Searching for quartz

We both are in love with Caesarstone quartz in Lagos Blue:
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=29

Does anyone know where to find it? We checked CIOT but they only sell it in large slabs - we require a quarter of what they sell it at. It's difficult to find a dealer that's legitimate. He is looking for quartz that will fit his Kohler vanity, size approximately 48"x25" or so, my vanity is much smaller, about 34"x20 (see diagrams for details).

Please drop us a line and let us know. We don't have much time since the contractor is starting work on Dec 1st and we need to have all the material ordered and ready for him.

Making progress...

So he selected contractor #2 who seems like a nice guy and has done work with a colleague. The photos looked good and a contract (work order) has been drafted up and awaits signatures. He plans to start between Dec 1 and 15th.

There have been issues with the tub removal. Currently, for condos there is a 3/8 drain requirement, and if a slab were to go in that would not allow for the 2" space needed for draining. As a result, he's decided not to order the slab and go with custom 4x4" or 2x2" tiles in the shower base. The small size will allow for sloping. We went to CIOT again and they have a nice variety of small porcelain tiles. We liked the 2x2 Golden Nugget at $4.95/sq ft.

We also went to Lowe's and picked up accessories like a toilet paper holder, towel ring and hooks. They were chrome, looked similar to the high end ones but were a fraction of the cost.

Tired of Tiles

After looking at so many tile places, for His bathroom, he decided to go to Home Depot and select 2 cases of cocoa (special order) tiles. These are a chocolate milk colour, porcelain tile. The corresponding grout was an oyster grey and there are 3 kinds of glue (low $15, medium $30 and high $60). We're not sure what the difference is other than the fact that the Home Depot employee said the most expensive bag will stick the best.

The shower wall tiles were Luxor Beige (oatmeal colour) and purchased from CIOT as well as a tabacco grey trim (1" x 13"). Apparently, you need to pay a deposit of 50% and the remaining 50% when you pick it up. It's ordered from Montreal and there's a 25% re-stocking fee if you change your mind. You have 30 days to return (with re-stocking fee). It's essential that all the materials are purchased before the work starts.

Insurance, detailed work orders & contracts

So it's now September and we're still doing research on everything! There are so many choices out there it's getting a bit confusing. We liked some tiles at Home Depot - the only thing is they are more expensive than the other tile places (if you can believe it!) and they only sell by the case. We had hoped to purchase one tile to bring it home to check it out in the bathroom, however that was not possible. They don't make it very friendly. They suggested that we could buy a case, open it and then return it. Seemed like a pain....

Olympia Tile was amazing - they not only let us buy tile samples, but you get a full refund if you return it within 30 days. They had great customer service also. We noticed that the tiles picked up had sparkles in them when they were in the bathroom.

In terms of lighting, we are still searching for sconses. At Blue Mountain resort - they had the vertical sconses we liked but they did not generate too much light. Also, it appeared to be a side-by side lighting as opposed to a top down lighting. This is not helpful when applying make-up (for me) or shaving (for him). Anyways... the search continues.

We are getting our second quote from another contractor this Saturday morning. Hopefully, it will go better than contractor number 1 (who we have not heard from since). After watching several episodes of Holmes on Holmes we are scared that we may get scooped. Does anyone have information about a written contract or detailed work order? How much can you specify? Are you allowed to request a certain amount of time (3-4 weeks), especially if it's your ONLY bathroom? Can you ask that they clean up after themselves, and take off their shoes? What about garbage disposal? Booking elevators? Work times in condos? I believe it's 9am to 5pm. We also need to get a letter from our Board of Directors that we will have work done.

I'm in the process of getting condo insurance. It's funny that I've lived there for 5 years and never had it. My neighbour had a leakage issue - which has prompted me into getting the basic coverage. Does anyone have any suggestions on insurance??? Thanks!

Tiles, tiles and more tiles

After checking out CIOT and Olympia Tiles we noticed another tile place across the street (but they are closed Sundays). We'll have to go back and check it out another time.

We heard of a few more that we have to visit including Stone Tile and Saltillo Tile. We dropped into Lowe's and Home Depot but found they did not have much selection. Also in the Castlefield Design district, we're planning to visit Roman Bath and a few other showrooms. Does anyone know of other tile stores in the Toronto area???

