Ask Bathman with Scott Laing

The Bathman Chronicles

2010-12-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted any news. The reason for my absence is due to the final efforts that were needed to complete my 2 year long project called, "The Bathman Chronicles". This is a nearly two hundred page Ebook That contains over 3 hours of professionally edited video footage. The video is of me and my tech performing a complete Bathroom renovation in a seventy year old home. The footage is edited in to twelve parts. The introduction is meant for a meet and greet. Then at the end of each chapter there will be a private link to view the main renovation content. The book finishes up with an interview of the homeowners telling you an honest account of their experience through the process as well as what to expect with costs and surprises.

The Renvation Reality Series

The Ebook itself went through many hours of editing and graphic user upgrades. I was also very fortunate to hook up with artist Boris Hiestand to allow me to use his graphic image and creation that is The Bathman. Please visit him at www.borishiestand.com. The Ebook not only went through hours of transformation but when you include the months of video footage, became an experience that would prove to be very positive for the reader. The video content was not an original part of the concept, it was going to be separated for it's own plan. The video's are called, "The Renovation Reality Series".

IT'S FREE ?

This product has been developed at great costs to me and my company and I"ve had hours of discussion with the people that have had a hand in this endeavor. I didn't want to present this to you as part of a profit making venture. Something else that has happened in a timely manor is the 20 year celebration of my companies success. It was because of this that I had decided it was the time to give.

Thank You

I want to thank my past and future clients for the making of, "The Bathman Chronicles". Please feel free to download the ebook right to your desktop, sit back and let me do all of the work. Here's to the next 20 years !

Thanks again, The Bathman

PS. Download at www.bathresource.com

Thermostatic valve w/Integral stops

2010-02-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hey Mary,

There are 2 types of tub/shower valves that are most common in the U.S. The first is pressure Balance, which is it's own on/off and the second is thermostatic which usually requires a separate shut off. Thermostatic valves are temperature control only and require an additional control valve to divert and/or stop the flow of water (shut off). There is a company that makes a thermostatic valve that also shuts itself off and that is Grohe. There may be others but I don't typically use Thermostatic valves in my remodeling because it drives up costs. The particular part of your question about integral stops refers to the little screw shut-offs that are mounted on either side of the valve. It allows you to shut the water off to the valve only, in order to service the valve IE. Replace cartridge. So you don't have to shut the water off to the house. Most valves come with integral stops but you can get them both ways, with or without.

Hope that helps. Let me know if I gave you the answer you need.

Thank you for asking, The Bathman

Can you Paint your Ceramic Tile?

2009-05-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

You can only do so much to dress up a room with outdated tile in reference to the color and texture. You remember the 70's when colors like Harvest Gold and Avocado Green were being mass produced on every surface for the home and now your so desperate remove these colors you're ready to tear the tile off the walls. Before you get involved in a project that's going to create lots of mess not to mention the expense let's talk about the option of painting the tile.

First, paint does not like to stick to tile but don't let that discourage you, all that means is you're going to do a bang up job in surface preparation. You need to get rid of the slippery surface by starting out with a commercial tile cleaner, a mild abrasive pad and some elbow grease. This will begin to break down the glossy surface as well as any build up from the past years.

The next step is to get a bit more aggressive with the tile surface by sanding it with a 120 grit sandpaper. You can experiment with the grit but it would go easier if you had a Palm sander, if not just do it by hand until your arms feel like they're going to fall off then you'll know you did a good job. Do not skip this step, the better the sanding the better your paint job will bond to the tile. You do not want your paint to peel and if you sacrifice prep work it will fail.

Now that your tile surface is prepped for a nice paint bond you must do one more thing before applying the Primer and that is clean with a cloth and mineral spirits. Think of preparing a car to paint, you need to be as dust free as possible or the paint will only adhere to the dust. Don't drive yourself in to the loony bin about this just do the best you can.

It's time for Primer, it's best to use all oil base paints for adhesion. I know the clean up is a bear but let's do this job once the right way. Cut the corners in with a brush and roll the field in with a tight nap roller, Remember you are glazing the surface you are not slopping paint on walls. You are going to apply two coats of primer allowing each coat to thoroughly dry.

