Home Remodel

Primary Bathroom Remodel Mistakes to Avoid

The failures that show up again and again, and what causes each one. The one bathroom with room to make choices instead of compromises.

BeforeAfter
  1. 1

    Mistake 1

    A vast shower with a single ceiling head, so it is cold everywhere except directly underneath.

  2. 2

    Mistake 2

    A tub installed where nobody can reach around it to clean.

  3. 3

    Mistake 3

    Two basins crammed into 48in, which is one basin with extra plumbing.

  4. 4

    Mistake 4

    Glossy floor tile in the wet zone.

Questions

What should I decide first in a primary bathroom remodel?
A primary bathroom has the square footage to separate the wet zone from the dressing zone, which is the whole difference between it and a family bath. The remodel is usually about earning that separation: a bigger shower, a double vanity, and somewhere to stand that is not in front of the toilet.
What goes wrong most often?
A vast shower with a single ceiling head, so it is cold everywhere except directly underneath. A tub installed where nobody can reach around it to clean.
Will it work in a small primary bathroom?
If the room will not take a tub and a real shower, drop the tub. A generous shower used daily beats a tub used twice a year, and the space it frees is what makes the rest of the room work.
Can I see it on my own primary bathroom before starting?
Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.
More on primary bathroom remodel
How to Remodel a Primary BathroomThe order the work happens in, and what to settle before anything is ordered.How to Remodel a Small Primary BathroomWhat changes when the space will not take the standard answer.How to Lay Out a Primary BathroomThe dimensions that decide whether the room works, whatever it ends up looking like.How to Light a Primary BathroomThe layer people skip, and the one that makes the rest of the work visible.Primary Bathroom Before and AfterWhat actually changes visually, and how to see it on your own photo first.