Olympia Tiles

On Sunday we went to Olympia Tiles and it was packed! We viewed a variety of tiles and skipped the natural tile section (marble, etc.) since we prefer low maintenance. We spent most of our time in the porcelain section and what was interesting was that you could buy a sample of the tiles you like and if you return them within 4 weeks you receive a full refund. This is a great idea since the lighting in the tile stores vary and it's nice to check it out against your own bathroom floor.

We are planning to go back to CIOT, etc. and get tile samples of the ones we liked there also.

Next we went to Home Depot where we learned that they (along with Lowe's) carry Kohler faucets, toilets, etc. We're wondering if it's less expensive to buy Kohler through Kohler or through Home Depot since they buy in bulk?

Kohler Showroom

We went to the Kohler showroom in Burlington (1150 Corporate Drive) on Saturday and did more research since we like the clean designs. It was a small showroom but the lady that worked there (Jeanette) was nice and helpful. It wasn't like some of the other places we've seen... Since they don't work on commission there was no pressure.

There was a nice sink and toilet in "biscuit" which is a cream colour that looks nice with polished nickel. Jeanette mentioned that white goes best with chrome, otherwise it can be distracting. Unfortunately, she didn't have samples for the 2 vanities we liked but we had seen one previously at a showroom on Bay St in Toronto (cherry wood finish).

After pricing out all the materials, for one bathroom we were looking at between $5000 and $7000. Contractor #1 mentioned to put budget against fixtures (such as faucets) and the vanity that are viewed first. He suggested saving money on the toilet... which is not a bad idea.

The other tip that we seem to hear all the time is to not put in a tub. Jeanette reinforced that most people do not take tub baths and that especially in a condo a walk-in shower would be preferred. We are concerned with resale value and wonder what would be better?

Dream Bathroom Stats

We went back to our dream bathroom #1 and learned that it was made up of mainly Kohler products including the sink, faucets, vanity and toilet. The knobs were wood but switched out for a chrome square knob. The taps carried the square theme as well as the toilet roll and towel bar. Our next plan is to go to Burlington and visit the 5000 square foot Kohler showroom and along the way drop into Home Depot and Rona to check out tiles. We also confirmed that the countertop was quartz (ceasarstone) and it was in Lagos blue. We both really liked the clean lines and contemporary look of Kohler. Unlike some vanities that we checked out at some big box stores that come pre-made, we liked the simplicity and natural wood.

Saturday Learnings

We visited CIOT (Lawrence & Dufferin) and found some nice tiles. Our favourite was a faux-slate (porcelain) in a charcoal grey at $4.50/sf. It's Corek 12x01P which is a 12x12 porcelain tile. The shower tile we both liked was Luxor beige 13x20 at $5.75/SF (ALFL13200IK). His total would be around $680 for tiles (both floor and wall, excluding labour).

I also liked a beige floor tile but thought it would look too plain to have both beige on the floor and shower. It was 13x13 Pietra orient IMPP13x04P. My total would be $513 for tiles.

We loved the natural stone (marble, slate, etc.) but realized that we're too lazy to continually treat it and care for it. We're happy to have it installed and of course clean it... but treating it is another story.... As we were leaving there was a nice quartz (caesarstone) called Lagos Blue 4350 that he liked.

Next we visited Taps which was adjacent. We saw a nice sliding shower door 60" 3/8 frameless but there was no price. There were a few nice tubs which were around $439 and 60x32x18 which were a bit too narrow for our spaces.

We had a quick lunch at the nearby Wendy's and then head over to Ginger's. This was a nice showroom but way too pricey. He liked the TOTO toilet, soft close seat but it was skirted (too feminine for him) and it had a narrow inside. He liked the Anna Mirror with shelf that was 51"high x 28"wide for $299.96. It had the same wenge wood as his coffee table (BNT5001001). The chocolate brown and grey towels were nice but at $59 were way too expensive. I think the Bay or Sears would have similar towels for about half the cost. Finally, he liked the wall sconses Roderick double sconse (2191019) in polished chrome or polished nickle for $155. I thought this seemed pricey and that we could find it elsewhere for less. If anyone has any ideas, please let us know! He thought they looked like "light sabres" from Star Wars...

