Murphy’s Law – A Bathroom Renovation

Well. I don’t often write about what can go wrong on a jobsite. But, being in the world of design and construction, the odds are, something will go wrong every once in a while.

Welcome to the bathroom renovation project we are calling Murphy’s Law. What ever could go wrong, did.

BUT, because our team is so dedicated and so honourable, our client never had a thing to worry about, and in the end, their master bathroom is just perfect.

When our clients called, I was very happy to hear from them. Several years ago we did their kitchen and main floor. Last year, it was his parents kitchen. And now, they trusted us once more to renovate their bathroom, and do a few other things in the house.

Before

Here is a before photo of their bathroom:

Client’s bathroom before

The bathtub took up a LOT of space. The shower was super tiny and the vanity didn’t offer the type of storage they wanted. To save a little on the budget, we tried our best to keep the plumbing as close as possible to it’s existing location. That’s a cost savings that most people don’t really consider. It costs a lot less to move a faucet over a few inches than across a room.

The design process was easy. I know them, their tastes and budget. The only back and forth was really about faucets and the shower floor tile. I love the gray penny tile we used on the floor. People always think that everything has to be a perfect match. In truth, changing things up every once in a while can really add interest to a space.

I thought it might be fun for you to see what our clients see, so below are some snips of the pages we use to show our clients their design. Along with these and some samples, we create their plan. When our client’s get their design package, all the elements are included along with a full, detailed budget.

The Design

We decided to create a design video for our clients. It’s not something we do often, but thought it would be fun for them to see. You can see it, along with the completed bathroom, here:

After

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl0jTl-XzAk[/embedyt]

Now what went wrong? That’s how we started this blog, isn’t it?

  1. The countertop was installed with a giant yellow stain on it. The manufacturer sent their stain guru guy, and as hard as he worked, it was not coming out. A new countertop was installed.
  2. The shower door. Oh my poor shower door guy. He measured 2 jobs for me on the same day. They mixed up the designs. I noticed right as they were about to make it. Then it finally gets done and the glass has a defect when installed. Then a new one goes in to be made and it blows up during tempering. And now a new on is in.
  3. Steven is very good about trying to keep  dust and dirt out of the “rest” of the house when we are on site. As we were removing stucco from the second floor ceiling, he put a plastic barrier at the bottom of the staircase to keep the mess out of the main floor. And, because he always goes that extra mile, he taped up the plastic to the ceiling to make a very tight seal. And when the tape came down, so did some of the ceiling paint.  The ceiling that we painted just a few years prior. And the ceiling colour isn’t in anyone’s notes. We called our painter, no clue. Called the paint store, no record. Turned the office upside down, no swatch in the file. Come on. I have colours from every job I have done for the last sixteen years. And this one in particular is missing?  So we tried 7 different whites. Not one match. And now their entire main floor ceiling has a fresh coat of paint.

I guess the moral of the story is; use reputable trades, so when the tape pulls off the paint, or the glass blows up, or the counter is stained, they come back and they fix it. And they do that because we work together as a team.  No yelling, no being rude or passing the buck.  We are a strong group of team players and because of that our clients benefit.  There is never a moment when we throw our hands up, or blame anyone.  And having that sort of team is not only great for my clients, it’s very good for my business. And my ability to sleep at night.

We loved this project. It’s functional, beautiful, and proved that even if Murphy has his evil eyes set on you, as long as you work together, you can Avenger that guy into oblivion. (that’s a superhero reference for those of you who aren’t superhero fans…)

Have a terrific day!

For the full portfolion page please go to: https://www.monacointeriors.ca/portfolio/adastra-crescent/

Have a terrific day!
XR

4 Comments

  1. Absolutely love this, Revi. Thank you for sharing. Ethical/honourable contractors are so hard to find these days. It’s all about being professional and making it right. I am sharing this video.

    Cheers,
    Karen

  2. Love this write up and brings me down memory lane 🙂
    You are right, everything that happened was addressed promptly and with the utmost quality!! Thank you for this!!
    We love our bathroom today as much as the day you completed as well as our kitchen and main floor!!

    1. Thanks so much!! Hope you are still enjoying the space!! Your bathroom gets a lot of positive remarks from people. And we loved working with you, as always!!

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