Just to finish this pair posts about the shower work we're having done, here are three photos that I took yesterday. Since it was a holiday — November 11, Armistice Day (in the U.S. called Veterans Day) — no work got done. Besides, the tiles for the two walls in the shower stall haven't come in yet. The right tiles, I mean, of the color we've planned.
We're keeping the rest of the tile in the bathroom, as well as the floor. It's old-fashioned looking, but it's clean and in excellent shape. For the shower, we've chosen a dark green tile that we think will go well with the green in the existing tile. The shower pan or tray is in place, and the green on the walls right now is some kind of moisture barrier to seal the plaster wall.
So two walls will be glass. Facing the door that opens into the bathroom we've ordered a frosted-glass panel. When you walk or look into the room, you won't be staring into the shower stall. On the left side of the photo below there will be a folding door made of clear glass, leaving a view of the vineyard through the window on the other side of the room, and letting in a lot of light.
The bench in the stall has a seat made of the same "stone resin" material as the shower pan itself. It's a Corian-type product and won't be as cold as tile to sit on, and it will be easier to keep clean. The shower pan (or tray — le receveur in French) measures one meter by one meter (39 in. x 39 in.) and the bench is 26 cm (10 in.) deep. So the area inside the shower will be just more than 13 sq. ft, compared to less than 8 sq. ft. for the old shower unit.
It is a hard call when you have say a floor that is old fashioned yet of good quality. We have experienced the dilemma in the past and had to make a call on the matter, especially if you don't have unlimited finances. Given the rest of the bathroom is of an age, I will reserve judgement. Anyway, down the track the floor could be replaced i fit jars. I suppose you must at times think as we do, well, this is the last bathroom alteration that I will be doing. We have one more to do. We've done our last kitchen.
ReplyDeleteWe wanted not to have a lot of demolition work done, and removing all the tile in the bathroom would have been a big mess. The old tile is not offensive. Next year, we may have a new bathroom built in our upstairs room (the loft we had fitted out 6 years ago). That's going to be disruptive for sure.
DeleteLooking forward to seeing the finished room. I'm sure that the updated room will be worth the wait.
ReplyDeleteHi Gaynor, we are hoping that we have made the right choices. The new shower will be better at least functionally and no doubt esthetically to that sterile white plastic thing -- which was a good shower but too small. One friend who visits regularly from California said our old shower was the best one he had ever encountered in France. I'm sure he'll like the new one even more.
DeleteWe've come to the conclusion that style no longer matters that much, enjoying life before we run out of steam is more important. We only spend on projects that will improve our life rather than keeping up with trends these days.
ReplyDeleteThere's something to be said for keeping some of the old-fashioned decoration and materials that are original. We already removed all the old wallpaper, which needed to come down, but the tile is is good shape.
DeleteBeing an engineer and a reviewer of technical journal papers, I noticed in the text adjoining the third image where the area of the shower is described, that you didn't give the area in square meters and then the square footage in parentheses as you had when describing other dimensions. Other than that, it looks like you will have a very nice shower indeed. I agree with your reasoning to preserve the original floor tile. We have similar tile in our bathroom of the same vintage, it's in good shape like yours, therefore I hesitate to make any changes that would disrupt that tile.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your posts on nearly a daily basis, it's practically a morning ritual, so please keep up the good work.
-craig-
Oh, I figured for Americans it made more sense to talk in terms of square feet. Sorry for the inconsistency. And thanks for the nice comment.
DeleteI like the base, and the very large drain. I need to do two bathrooms here in the condo, one has a shower, the other a tub/shower that I want to replace with a shower.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to visiting you when it is all done and taking a shower.
ReplyDeletelol
It is going to be fabulous and having a summer view with the windows open while showering sounds delightful.
The tile goes with the tub and is a keeper. Is the same tile in the WC? I like the idea of frosted glass on one side and a vineyard view will make you want to linger in the warm shower...I like the rectangular shape of the drain cover also.
ReplyDeleteMay your shower floor and the seat drain quickly. We had to have the shower floor repoured/redone because it collected a puddle in one corner.
ReplyDeleteAh, ça y est, c'est bien un banc derrière la porte, super idée !!! Et l'espace douche est plus grand ☺ Génial !!! Je n'avais pas lu les posts plus "anciens"...
ReplyDelete