One step I would like you to add after priming is to take a fine grit sandpaper like 220 or higher and lightly sand the surface to knock off the dust burrs. Then clean it up because you're ready for paint.

The only thing you need to know when applying the paint is to apply a few thin coats to build a good bond, WE DO NOT WANT PEELING. Thin tight coats will serve you much better for durability especially in humid conditions like a bathroom. Keep a bottle of thinner by you for clean up, drink plenty of fluids and down lots of carbs for energy you're going to need it.

There may be another answer for you if you want to bypass the labor and that is to hire an expert that knows how to coat surfaces with apoxy paint. They are experienced with resurfacing appliances, bath fixtures and tile. They use a very durable paint mixture and spray it on while you sit in front of the TV, I actually endorse this method.

I hope this helps, please feel free to post a comment

PS. watch for my upcoming EBook, The Chronicles of Bathman

Bathroom renovation-hot water now

2009-04-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have been getting some questions about the wait time from the moment you turn on your shower to the time it takes to get a good hot water flow. For many of my clients it's a problem because it's not only a time waster but a water waster as well.

The answer to that is usually solved with a recirculating pump that mounts close to the hot water heater and provides a constant flow of hot water to all of your plumbing fixtures. This is not new technology and the old way of installation was labor intensive and fairly expensive to achieve what you might expect your home to provide you naturally.

THE NEW WAY

There is a cool product that is very user friendly and takes me about two hours to install and does a superb job of delivering hot water to your fixtures any time you turn then on, right now! The Product is made by a company called Grundfos and it's their comfort system that includes a pump with a timer to control water flow and a bypass valve that installs under the bathroom sink at the supply lines. It's a very straight forward design and install, I've been installing them for my bathroom remodeling clients that need a quicker hot water delivery and it works right now. The timer allows you to adjust usage so the pump doesn't continuously run when your sleeping or working.

The pump makes me look like a hero specially when I have just completed their new Master Bathroom and they step in to it for the first time but it also delivers instant hot water to all of your fixtures. Visit http://www.grundfos.com

I hope this helps, if you have any questions just post them

The Bathman

Tankless hotwater heaters

2009-04-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

I have had many inquiries from clients who are very interested in changing their original hot water system to a tankless unit and I wanted to clarify the good and the bad so you can make a more qualified decision for your home.

The Good

You will save money on gas because there is no water reservoir to keep heated day and night. Another plus is water quality, many people including myself cannot drink super cold water out of the tap so we mix it with hot water to get the desired drinking water temperature, with a tankless system the water tastes a lot better because it hasn't been cooked in a tank all night. Space saving is another good deal with this system, many homes can benefit from the extra space when eliminating a 50 gallon tank if it's in your laundry room or in a space that can be better used. Also, the tankless unit is built to last longer than a conventional water heater because it only starts to work when water is flowing through it in other words it sits sleeping until you wake it up which preserves the internal parts for longer life. Last but most important is the green factor can you imagine if everyone in the world heated their water this way - at the very least it would help!

The curve

Most people are wondering if this relatively small unit can give them what they have been used to getting in terms of hot water to multiple places all at once in other words can my family get up in the morning and take showers at the same time and run the kitchen sink faucet? The short answer is no. You will never, ever, ever run out of hot water but the tankless system has a hard time keeping up with major water draws. You can take one shower and run the kitchen sink but you may have to adjust the valve to a hotter setting. The best way to use a tankless system is to slow down the water at the valve leading to the tank by turning the valve toward the close position. This will drop the pressure a little and buy time for the water to heat, this is how I teach my clients to use the system and there is still more to tweak while operating your shower.

The reason why I know the nuances is because I installed one in my home about 5 years ago and I have seven people living in my home and in 5 years I know they made some improvements to the output. All in all this is a product you should definitely purchase and get used to using.

If you have any questions concerning your installation post the question and I will answer or you can email me at scott@askbathman.com

PS. If you like taking long hot showers this is absolutely for you because the hot water is endless!

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What The TV Pros Don't Tell You About Bath Renovation

2008-10-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

I was watching a, "Home Improvement Show" and this project was about improving the homes layout concerning the kitchens view of the laundry room. This was a bad first floor plan to begin with. It was an open floor plan that encompassed the kitchen,laundry room and open hallway to the rest of the home. The hotwater heater was also in the mix.

