How to update a dated bathroom

You can update a dated bathroom without taking it to the studs, as long as the shower, tub and floor are solid and watertight. A new vanity, faucets, lights, mirror and hardware, plus paint and fresh grout, changes a 1990s bathroom more than people expect. If the tile is loose, the floor is soft or the shower leaks, though, cosmetic work won't last, and you're better off putting the money into a real remodel. We hear this question a lot in Malta, where plenty of houses went up in the 1990s and 2000s and the bathrooms are showing it.

The 1990s bathroom, item by item

You probably know the look. In a lot of Malta and Clifton Park area homes, you'll find some mix of polished brass faucets and towel bars, a honey oak vanity with a matching oak mirror frame, and a cultured marble top with the bowl molded right in. The toilet and tub are almond or bone. There's a Hollywood strip of bulbs over a mirror that runs wall to wall. The floor is small square tile with wide grout lines gone gray, and the shower is a one-piece fiberglass unit with a framed brass slider.

None of that is broken. What you need to sort out is which pieces come out cheaply and which ones are tied into the shower and floor.

Check for water first

Before you pick a vanity, spend ten minutes looking for leaks. An update on top of a hidden leak is money thrown away.

Stand next to the toilet and rock your weight onto the floor. Any give or softness points to a subfloor that's been wet. Look along the bottom of the tub or shower for cracked caulk, gaps, brown staining, or wall surface that feels soft at the seams of a fiberglass unit or along the bottom row of tile. Tap tiles with a knuckle; a hollow sound, or a tile that moves, means the bond has let go, often because water got to the backing. Peeling paint or mildew on the ceiling says the exhaust fan isn't keeping up. Then go downstairs and look at the ceiling under the bathroom for stains.

If you find something, read our post on signs of a leaking shower behind tile. Fix the water damage before anything cosmetic happens.

What to change, biggest payoff first

If the room is sound, here's roughly the order we'd go in.

The vanity and top. Pull the oak vanity and cultured marble, put in a painted or wood-tone vanity with a quartz or solid-surface top, and the whole room reads differently. If the drain and supply lines stay where they are, it's a contained job. Measure carefully. A new vanity the same width as the old one means you don't have to patch floor tile where the old cabinet sat.

Lights and mirror. Take down the strip of bulbs and hang a sconce on each side of the mirror at face height. You get better light for shaving and makeup, and the room stops looking like 1994. A framed mirror or a medicine cabinet sized to the vanity replaces the wall-wide mirror. Moving or adding electrical boxes means opening the wall, and that's work for a licensed electrician.

Faucets and hardware. Swap the brass for brushed nickel, matte black or whatever finish you like, and do the faucet, towel bars, toilet paper holder and cabinet pulls all at once so they match. Sometimes the shower trim can be replaced without touching the valve in the wall, if the manufacturer makes a trim kit that fits.

The shower door. Getting rid of a framed brass slider and putting up a clean glass door, or just a curtain rod, is a small job with a big effect.

The toilet. A new white one replaces almond or bone, uses less water, and goes in quickly.

Grout and caulk. Clean and regrout a floor that's gone gray, then seal it. Cut out the old caulk around the tub completely and run a new bead. Our post on how often to recaulk a tub or shower covers upkeep, and sealing grout every year or two keeps it from darkening again.

Paint and the fan. New wall color, and a semi-gloss or bath-rated paint on the ceiling. If the ceiling peels or the mirror stays fogged long after a shower, replace the fan with a quieter, stronger one ducted outside, not into the attic. See bathroom exhaust fans and mold for sizing and venting.

When an update won't cut it

Some problems mean a remodel, period. A fiberglass unit that's cracked or leaking at the seams. Loose tile on a shower wall, which almost always has water behind it. Soft or rotted subfloor. A tub or shower that somebody in the house has trouble stepping into. A layout where the door hits the toilet or there's nowhere to stand at the sink.

If you're looking at any of those, our guide to a bathroom remodel in Clifton Park walks through a full renovation in a house of the same age.

While the wall is open

Even if aging in place is years off for you, an update is a cheap moment to get ready for it. When the wall's already open for a new vanity or light, add solid wood blocking in the shower and beside the toilet. Later, grab bars screw into it without another wall repair. Lever handles on faucets are easier on hands than knobs. Our post on grab bars that look good shows how support can blend into the room.

Frequently asked questions

Can I paint a cultured marble vanity top?

You can, with specialty coatings, but painted tops wear fast around the sink where hands and water hit them. Replacing the top, or the whole vanity, lasts a lot longer.

Should I change brass fixtures if I'm not remodeling?

Often, yes. Faucets, towel bars and cabinet hardware are fairly easy to swap, and a matched finish makes a noticeable difference for what it takes.

Can I replace a fiberglass tub surround with tile and keep the tub?

Sometimes. If the tub itself is sound, the surround comes out and the walls get rebuilt with backer board, waterproofing and tile. The joint where the tile meets the tub edge has to be detailed carefully, or water ends up behind the new wall.

Some of the bathrooms we've done are on our bathrooms page, including a white vanity with a glass walk-in shower. We take on small updates and full remodels in Malta and across the Capital Region, and we'll tell you which one your bathroom needs after we've tapped the tile and stood on the floor.