Our NYC Co-op Bathroom Renovation - Under 10 Days / $10K

We purchased our first home back in March, a co-op in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and moved in April. We love the place but the bathroom hadn't been updated since being built in the 50's. It was HORRENDOUS!! We're talking pink tub and toilet, pink mosaic floor, and lime green/gray walls. YUCK! We knew we had to renovate for resale purposes, and the sooner the better so we could enjoy it while living here for the next 2+ years. We shopped around, almost got ripped off by one not-to-be-named contractor, and finally went with our building's part-time Super who has his own construction company (if you're in or near Bay Ridge Brooklyn, I can't recommend him high enough!! Here's his contact info: Mike of E & M Shore Construction, e-mail / TEL: 917-577-1942 ). We couldn't be happier with our decision and the results. Mike was super easy to deal with - responding ASAP to email, text, or phone call. He had great ideas for the bathroom and was open to our ideas as well. And best of all??? He finished ON SCHEDULE and UNDER BUDGET! Perhaps unprecedented in the history of contractors! HA!

Here's the before and after!! Amazing right?!!?

We scheduled the renovation for a 2 week period where our toddler and I would be out of town, so we wouldn't be around all the dust and mess. My husband was around and helped tremendously with last minute materials decision - we waited to the last minute and didn't have time to order anything - so everything we got had to be IN STOCK which severely limited our choices, but we're pretty pleased with what we ended up with. Our contractor was awesome and drove my hubby around to all the shops, and went to pick up stuff I purchased online for in-store pickup. Mike also sent me daily photo updates, and called and Face Timed me so I could see what they were doing and to make quick decisions on placement of items and what not. This was so awesome to be a part of it while not being physically present.

He did the gut renovation and picking up of all materials in... TEN DAYS!!! I still can't believe it. The baby and I arrived home on the evening of Christmas Eve to our brand new bathroom (and tons of dust to clean, despite them having sealed off rooms with plastic tarp). Small price to pay I suppose!

And how much did this cost us? Well, the total including labor, materials, and fee to our co-op board was $8,963. This was under our budget of $10K and let's just say no one got Christmas presents this year LOL. The bathroom was a Christmas present for all 3 of us!!

We basically got everything from Home Depot, Express Brooklyn Tile (3918 4th Ave), Sunset Plumbing Supply (6001 4th Ave), and Bruce Supply Corp (8805 18th Ave). Below are some photos and items we used. If you want more details feel free to leave a comment below and I'll get back to you ASAP!

• Vanity & Sink: St. Paul Madeline 24" Vanity in Chestnut
• Sink Faucet: Delta Classic 4" Centerset
• Vanity Light: Hampton Bay 3-Light Bath Light
• Medicine Cabinet:  Kohler Flat Edge 16x20" Recessed Medicine Cabinet

• Toilet:  American Standard Madera Commcerial Top Spud Toilet Bowl with Everclean
• Flushometer: Sloan Royal 111-1.28 Flushometer
• Toilet Seat: American Standard Champion Top Mount Telescoping Slow Close with EverClean

We considered greatly whether to stick with the same type of industrial flushometer toilet, which promises the best flush possible and zero drama, versus switching to a tank or tankless system. I really wanted something modern and sleek, but we were advised we didn't have the space for a concealed tramway or tankless system (which actually has a tank within the wall). So... we stayed with the flushometer but I'm really happy with it! We found a nice looking toilet, and cool telescoping modern toilet seat with slow close. Yay!

• Bath tub:  Kohler K-716-0 Villager 60" Cast Iron Bath Tub

I'm not thrilled with this coffin-esque shape (it all boils back to how much in a rush we were - we could only get in-stock items), but I'm thrilled to have cast iron - no creaking tub and it's super strong and durable! Our previous tub had a finished side, but tubs these days do not come with finished sides (unless you get a claw foot type). So, our contractor had to build a little wall on the right-hand side, which I was nervous about, but it ended up looking great and is quite useful as an extra shelf! He also had custom granite slabs made for the top of that wall and the window sill, since tile on those areas tends to get really grimy.

• Bath trim: Pfister Pasadena (shower head, faucet, handle, towel bars, towel ring, toilet paper holder)
• Hand Shower: Delta ActivTouch (I figure this will be much easier than our usual bowl when bathing our toddler!!)

You might notice the odd location of the shower head vs handle and faucet vs drain. Well, it's the best we could do based on the buildings piping and how much space we had to work with. Our previous arrangement had the shower head smack dab right in the center of the tub, SO WEIRD! This way is much better, though I'm waiting for the day I bump into the handle / faucet...

Tiles, Grout, & Paint: 
Sorry, I wasn't there to pick these out and have no record of the make/model of the wall tiles bought - they're 3x6" white subway tiles and some sort of grey / white marble / light brown mosaic as the accent border. We went with a medium charcoal for the wall grout and a light grey for the floor grout. For floor tiles, we used Marazzi Montagna Smoky Black 6x24" Glazed Porcelain, which looks like a faux-wood and has hues of brown, grey, pink, blue - it's really interesting! My husband matched one of the accent tiles perfectly with the wall paint, he chose Behr Marquee Base 1454 (unfortunately I can't find the actual color used!! it's grey with a slightly brownish hue).

Well, that's most of it! Leave a comment below if you have any questions and I'll get back to you as soon as possible! And if you're doing any home remodel in the Bay Ridge area, definitely give Mike a call! He'll do ya right!!