Her Bathroom

My bathroom is fairly simple, square shaped and there is no urgency to renovate. I moved into my place in May 2003 and have been living in my condo for ~5 years. The previous owners had black tile on both the floor and that line the shower wall - which I've never been a fan of... I'd like to go with something more mainstream that will hopefully increase resale value (beige or earth tones).

His bathroom

We've both taken our bathroom measurements and have a rough sketch. As you can see from his sketch, he has an odd-shaped bathroom. There's a closet behind the tub. The vanity has the sink to the left side and a lot of counter space (roughly 50"). He's considering moving the sink to the centre but would then lose the counter space.

There's a shelf behind the toilet, which he would like to remove. The tub measures 58.75" and most tubs now are about 60". We liked Schluter tubs (with air technology).

Saturday Shopping Excursion

To our fellow renovating bloggers - thank you for all your comments & advice!

This Saturday we've made appointments and are planning to vist more bathroom showrooms - around the Castlefield design district. There's one called CIOT (has anybody been?) where apparently they give you a buzzer upon arrival. You tour the showroom, and when your buzzer flashes/goes off, you go back to the front for your appointment.

We're also going to check out Ginger's and Taps since they're in the same area... They've suggested that we bring 3 things:
1. Rough diagram/sketch of our bathrooms - with measurements (should these be in inches?)
2. Photos of our current bathrooms (aka the "before" shots)
3. Images of what we'd like our bathrooms to look like (aka the "after" pics)

We're going to bring our usual pad of paper and pen. I was thinking of taking my camera. Does anyone know if you're allowed to take photos of the showrooms??? Should we bring anything else???

Contractor Estimate #1

How do you find a good contractor that's willing to renovate a condo bathroom? We went to RenoMark (see bathroom links area on this blog). They have a standard that they require all their renovators to follow.

You can also visit some web-sites (see links) for contractor ratings. Although, a colleague of mine had a mishap with a contractor that received a 9.0 (out of 10) rating so you never know...

We contacted Contractor #1 to give both of us an estimate on our respective bathrooms. We learned the following from him:

1. Tiles

• Labour for marble costs more (adhesive is extra)
• Consider mosaic tiles for a modern look
• Don't go with marble dust products as they scratch
• Tile size doesn't effect cost
• You have to remove the tub anyways and may get damaged in the process, consider replacing

2. Faucets

• If replacing tiles, should replace tub and sink faucets for an updated look
• Rain head - height of ceiling should be considered - may not allow for it
• For re-sale value, adjustable heights will sell better (moveable shower head)
• Consider a brand like Aquabrass, similar value to more expensive brands

3. Tub

• Consider half glass panel for shower instead of sliding doors?
• Consider concrete sheet/slab behind tile

4. Countertops

• Consider quartz (ceasarstone) - it's more expensive but won't scratch, and it's not porous
• Don't extend countertop behind toilet (dated look)
• Granite is good but may be porous - it's necessary to "seal" it so that it's water-proof (not sure how often sealing is required?)

5. Vanity

• Custom made versus pre-made: a few colleagues mentioned that they picked up their vanity at Home Sense and also Rona (for between $700-$1100). This is less expensive (and faster!) than custom made but you may not get exactly what you want.
• Wall mounted is more of a design trend, less storage for a condo - may require more support for backing to hold in place (concrete walls need to handle load)

6. Plumbing

• Ensure building shuts off water to entire condo unit prior to work done

7. Other issues

• Garbage disposal
• Booking elevators (in advance)
• Letter to Management board 10 days prior & approval required

We received quotes that higher than anticipated! We're going to get a second and third opinion (to see if everything matches up) and continue to check more showrooms. Any ideas? Let us know!

Tubs Etobicoke Showroom

Much to our surprise, very few Kitchen + Bath showrooms are open on Sundays! After some online research we found that Tubs was the only one open on Sun July 13th. They had several locations including Mississauga and Etobicoke. Before venturing out, we decided to call to ask which showroom was larger. Upon calling Etobicoke, they confirmed that they were the "mothership" and we should pay them a visit...

