room, guys, but you know something, there's a lot of junk. To have to sit there and paint around and let's be honest, nobody wants to pull the toilet to paint behind it, but really it's the only way to do it.

[00:33:18] Eric Goranson: But paint can be a great color pop that you can make work for your project. If you've got a lot of drywall in there, throw some color at it, throw some sunshine at it, make it feel warm and inviting and cozy spa-like if you'd like, that's gonna help create that more relaxing situation, which means you're gonna be happier.

[00:33:40] Eric Goranson: And that's a win. Now since we're talking about paint, let's talk about the high quality paint you should be using in there. Don't get the cheap stuff. Go out and get the good stuff that's rated for golden mildew in a bathroom. Make sure that it's rated for that high humidity area. This is not where you want to go in with your builder, basic flat white, because that stuff [00:34:00] is gonna be hard to clean and you're gonna have some issues with it.

[00:34:03] Eric Goranson: So make sure you got that. Now here's some of the other issues that I want you to consider as well. What are you doing with the floor in there? If you're doing a tile floor, if you're doing heated tile, then you really can't be doing a bath mat in that area unless you have your tile person or you as a di iyer move the heated floor around where that mat is.

[00:34:23] Eric Goranson: 'cause you can overheat that area. So you don't wanna do that. So that's another thing to consider. Do you want a bath mat? If so, plan it out for that in the middle of your floor. You have an area that's not heated, so you don't overheat that system. Now, second of all, what do you need for lighting? Do you need recessed lighting?

[00:34:39] Eric Goranson: You're gonna have a fan with a light in it. Do you need heat in there? Do you need more ventilation? What happens? So these are all things you should be thinking about as well as power and plumbing. When you're cutting this thing down, do you need to have another out? Are you always kicking off that outlet with the, uh, with the hair dryer and the curling iron and a hair straightener or [00:35:00] whatever else you're trying to do?

[00:35:01] Eric Goranson: That can be an issue too. So maybe what you need is a second electrical circuit brought in there. Maybe that's because you're gonna be putting in a, uh, a heated tile floor, which needs its own dedicated circuit. So maybe you're bringing two circuits in, one for an additional set of outlets. Two for that.

[00:35:18] Eric Goranson: Uh, and maybe three because you're trying to put a vent fan in. But depending on what you have going, that's where your big friends can be. While you're at it, make sure you've got plenty of that power in there. Then really as you're designing out the rest of the system, make sure that your plumbing is up to speed.

[00:35:35] Eric Goranson: If you've got, uh, galvanized or old plastic pipes in the walls, make sure you get those things swapped out and taken care of. This is part of that while you're at it routine and if you want to smooth wall in there, something like that, now's the time to do it because you've got some drywall repairs.

[00:35:51] Eric Goranson: That's a good time to get that dialed in. Here's another trip trick too. If you are working on things and you don't have [00:36:00] the patience to do drywall really well, sometimes it's better to take a day. Bring in that drywaller, make sure you get it taken care of. Have them get it all finished up, ready to go.

[00:36:10] Eric Goranson: So it's dialed in. That is some of the little tricks of the trade. Plenty of contractors out there bring their drywall guys in so they don't have to worry about it. And that means that, uh, you can be doing something else, somebody else can be doing it and you know it's gonna be right. 'cause you wanna get all those textures right, whether it's a smooth wall, level five finish, or an eggshell, or a knockdown.

[00:36:31] Eric Goranson: You want that to be consistent within the space so it looks correctly and you can't see where all those drywall patches were for maybe where you had to bring in electrical or that other stuff. So that's a key right there to make sure you get that dialed in. So those are some of the big ones right there that I think that you should really consider.

[00:36:47] Eric Goranson: And then if you're doing this as a D I Y project, and I'm gonna say this again, it's the same rule for the kitchen. Having a designer work with you on the project is going to save you money in the long run because you're gonna make [00:37:00] confident choices. They're gonna work well together. What I don't like to see is when somebody probably should have done, there's a house.

[00:37:07] Eric Goranson: I've been falling on social media because I know who owns it and I'm not gonna sit here and talk smack about 'em. But I tell you what, um, they need to work on their craftsmanship 'cause it doesn't exist. And they've been doing some really just ugly things to this house. My point being is make sure that you've got the right people, the right plan.

[00:37:29] Eric Goranson: If you have to bring a designer in to help you make decisions, it will save you money in the long run. 'cause you're not gonna pay to do that job twice. So those are the keys. Planning is number one, understanding that project and uh, more importantly, when you know your abilities, maybe you don't have the time, maybe you don't have the knowledge, or maybe you just want to pay somebody else to do it 'cause you're tired of doing projects.

[00:37:52] Eric Goranson: I get that too. Knock it out, make the phone calls, find the right license, bonded and insured contractor, and [00:38:00] please, every single one of my bathroom issues that I've had over the last five years helping people out with bad contractors is because they looked at the price and went, this is too expensive, but I don't want to do it myself.

[00:38:13] Eric Goranson: And they turn around and hire a contractor that is not licensed, bonded, insured, and a legal contractor, and they pay them to do the project. And then guess what happens? This gets really, really ugly when the court battle ensues and these guys, when they've been bad contractors, they never have the money.

[00:38:32] Eric Goranson: They don't have a license to bond an insurance. So you have no place to collect, and you're out the money. You gotta tear it down, throw it out, redo the project again, the right way, and that's coming outta your pocket and there's no recourse when you can't track the guy down. Got no money. Alright everybody, this is the end of the show.

[00:38:50] Eric Goranson: Thanks for tuning in today. If you miss part of it, don't worry. Go back and catch the podcast. Don't forget we've got, uh, geez, over a thousand episodes up over on around [00:39:00] the house online.com. And, uh, make sure enjoying our premium membership on the podcast. Thanks for tuning around the house everybody.

[00:39:07] Eric Goranson: We'll see you next Saturday. Don't forget the midweek special on the podcast. Thanks for tuning in to Around the House