The idea of this remodeling segment was to address this particular layout and improve the look and feel of these areas. Get this, the budget was $2000.00, as if, and the purpose of doing this was to make the house more appealing to buyers. Yep, they were doing all of this work in order to sell their home.

No big deal, a project is a project. This one is hardly show worthy. This project was a funny one because as I watched it unfold on tv before my very eyes, they were doing adaptations that took hours of professional labor and at the end of the program they displayed on the tv screen what they had spent on the total project. Much to my surprise it was exactly $2000.00 That was amazing! Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his @#%*&^.

what was even less impressive was all of the parts you didn't see a charge for, like a new tankless hotwater heater. I have one in my house, so I know how much that cost. If you get one big enough to supply the whole house your cost will be around the $700.00 mark. Now, this is something I would not recommend a homeowner to install. I'm a professional and it took me several hour to disconnect and drain the old heater and install the new tankless complete and I didn't stop for lunch. At the very least this little swap out starts at $1500.00. You know they didn't do the rest of this renovation for $500.00

You really should understand that remodeling TV is not a good indicator for you to gauge your bathroom or any renovation project with. You would have to buy all low end at a big box store,on sale and do every ounce of labor yourself to even get close. I can appreciate a budget, but WOW!

All professionals know that when you start a project and your in the demolition phase you will quite often come across a scenario that changes the initial flow of the way you thought the project would go. Remodeling TV never tells you how much It cost them in labor or material to do the job with a different adaptation then originally thought.

I price jobs for a living, you don't. There is a learning curve for every new thing you do. You can't remodel a bathroom faster or cheaper than I can, so what! Make a plan, make a budget and get your hands dirty. you'll probably take more time and spend more money than you thought but at the end of the job, when your 100% done you will have achieved and learned so much more.

That's all for now, if you have any questions about your project post them and I will answer as soon as I can.

Thanks again, Scott -The Bathman

Bathman Says,"Let's Get Started."

2008-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons why bathroom renovation comes easy for me is because I see the project completed in my head before we lift a finger to do the work. Installers and people that work with their hands in general, relate to pictures rather than words or instructions on paper.

My cousin is a medical doctor. He bought a game for my son that had many many parts to it. As I was walking in through my front door I saw my cousin on the floor with this game that he had purchased trying to get all of these little pieces together by reading these very tiny instructions that were written by some engineer in Munich Germany. He gave up after a while and told me if I want to just throw it out! I asked my cousin to show me the instructions and put this game together,in front of him, in about 15 minutes. He asked how I could make that look so easy, the reason is because when I look at the instructions I look at the pictures and the images not the words. The picture on the front of the box almost tells the whole story to a mechanic. Then it's just a matter of finding the part.

So, The first thing you will do is a very simple drawing with a pencil,paper,ruler and tape measure. Don't be too concerned with measurement accuracy at this point, within the inch will be fine for now. The drawing needs to be a Birdseye view of your bath as it looks now, with measurements of your walls,tub/shower, vanity,toilet space and any other space that needs to be measured like closet and floor space.

The next thing you want to do is look at pictures of bathrooms that are professionally published in books or magazines that you can find at your local bookstore. The last time I looked for these types of publications I found no shortage of this material. There is plenty of image resources out there. Also, an image in a book is better than an image on the Internet. I just noticed it to be more vivid and alive.

After you have studied these pictures for a while you will start to get a sense of what your style is. You will probably see more than one bathroom picture that will motivate you to start using your minds eye to visualize your bathroom the same way. This will help you to define your look and taste so you can start the product selection process.

Now you need to start looking at the products that suit your style. There are many places to shop so I'm not going to get into that but, in order to make the selection process go easy you need to make a list of the products you are replacing. I don't mean a list of glue,screws and nails. I want you to make a list of finish products and fixtures. From your tile to your shower door, you want to list the item name, the item price and the item size or quantity. It is required at my shop to do that with every client. It is the only way to stay organized. I built a form using a program called formtool that does this for us. I will try and post it on my website as a pdf. for you to download and use. My website is http://www.bathresource.com/ I will post it as soon as I can.

