Doing up the Rental Bath,
"Industrial Spa Style"
| MATERIALS | ASSEMBLY | RESULTS |
Most rental baths are pretty utilitarian. Our example is no exception. Although the fixtures and surfaces are in good shape, the ho-hum design is pretty uninspiring. Let's Change that.
We are going with the "spa" style that seems to be such a hot trend with bathrooms right now, but with an industrial twist. And, best of all, when your lease is up, you can take it all down, damage deposit still intact,
MATERIALS:
Translucent fiberglass panels - $88
3M Command utility hooks, large (5lb.) - $24
7-inch straight cutting tin snips - $7
Hide gloves - $7
Protective eye goggles - $3
6-foot lengths of LED white holiday lights - $42
White 6-foot extension, 3 outlets - $18 (optional)
3/4-inch long fully threaded bolt and nut - $2
Simple woven baskets - $36
5/8-inch cup hooks - $2
3-foot dowels, 1-inch in diameter - $10
Medium sized eye screw, 1/2-inch diameter hole - $5
3/8-inch sisal or hemp rope - $5
1/2-inch cup hooks - $1
Wooden cabinet knobs - $4
Low voltage compact fluorescent bulbs - $12
White vinyl gutter screen, 3-foot lengths - $6
6 x 8-inch white shelf brackets - $2
White colored duct tape - $3
1 1/8-inch x 8-foot outside corner molding, pine - $7
Tension shower rod - $8
1 x 2 standard pine lumber in 8-foot sections - $11
3 x 1/2-inch corner irons - $3
3-inch T-plates - $9
1/2-pound of 1/2-inch galvanized wood screws - $3
Acrylic sealer for wood - $6
5-foot roll of 3/4-inch self-adhesive white Velcro - $8
White vinyl shower curtain liner - $5
1/2-inch high impact, waterproof foam mats, gray - $50
Metal office cabinet - $40
4 x 4-foot post in douglas fur - $10
MDF boards - $5
Fountain - $35
Misc. drill bits - $5
TOTAL: $482 | top |
The main surface and the most expensive component to our "industrial spa" design consists of translucent fiberglass (or PVC) corrugated panels. These can be purchased at the hardware or home improvement store. We hung eight of them on our bathroom walls. Overlap the panels for a continuous look and drill 3/8-inch holes near the top on the overlap. If you can put holes in your walls, we suggest screwing in large cup hooks. We are under the assumption that no holes can be put in the walls, so we hung our panels using the large (5lb.) 3M Command Utility hooks. The panels should be hung so that they are about 1/2-inch off of the original floor (they will sit on top of the new floor. More on that later.)
Obviously, where the panels flow around fixtures, they will need to be cut out. Measure carefully, and cut out the required shapes using a pair of straight cutting tin snips. We also strongly recommend wearing protective hide gloves and eye goggles while cutting for safety. In the case of our bathroom, we cut out shapes for the water lines to the toilet, the sink, the wall outlet, the medicine cabinet, and the vanity light fixture.| top |
One of the great features of the corrugated panels in this application is the ability to use the panels as a sort of false wall, in which to screw into and hang stuff on. The first example of this is our addition of "zen mood lighting". In this case we are using White LED Holiday lights in 6-foot lengths. In our bathroom, we are hanging them on either side of the sink, on either side of the toilet, and two on the wall adjacent to the toilet. Where the corrugated panel bows out into the room, drill a small hole to accommodate your 3/4-inch fully threaded bolt. Thread the bolt through the hole. Hang the lights from the bolt on the back side of the panel (so the lights are between the panel and the wall), and thread the nut onto the bolt.
Our LED lights come with battery packs that just hang at the bottom of the light string. If you can't find light strings with battery packs, simply purchase a couple of 6-foot white indoor extension cords, and run them behind the panels also, until they reach to either a wall outlet in the bathroom or out of the bathroom to an outlet in an adjacent room. You can also use regular mini holiday lights. They cost less, but they consume a lot more energy during use.
