Why do dream bathroom renovations in places like Riverbend and Laurier Heights so often go sideways? You’ve got the space, you’ve got the vision, but if you live in an older Edmonton neighborhood like Quesnell Heights or Rio Terrace, you’ve also got a 40-year-old plumbing, outdated layouts, and unexpected surprises behind every wall. Today, Oscar from The Tile Experts joins us to talk about what it really takes to build a bathroom that’s not just beautiful, but built right for your home and lifestyle.
“Hey, thanks for being here.”
“Thank you for having me.”
Nice to do some video content with The Tile Experts here. Going to be awesome. So, you work in homes across Riverbend, Laurier Heights, and the west end of Edmonton. What makes bathrooms in these neighborhoods more challenging or interesting?
“Well, to start, yeah, the age of their home. So that there’s many times multiple renovations having been done in the past where they may have or may not have done it right. So they often just patch the previous reno and cover it back up. So we’ve had situations where we’re like, once you open it up you realize, okay, we need to do this right. So, let’s approach the client and discuss all the, you know, change of scope of work because the plumbing could be a situation or the HVAC. So that’s some of the challenges that we run into with homes in that area.”
How does the age or original construction of older homes in say, Canel or Rio Terrace affect your planning process?
“Yes. One of the things being the material that was used on the original build. So cast iron, copper, some of the things that we run into when we open up the walls so that when we open things up, we want to update things. So if they want a niche particularly in a back wall of a shower and we have a bunch of utilities going through there, we run into the issue where we’re like, okay, so if you really want it here, we must modify the way that they’re crossing so we can, like, move them somewhere else if it’s possible. If not, then we go onto another wall for the niche.
“And then again, we got to play with the fact of where is the mixing valve going, the shower head, the handheld, and often we’re working with like body sprays, steam showers, and stuff like that. And then lastly, on the joist space when we’re doing lineal drains or like barrierless, we start working with the joist to build down in order to create that barrierless entry. And in doing so, sometimes we also run into HVAC problems. So yeah, all those factors come into play, and luckily we got the trades that we’ve been working with for a long time that are able to come with creative solutions.”
Awesome. That’s great. So you have to get plumbers, electricians, framing guys in there, all the different trades to move things around for you, make sure they’re up to code.
“Exactly. 100%.”
All right. Now, what’s your approach when a homeowner wants a high-end look, but the house wasn’t really built for today’s bathroom expectations?
“Well, so some of the things that we had to do for that is blow up a wall to maybe an oversized master bedroom where they want to increase their ensuite or main bathroom into more of a include like a self-standing tub and a shower, where before they just had your standard al cove shower. So yeah, that’s one of the things we do.
“And then the other thing is the material that they’re using. If they want to elevate the space more, sometimes we go into like a larger format and or mosaics.”
Now, can you share a story of a project with one of these old neighborhoods where tile completely transformed the space?
“Yes. So, we did a place in—for their feature wall. They chose a 2×4 tile size with more of a texture to it. So, it added dimension. And so, that was the whole back wall. And then yeah, we turned what used to be like an older tub. It still had a shower, but it was older, and the glass enclosure was also a harder layout. So yeah, we got it all sorted out, removed it, worked out the layout, created a barrierless entry, expanded the shower further because they had the space, and then added the niche on a horizontal view.
“And then even modified like the mixing valve location so they’re entering the shower, you know, conveniently opening it without getting wet or anything, letting it warm up and then they could just walk right in. So that is what we did that in that neighborhood and it was great.”
Now, what materials or layout features work especially well in older homes in Edmonton?
“Yeah, for older homes in Edmonton, when we’re looking at a smaller space, if we’re working with like, you know, a tight bathroom, we do want to work with a tile and design that is creating more of a continuous space rather than like a lot of contrast, so that the space looks bigger. If we’re going to go with a mosaic, we do the same. Yeah, we want to make sure it’s not like a lot of change of colors.
“We also work with the design—a designer—so that she can really make sure that when it’s done, like it does create a sense of awe walking into this brand new bathroom renovation. And then yeah, in some of the bigger rooms, bigger bathrooms, natural stone is something that they’ve chosen like a marble or travertine. And when they don’t really want to have the maintenance of a natural stone, they do go for like an imitation porcelain tile, which, you know, it’s not like that much different, but then you have like the fact that you don’t have to maintain or seal or do year to year.”