The last thing I want to say about this is, don't start the labor part of your bath renovation project until you have nearly all of your material in your garage. If anything has been special ordered,unless it goes on last like a towel bar, be patient and wait to get your fixtures on the job site.

If you have any detailed questions concerning your bath renovation project,post them and I'll try to answer them as soon as possible.

That's all for now, Scott Laing - The Bathman

Bath Renovation Budget, "HOLY COW ,IT COST HOW MUCH?"

2008-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Money is a fairly sensitive issue, Especially in this economy, the mattress is looking pretty good.

This is probably going to be one of my shorter posts because of how black and white the answer is. First off there is a few different philosophies that help guide a person as to how much they would be willing to spend on their bathroom remodeling project.

The first question is why are we doing this. Is it because you really want to upgrade your home and living standards? Is it because your bathroom is in disrepair and are just trying to keep your home up to date. Or, are you trying to fix it up just enough to sell it (this option is not so motivating).

The other question is, how are we going to benefit from this bath renovation? Because we ain't doing it for free. Let me tell you some good news right off the bat. In my trade publication there is a rating as to what home project gives you the best value for your remodeling investment. Up till this year kitchens and baths were one and two. Investing in kitchens always beat out bathrooms by a fair margin. But, that turned around this year. This year the number one home project investment is bathrooms hands down.

The point being, don't be afraid to open up that pocket book a little more because the return will be justified. Even if you are selling your home and you give the new prospect an updated bathroom that can easily be the clincher.

Having said all of that I want to give you some real percentages.

When I do estimates for my clients, 9 times out of 10 the estimate equals 7-9% of the value of your home. This for master bathrooms. So, if the value of your home $500,000.00 usually the bath renovation budget averaged $35,000.00. That is for a complete project with installation. For hall bath renovations, they were averaging 5-7% of the home value. You can do the math by now.

You are going to save a lot of money if you do it yourself, of course, so don't skimp on the material as well. Use this as an opportunity to add back the value to your home.

That's it for now, if I can answer any specific questions for you go ahead and post them and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can

Thanks again, Scott - The Bathman

Bath Renovation Safety

2008-10-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Most people are cautious just by nature,especially when they enter a new element such as a project site. They become more aware, this is not the usual environment for them. This is a good mindset to be in because it allows you to focus exactly on what you are doing and you will need to do this.

I have built,repaired,installed and handled tools for many years and still when I loose focus,at the very least, my performance suffers leading to undesirable results.So, I'm going to give some advice and some of this you may already know but it's worth repeating if it gets you to act.

Doing the right thing in regards to safety is sometimes a necessary burden. For me it was like trying to train myself to wear a seat belt while driving a car. I never grew up doing that,never! cars were already confining enough but the you want me to strap myself in on top of that,no way! Then I got married and my wife got on me about that still I resisted. Then we had children, now I had to set an example still at least half of the time I went without a seat belt. Then it became with a big fine attached and the cops were looking and ticketing. It was not looking good for this freebird, so I gave in. I just don't need the ticket and by the way "IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD".

So, let's get right into it. first, use the right tools for the job. There is no substitute for the right tool. The same goes for purchasing quality tools. DO NOT BUY CHEAP TOOLS. Good tools are worth buying because they will make you a better installer and keep you safer.Good tools operate better and are better machined so they give you more precise control.Not only that, good tools are more ergonomic and better balanced. Meaning, they work with you and help you move better,so there is less chance of failure while using it.I look at tools as an asset because they make me much more money than what I payed for them.

Next, take the no brainer precautions. What this means is protect the eyes, hands and nose. A few years ago I simply, wouldn't have done this because the products on the market for this type of protection were not very good. Meaning that they were very uncomfortable and when you do this for a living, well.... you know what I mean. But now eye protection, dust masks and gloves are all made very well and are very comfortable. These products all function and look better than their predecessors. These three simple pieces of equipment will serve you well, SO USE THEM.

Lastly, I leave a little piece of myself on every job, if you know what I mean. The best advise I can give a newbie or anybody is, always work calmly and patiently. You may go slower but you'll hurt less in the end. Learn how to let the tools do the job. learn how to use leverages. Bend all exposed nails flat, these nails will eat you and your close alive. If your doing demolition make big heavy pieces into small light ones, what does it matter it's all going in the garbage anyways. If your job site becomes too cluttered and your starting to trip over things STOP and clean up, stay orginized. At the very least you'll always know where you put stuff.

