Boomin' Bathroom

Next Project!

We need to resurface the floor the bathroom at it is no longer waterproof. The simplest solution would be to simply re-grout the existing tile. However that's not exactly an easy task and we're not really happy with the tiling job, plus the toilet and sink have to go. Sounds like a project to me :).

We're likely going to use linoleum for the floor surface. It's simple + fast which is important as we've only got 2 vacation days + 2 weekend days to complete the task and have never installed ceramic tile before. It's expensive per square foot but we're not looking at a large area so the $ are not as important and the prep and installation time. It will also be easier to manipulate under the new toilet and sink cabinet.

The accent colour of the existing tiling is robin's egg blue. It looks good if you like heritage colours. The tub and toilet match reasonably well and are solid colours. The sink unfortunately must have been chosen at a different time as it is blue--but not the same blue and a really terrible marble imitation. It looks awful. It will be a real relief to get rid of it. The leading contender for a replacement at this point is the Ikea HÖLLVIKEN. Simple and available in 80x55cm which should fit perfectly in the space vacated by the current monstrosity. In typical Ikea fashion they tell you it needs the ATLANT water-trap, ILLERN faucet with strainer, VÄTTERN wash-basin cabinet frame, CAPITA legs, and VÄTTERN MOREN door. How very efficient.

Toilets we'll leave for a different day.

The luxury item and reason I start this posting is the search for a new hot water solution. At the moment it takes such a long time for hot water to appear at the faucet that we usually give up and just use the cold tap to avoid wasting too much time and water. Not exactly a luxurious experience. I've been researching the various local heating solutions (tankless, mini-tank, recirculation pipes/pumps) and it seems that our path will be guided once again by price and ease of installation. A mini-tank will work off the nearby 120V 15A circuit with minor mods (a short run of wire and an under sink GFI outlet. I'm a little uncertain exactly what is the minimum required capacity for a house that generally houses just 2 people but since the smallest one I can find for sale online in the Toronto area is 1.5 gallons from Sears.ca (Kenmore ® 6.8 L (1.5 Imp. gal.) Point-Of-Use Electric Water Heater) and Canadian Tire has a 2 gallon model for $10 less (Space Saver 10 L (2 gallon) for $179.99) I'll assume that's the range to look for. Some of the more contractor oriented site I was browsing were selling various 4 gallon models so I'll consider that the top end (eg: Stiebel Eltron - SHC Min-tank Water Heater). Now to find some local shop that is willing to sell me something decent and give me some advice on avoiding installation pitfalls.

Let the fun begin!
edit: here are a couple shots of the finished product - 4 years later :)