Now, let’s talk about waterproofing and ventilation. So when it comes to waterproofing and ventilation in these areas where homes might have older framing or insulation, like how do you handle that?
“Yeah, waterproofing is huge. It’s a key in any shower that we do with this new technology that we use like Schluter membranes and Wedi systems. In the past they didn’t have them, so often when we open things up we run into mold, rod, especially in a bathroom that you have like a window in the middle of the shower, like the amount of damage that happens there.
“So what we do to tackle that? Yeah, we make sure that once it’s all opened up, we get it all repaired and sealed tight. And then you know, whether they didn’t have an exhaust fan in their bathroom, we recommend one and we do work with electrician and HVAC company that help us with that.
“The other thing is in terms of preventative measures. Every single client that we have that does a glass enclosure on a shower that may be steam shower—we do recommend, like, you know, as soon as you’re finished you do your squeegee because not everybody squeegees their glass. Make sure it’s clean. Leave the door open for like the next four hours and then let it all breathe out and really dry. And it just helps prevent mold and just elongates the life of the shower.”
What do you say to homeowners who think they can save some money by not tiling the ceiling in their shower or doing a tiled niche?
“Yeah. I say, you know, if you’re going to do a renovation, which when you do a tile renovation you’re looking at a space that will be untouched for the next 25 years at least. And that’s only because they may want to change the look again. So then if you’re going to do a bathroom renovation Edmonton or a tile installation or, you know, anything like that, you want to make sure you’re happy when it’s all completed.
“So a niche creates such a look in a shower where you’re going to have less clutter. You know, the shampoo often is sitting on the curb or sitting on the bench. And so by having a niche, it’s all organized, it’s clean.
“On the terms of the ceiling, it really depends on the shower that we’re installing. So the steam showers—100% never skip that. We want to make sure that the ceiling, walls, and niche and floor, it’s all sealed tight so that you never have any sort of mold or any sort of like wet moisture collected or trapped.
“But then if you’re going to be just doing a standard al cove shower or corner shower with like a standard high glass, that’s all that you’re going to be using it for. We can do just the three walls or the two walls with no ceiling. And, you know, it’s all going to be okay because water and vapor just escapes the area and dries off. So it really depends on the layout of the shower and what they’re asking for. Really.”
Exactly. Yeah. Sometimes you can’t skip out on that tile, but maybe there’s different options of materials—what would you say there? Like maybe don’t put the really fancy expensive tile there and put something else, right?
“Yeah. Yeah. And and you know the ceiling tile is often like a more of an opportunity to create—for example, one of the showers we did they mirrored the shower floor with the ceiling tile and that really made it really cool. Even if you’re not going to have a steam shower or something where you need to really waterproof the ceiling, you could still do it if it’s for design purpose. Yeah.”
All right. Now, what trends or upgrades are you actually doing right now that add value to homes in say, Riverbend or Ramsey Heights?
“Yeah. So with those neighborhoods, again, we’re installing a lot of barrierless entry showers. It seems to be the trend. When we are doing it, we also have the capability to do a bench. Yeah, we do those and then a lot of self-standing tops. So when we do those, we have to also do like a wainscoting tiled splash around the self-standing top. Yeah, that’s pretty much it for the last renovation we just completed.”
Somebody in Laurier Heights or Lessard is looking for a bathroom renovation. Where do they get started? What do they got to do?
“Look us up online. Give us a call. We’ll start the consultation process. We’ll come in person and measure everything, take a look at their vision, discuss some of the finishes. Another factor is lighting. Sometimes they want a chandelier in the middle of their self-standing tub just for again aesthetics, design, and so pots, heated floors, all that come into factor.
“So yeah, give us a call. We’ll come in person, do a consultation, and we’ll be able to decide things with them and get them on the design process.”
Yeah. Thanks, Oscar, for sharing your expertise with us today. And if you are looking for the Bathroom Renovation in Edmonton of your dreams, call 587-333-9800 or visit www.thetileexperts.ca and you’ll see Oscar. He’ll come out and get that design process started for you.
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