The very last note on this topic is about the limitations of the human body. I really really desire to stay healthy, so I do a large amount of stretching every day before I start installing and at night before dinner. I'm sorry to preach this to you but it works to stay as flexible as possible. I am the healthiest laborer I know my hobbies include running,biking and swimming. Yep, I'm a triathlete. Can you imagine training for races and laboring for a living? That's what most people tell me.

Well, thats all for now. If you have any specific questions about your renovation on this subject just post the question and I can give you a more detailed answere.

Thanks again, Scott - The Bathman

Bathman Gives You The Top Three Reasons To Renovate Your Bathroom

2008-10-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

As you now know, because I have told you, I have been in the bath renovation business for many year so you can imagine I have heard enough reasons as to what motivates some one to do a bathroom remodeling project.

One of the best reasons is disrepair. Think of the car you drive. You have had it for a long time, It's given you years of service and good use. Now, when one item is breaking down no problem you fix it and don't have a problem doing that knowing how much value you have recieved. But, when multiple items start to malfunction you start to think," Maybe we should take a different course of action."

You don't want to throw good money into repair when the value won't match the investment. You know when it's time to start anew and that time probably has come if you are already doing the research.

One of the top reasons in my opinion is upgrade. I have the most fun with clients who want to upgrade their average bathroom into a Spa. Clients who seek me out with the philosophy of turning their bathroom space into a place of retreat and comfort, I believe, Have the right Idea. You don't have to have a very large space to do this. It can be done to almost every bathroom space and your not only adding more value to the home with this type of renovation you are also doing it for yourself.

Spending money on your home for yourself, hmmmmm. I'm in.

The last motivator for bathroom remodeling that I'll talk about in this blog is Ergonomics or physical comfort.

Many times A client will approach me with their existing bathroom drawings and you wonder what the architect was smoking. As soon as you open the bathroom door your stairing at the toilet in the middle of the layout, along with, The shower is to small and the tub/deck area is to big. I couldn't tell how many oversized whirlpool tubs i've cut into pieces but it's too many.

I reconfigure most of the floor plans in the bathroom renovations that I do. That way when we get done with your project you can appreciate the spacial difference that adds more value to your lifestyle.

Well, That's all for now. give it some thought and if you have any questions post them in the comments and I'll try and answere them as best as I can.

Thanks again, The Bathman

Do It Yourselfers, The Bathman Has Your Back

2008-09-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

I just want to make sure you leap in to this project with your eyes wide open.

I wrote a report on the ways a pro saves you money. Download it for free at my site http://www.askthebathman.com/ it's a pdf. save it to your desktop. I want you to review it now and again as you progress through your project.

Before you start I want you to go to www.nahb.org/category.aspx?sectionID=715 and review one last report, It's at the bottom, called Think Twice Before You Remodel Yourself.

It was written on 1/4/2005. It tells a similar story about his neighbor and a project. The reason I bring this up is so you don't lose momentum with your project and let it go on for months.

So now that you have decided that your the pro first things first...... What? your the pro.....

TIP #1 Design and Budget, come on, never start the project until all of the material is in your garage. I don't mean every piece of drywall, thats easy to get.I mean fixtures.

Scounces, exhaust fan, toilet, medicine cabinet, faucets, vanity top, vanity, shower door, tile, etc. Make a list and as the stuff comes in open it to check for damage, store it if satisfied and check it off of the list.

I'm building a comprehensive checklist for everyone to download and print out. It will be on my website and it will keep you orginized. Look for it soon

Thats all for now, stay motivated - Scott the Bathman.

ps. post any questions you have as comments and I will answere them for everyone until my ebook is ready.

Ask The Bathman Launches

2008-08-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Scott Laing, The Bathman. I have over twenty years of bath renovation experience, Installation as well as design. I am looking forward to talking with you about your remodeling project. I will be providing with tips and design ideas for your bath project. Hope to hear from you soon. Scott Laing a.k.a. Ask The Bathman ps. be sure to join my free news letter where I will keep you up to date with the latest industry trends and renovation ideas.