DIY: Soaking in satisfaction

Posted to: Chesapeake D.I.Y.

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Chesapeake resident Audrey Clifford, right, finally has the bathroom of her dreams thanks to husband Steve’s efforts. (Victoria Hecht | The Viginian-Pilot)

IN HIS OWN WORDS: Steve Clifford’s master bath upgrade

My goal was to upgrade our plain master bath into an inviting froufrou bathroom for my wife. I must admit I have little construction experience.

The original bath had double sinks, a toilet, stand-up full shower, a 3-by-2-foot closet and one small window. I wanted to replace the shower with a Jacuzzi tub, change the double sink to a single sink with more counter space, remove the closet and install two large windows to take advantage of our scenic backyard and water views. I left the toilet as is.

Along the way, my wife added new requirements, such as moving lighting, adding more lighting, installing a wall-mounted flat-screen TV and installing ceiling tiles. That’ll cost you extra!

My wife thought the project would take about a month. I figured three months. It ended up taking seven months. I worked most weekends but didn’t do too much during the week and never past 10 p.m .

For me, the whole job was difficult. I measure everything at least twice and rarely cut more than one thing at a time. I have a problem with squareness and a fear of cutting everything too short.

I started the project by cutting up a perfectly good stand-in shower – 5 years old with little use. That didn’t seem to make sense.
Next came preparations for installing two 5-by-5-foot casement windows. Of course, every wall I cut into had some drain piping or vent pipe that had to be rerouted.

I removed the sink countertop and tiled it with travertine and used similar tile on the floor and the Jacuzzi decking. The most difficult part of the job was mudding the drywall. Thank God for picture frames and a cabinet that hide some of the scars.

There was even a bonus along the way. I found an unused void behind the sink, which I turned into a 2-by-2-foot closet.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I did 95 percent of the work myself. My wife helped with some tiling of the sink and backsplash, and my neighbors helped me install the large windows. Other than that, it was all me.

Countless calls to my three brothers in New York – construction foreman, plumber and tiler – were invaluable in getting me through the project. I may even have taught my plumber brother something by introducing him to shark-bite fittings, which saved me from a lot of plumbing headaches.

Although there were many frustrations, I am proud of the outcome. My wife loves soaking in her bubbling Jacuzzi with the river view while watching TV.

By Victoria Hecht
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 10, 2008

Steve Clifford wanted his wife to have the master bath of her dreams - a bubble-bath heaven fit for a queen and surrounded by nature.

Now Audrey can soak in her garden tub, which overlooks a backyard creek just a stone's throw from the Elizabeth River, and watch television at the same time.

Steve's labor of love not only won his wife's admiration, but it garnered Best Bathroom Makeover honors in Home's 2008 Do-It-Yourself Contest. Fittingly, the couple will use their $500 winnings during a romantic getaway to Germany in December.

Despite his award-winning effort, Steve's the first to admit he's no fan of renovating.

"I was balking the whole time," he said.

Added Audrey: "You can call him the 'reluctant do-it-yourselfer.' "

The Cliffords, of Chesapeake's Fernwood Farms, have lived in their three-story home for five years. While they love its view, the house wasn't built to take advantage of it, they said.

First they put in a deck and gazebo off the kitchen to capitalize on the setting. Steve's brothers, who all work in construction, came down from New York to do that project, he said. With that complete, the pre-renovation master bath - with one small window - paled in comparison.

Audrey thought the space, at about 8-by-10-feet, would take three weeks to complete. Steve estimated it at three months.

Ultimately, because of problems with the new tub, it took seven months.

"And I take a lot of time because I have very little experience," Steve said.

No problem, noted Audrey, who works at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth.

"I'd like to say we suffered during the process, but we didn't. We have four baths," she said, smiling.

Out came a linen closet, which took up room in the small bathroom, but the tearout revealed dead space behind a wall. Steve used it for a new linen closet in the hallway.

The existing shower also came out. That was a hard one for Steve, who didn't like wasting the almost-new stall.

But the Cliffords, who are bargain hunters, maintained high style on a budget, spending $6,000 on the renovation.

Audrey stood in line on Black Friday to nab a flat-screen television at a rock-bottom price so she could soak and watch the tube at the same time.

The couple scored chic faucets at a going-out-of-business sale, and elegant, silvery reeds set in a vase on the tub ledge were 75 percent off during an after-Christmas sale. And Audrey bathes under the light of a chandelier.

The Cliffords also saved $1,000 on the Jacuzzi tub by ordering a model with the controls on the left and faucet/knobs on the right. Saving even more money, Steve used leftover wood from the deck project to edge around the large, new picture windows.

Audrey knew how she wanted the bathroom to look. It was up to Steve, a Navy retiree who works civil service, to achieve it.

"I wanted it elegant but not over the top, which is why we incorporated travertine to tone it down," she said.

Steve cut travertine tile for the sink countertop, floor and Jacuzzi surround. The sides of the tub surround are wood paneling, which can be removed to access the bath's motor. After mudding the walls and fixing problem areas, Steve put blue 1-inch tile above the sink. Grouting it was probably one of the least-pleasant tasks, Audrey said. They topped it with new light fixtures and an oval mirror. The walls, coated in a deep Provence blue, are soothing and dark, but the natural light from the new windows adds brightness. Rounding out the bath is a new storage cabinet.

Steve said he couldn't have completed the makeover without advice from his brothers ("I was on the phone with them every other day") and friend Tony Goodwin, who supplied muscle and a truck, among other things.

The Cliffords' next project is completing their kitchen renovation with the addition of a banquette and building out the living room.

In the meantime, though, Audrey's content to enjoy luxurious bubble baths with squirrels and woodpeckers just outside the window. And sometimes she might even slip on the tiara that rests on a crystal jar on the tub's ledge.

It is, after all, a bathroom fit for a queen.

Victoria Hecht, (757) 446-2614, victoria.hecht@pilotonline.com