Master Bath Remodel in Bethesda, Maryland
Project Overview
The clients first hired Four Brothers to design, build and install a custom built-in unit in their living room. About a year later, they called us back their Bethesda MD home to look at renovating their master bathroom since the shower was leaking through the ceiling below. Although this house had good bones and many of the finishes were nice, it had been a “flip” job where corners had been cut including not waterproofing the shower pan and bench. The only thing for us to do was to rip out the bathroom and start over. (It helped that the clients hated the layout and finishes in the bathroom anyway.)
Design and Layout
One nice aspect of remodeling in Bethesda is that the houses are large compared to those in Washington DC. The bathroom was relatively large but the layout was awkward and the space poorly lit as the windows (which were low) were covered with built in blinds. Our goal was to create a bright space that was luxurious yet not overbearing. The one requirement was that the commode needed a suggestion of privacy – otherwise, the client gave us a blank slate. After a number of iterations, we settled on a large shower, with a bench, two nozzles (rain and wall) and a frameless glass enclosure. Privacy at the commode was achieved with a knee wall and splash panel. Since storage was a requirement, we built a custom double vanity (with wall mounted faucets) that spanned the width of the bathroom with a tower of cabinets on one side. To increase the light, we blocked in the old windows and installed three new ones (lightly frosted for privacy) in new, higher locations. For the main tile we went with a bright white textured option that is both chic and subtle at the same time. This was complimented by a glass accent tile from Modwalls, and large format tile on the floor. Two pendant lights on either side of the floating mirror put the finishing touches on the space.
Style and Finishes
The clients were decidedly modern in their tastes. We settled rather quickly on a theme with clean lines and sleek finishes. White was to be the dominant color which would be complemented by the other finishes.
Construction and Final Product: Everything was going well until it came time for the first plumbing inspection (like most of Montgomery County, the WSSC provides water services in Bethesda, and is required to inspect every bath remodel, building addition, or kitchen remodel). Evidently the contractor who “flipped” the house had added an additional water fixture without upgrading the incoming feed as required by code. Since this company had not pulled permits, this went undetected at the time and unbeknown to us. The inspector pointed this out, and initially wanted us to upgrade the incoming feed to the house. This is a time consuming and costly endeavor which should not have been our responsibility. Although we were willing to handle this, a supervisor from WSSC eventually signed off on the project since our plans did not call for a change in fixture count and in reality, the incoming water supply was adequate. Despite this delay, the project finished on time, and the homeowners were delighted with the final outcome.
What the Customer Said
“Four Brothers handled every aspect of our bathroom remodel in a professional manner. They came up with a design that we loved, and did a first-rate job. We love our new bathroom.”