One of the most important aspect of a "spa" feel is the use of organic materials. First, we replace the beige cover on the wall outlet with a natural wood one (preferably light in color, versus a cherry or mahogany). Next, we add some much need storage space by hanging several simple woven baskets over the toilet. 5/8-inch cup hooks are screwed into the corrugated panel (again where the wave of the panel bows out). two for each basket, and the baskets are hung on the hooks. We also purchased an 8-foot length of outside corner molding made out of pine. Any good hardware, lumber, or home improvement store will cut your lumber to length and miter it for you. We attached it to our medicine cabinet door using folded over tape on the inside of the wood.
Our vanity light fixture is useful, but frankly, kind of ugly. We removed the incandescent light bulbs, and replaced them with compact florescent bulbs (make sure to get the ones with the tubes bent in the curves to mimic the shape of a standard incandescent bulb). On either side of the fixture, we screwed in two white shelf brackets. The brackets measure 6-inches by 8-inches. We screwed the six inch length into the corrugated panel. on the 8-inch length of bracket we hung a three sided box made of 6-inch white vinyl gutter screen. We cut the screen to fit, and taped the pieces to each other using white duct tape on the inside of the box. We used 2, 3-foot lengths. There should be plenty of space between the bulbs and the box.| top |
To add more natural materials to the bathroom, we removed the old towel racks and toilet paper dispenser (stored neatly away, screws and all to be replaced when you move), and replaced them with our version of "Zen" towel racks. Using wooden dowel rods, 1-inch in diameter, we had them cut into three descending lengths, such as three feet, two feet, and 1-foot. On the two larger lengths we screwed in medium sized eye screws on either end. On this particular rack, the bottom dowel holds the toilet paper, so we screwed in 1/2-inch cup hooks instead. We threaded 3/8-inch sisal (or hemp) rope through the eye screws on the larger dowels, making a knot under each screw, and added a couple of spare key rings to the bottom of the rope with knots under them. The hooks will grab onto the key rings, but can be easily removed to replace the toilet paper. Finally, the entire rack in hung on wooden cabinet knobs screwed into the corrugated panel. On this "Zen" rack we also added magazines, but you could also add towels for another rack next to the shower.| top |
By far, the most construction-intensive part of this project is the shower screen. Made out of wood with a removable vinyl backing, the screen is suppose to mimic the Japanese Soshi screen. First we go back to the lumber store to purchase seven pieces of 1 x 2 pine lumber in 8-foot lengths. We had them cut at the store to 20, 24, and 67-inch pieces. The 67-inch lengths are the vertical parts of the frames. The 24-inch pieces are the outer and middle horizontal parts of the frames. The 20-inch pieces are the vertical cross braces in the centers of the frames. Seal the wood on all sides using acrylic sealer, applying at least three coats.
All of the zinc plates used to hold the frames together are screwed in using 1/2-inch galvanized wood screws, and attached about 1/4-inch from the insides of the joints to leave room the attach Velcro pieces. The 3-inch angle irons are attached at the corners, and the 3-inch t-plates are attached at the sides. Once the frames are secure, apply self-adhesive white Velcro, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces on the corners and other strategic places on the frame. Leave the two sides of the Velcro together.
Cut the white vinyl curtain liner vertically in two equal pieces. Expose the adhesive back of the Velcro on the frames. Carefully apply the liner to the frame, securing the second side of the Velcro strips as you go. Try to get the liner as tight and straight as possible. When the desired fit is acquired, trim the liner to fit the frame. Screw in 3 medium eye hooks to the top of each frame. Apply a shower tension rod to the frame of the tub stall, slightly lower and over from the current shower rod. String the frames onto the rods using more sisal (or hemp) rope as natural shower curtain rings.
We covered up the beige, vinyl sheet tile with 1/2-inch high impact waterproof foam interlocking mats in a neutral gray color. Cut to fit around fixtures, and pull up occasionally to clean underneath. We finished off our spa look with a large plant stand (constructed from a douglas fir 4 x 4 and some scrap MDF board) with a leafy, low light plant, a metal office file cabinet for additional storage space, and a lovely fountain.
