Hall bathroom remodel in Alexandria, VA: a tub turned into a walk-in shower tiled to the ceiling, plus white oak floors upstairs

What did the homeowner want?

A walk-in shower instead of the tub, and wood instead of carpet. The hall bath was small and still had its tub with a shower curtain, a beige tile floor and a wood vanity. The homeowner booked a visit through our website and asked for a walk-in shower with glass in place of the tub, a more water-saving toilet, a new vanity, floor and lighting. She also asked us to price new hardwood floors for the carpeted rooms upstairs, so she could decide whether to do both at once. She chose to do both together.

Before

After

How we designed it: the shower in the tub's place

Designer Douglas met the homeowner at home, measured the bath and the rooms upstairs, and drew the bath in 3D. No walls moved: the walk-in shower takes the tub's alcove, and the vanity and toilet stay on their walls. He priced the bath and the floors together in one proposal, then came back with our project manager for the final measurements before anything was ordered.

The plan put the tile all the way to the ceiling, a recessed niche in the back wall, a rain head and a handheld shower, and a long linear drain at the shower's edge, so the hex mosaic floor reads as one surface. A new 6-inch LED light sits over the shower, a new exhaust fan is in the ceiling, and the fan, the shower light and the vanity light each have their own switch. The outlet moved to the wall beside the vanity as a GFCI.

Building the shower: waterproofing, then tile to the ceiling

Opened

Waterproofed

Tile going up

In demolition, the tub, its tile and the old floor came out, and the walls around the tub were opened to the framing. The new shower valve and the drain went in, and then our crew covered the shower walls in a red waterproofing membrane from the floor to the ceiling before any tile went on.

The walls are MSI Praia Carrara, a polished 12 by 24-inch tile with a marble look, laid in a horizontal offset up to the ceiling, with brushed nickel Schluter trim on the edges. The recessed niche in the back wall is backed in the same hex mosaic as the floor. Before the tile went on, the homeowner met our team on site to settle the last details: the tile offset, the direction of the floor tile and the grout colors.

A hex floor with a linear drain

The shower floor is MSI Carrara White, a honed 2-inch hexagon mosaic in white and gray. Along the shower's edge runs a 24-inch Oatey Designline linear drain with a tile-in cover, so the drain almost disappears into the floor.

The trim is Delta's Modern line in Spotshield brushed nickel: a rain head and a handheld shower, with a 1.75 GPM flow.

Glass that slides, not swings

In a small bath, a sliding door needs no room to swing open. So the shower closes with a custom 3/8-inch tempered glass door with two sliding panels on a brushed nickel track. Our fabrication partners measured it once the tile was in, then made and installed it, under our supervision.

A navy vanity and a white mirrored cabinet

The vanity is a 24-inch Pottery Barn Moro in blue, with its own white top and sink, and Top Knobs hardware in brushed nickel. The faucet is a Kohler Sundae 8-inch widespread in brushed nickel.

Above it hangs a white Winston Porter wall cabinet with a mirror and an open shelf, under a Progress Lighting two-light fixture. The new toilet is a Kohler Joist, a two-piece elongated model that uses 1.28 gallons per flush.

The bathroom floor is MSI Watercolor Grigio, a gray 12 by 24-inch tile in an offset pattern. New 5-inch flat baseboards and fresh paint finish the room.

Part two: white oak floors upstairs, down to the stairs

Upstairs, the carpet came up in the bedrooms and their closets, in the hall, on the stairs and on the landings. In its place is solid Somerset white oak in a natural finish, 5 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick.

When the carpet came up, our crew took the old floor underneath out and laid new 1/4-inch plywood, secured, so the new hardwood lies flat and solid. New 5-inch flat white baseboards with shoe molding finish every room.

The stairs: oak treads and white risers

On the stairs, each step got a new white oak tread with a rounded nose and a white riser, so the stairs match the new floors above and below. The handrail stayed.

One project, from the bath to the hall

Because the bath and the floors were one project, one crew built both, and the two meet at the bathroom door: gray tile on one side, white oak on the other.

Both parts were planned together from the first visit, and the homeowner had one designer and one project manager for the whole job.

What happened in what order: the Alexandria hall bath and floors, step by step

Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours. How our process works →

1. Design: the in-home visit and measurements; the bath drawn in 3D; the bath and the floors priced together; the contract signed for both.
2. Final measurements and ordering: final measurements with the designer and our project manager; the tile, vanity, cabinet, fixtures, toilet, lights and the white oak ordered.
3. Demolition: the tub, its tile and the bath floor out; the tub walls opened.
4. Rough-in: the shower valve and the linear drain; wiring for the recessed light, the new fan, three switches and the GFCI outlet.
5. Waterproofing and tile: the shower walls waterproofed; the wall tile to the ceiling with the niche; the hex shower floor and the bathroom floor; grout.
6. Floors: the carpet up; the old floor out and new plywood secured; white oak in the bedrooms, closets and hall; treads, nosing and white risers on the stairs and landings; baseboards and shoe molding.
7. Vanity and fixtures: the navy vanity, faucet, toilet, mirrored cabinet, vanity light and accessories.
8. Glass: the sliding glass door measured after tile, then installed.
9. Last: the final walkthrough with the homeowner.

Who built it: designer Douglas planned the bath and the floors with the homeowner, and our crew built both. Only the sliding shower glass came from our fabrication partners, under our supervision.

Budget: about $40K–$50K for the whole project, the hall bath and the floors together.

What came up during the build, and how we solved it

• New plywood under the oak. When the carpet came up, our crew laid new 1/4-inch plywood, secured, so the white oak lies flat and solid.
• Last choices, made on site. Before the tile went on, the homeowner met our team in the bath to settle the tile offset, the direction of the floor tile and the grout colors, with the tile in front of her.
• A door with no swing. A sliding door needs no room to swing open. Two sliding glass panels open the shower without taking any floor space.
• Stairs that match. Instead of carpet on the stairs and wood above, every step got a white oak tread and a white riser, so the floors read as one from the bedrooms down.

Alexandria, VA hall bath and floors materials: marble-look tile, a navy vanity and white oak

The exact products in this project, from our order records.

More photos: the Alexandria, VA hall bath and floors, start to finish