Many located north of the city (in Vaughn and Woodbridge) boast showrooms that are ~30,000 square feet. We had been sadly disappointed with the ones around Yorkville that featured (I'm not kidding!) one bathroom vanity and countertop (Davenport & Avenue Road) or three small vanity displays (Avenue Road). It was not worth our time and effort to visit these in person.

Another showroom we visited at Davenport and Woodbine was quite nice but unfortunately they do not do condos. It's best to call ahead of time to inquire about condos and also to request an appointment (some require this and you can't just walk in). Also, it's good to confirm days/times that places are open. We were surprised to learn one excellent tile place is closed Saturdays (due to religious reasons) and tried to combine a few places in the area (Keele and Lawrence).

We arrived at Tubs around 2pm and had until 5pm to look around. I'd recommend bringing paper and a pen since it's almost overwhelming. Each bathroom has a suite number and you can write down your favourites (if you like everything) or just the tile. There are prices for everything. Next, you can sit with an associate and go over your favourites and what you plan.

Before visiting showrooms, it's best to bring with you:

• Your bathroom measurements and a rough diagram/sketch
• Know what you plan to do (total gut job or partial reno)
• Word of mouth - chat with friends, colleagues and family members about work they've had done (and ask for contractor suggestions)
• Online research & magazine research (cut out pictures that you like from magazines) to establish a theme (contemporary, modern, traditional, french country etc)
• Research materials
• Determine a budget

Tubs has most suites featured on their site and links to their Manufacturers. They suggested that it's best to get all your materials and either store them at your place (tough to do in a condo) or they could store them and the contractor can pick them up as needed.

Has anyone been to the other Tubs locations? It may be worthwhile to visit those showrooms as well...

Bathroom Showrooms

On Sat July 12 we spent the day viewing bathroom showrooms in Toronto. We wanted to get some ideas on what we like and don't like. There are so many options to choose from! We need to make decisions about:

• Tiles (floor and wall)
• Wallpaper
• Vanity: Countertop and base, wall mounted or not
• Lighting - spots or track
• Faucet - sink and showerhead
• Tub - jacuzzi or standard
• Sliding glass shower doors or curtain
• Toilet
• Toilet paper holder, towel rack and hooks
• Mirror and medicine cabinet

We visited Binns, an upscale kitchen and bathroom showroom. It was great for design ideas but started at $25,000 + retainer which is out of our price range. They only do a few bathrooms each year.

Next, we went to a few Kitchen + Bathroom showrooms around Yorkville (Davenport & Avenue Rd areas) but they did not have much by way of selection.

Finally, we drove up to Steeles (Markham) where we went to Faucetworks. It's a great bathroom showcase which featured a number of vanities, tubs, faucets and sample bathrooms. My favourite part was the interactive showerhead section where you turn a knob to see the showerhead flow. You can adjust to see all 3 settings and prices are listed. They have wholesale (discounted) prices. We liked the rain showerhead by Moen (3 settings) the best.

Home Depot Visit

We attended a friend's wedding on May 24, 2008 in Mississauga and had some time in between the ceremony and reception. We decided to visit Heartland (outlet store centre) to do some shopping. After going to Danier and Harry Rosen we went to Home Depot.

We both need to do bathroom renovations and have been putting off doing our research... but we had to start somewhere and HD seemed like a good place to start. We went straight for the bathroom section and checked out tiles, vanities, toilets/sinks and countertops. Home Depot has contractors that they suggest but homeowners have to take on their own liability (i.e no guarantees on work done). After watching "Holmes on Holmes" and other shows, we were skeptical about getting a good contractor for our projects.

We have questions including:
- Where/how do we find a good contractor?
- What will a bathroom reno cost?
- Labour costs versus material costs
- Can we get a free quote/estimate?
- What requirements do our condo buildings have for work conducted?
- Book elevators in advance?
- Garbage disposal?
- Letter to Management Board 10 days in advance (and project must be approved)
- Hours of work 9am to 5pm Mon to Sat?