Master bathroom after a full makeover
We have a wonderful client who used our services in a few rental homes to provide long lasting bathtub refinishing that stands up to the wear and tear of daily use by their tenants. This project was a little different - the client, Mr. W, has owned this home for nearly two decades, and over the years it served as his family home, then as one of several rental properties he and his wife own and manage. With this home now vacant, Mr. & Mrs. W decided to transform the home into a new type of investment property - a short term rental unit to serve families who need to call Fort Worth, TX home for anywhere from a few short days, to a few months.
In 2019, the Fort Worth area ranked as the 12th best city in the US to own a short term rental. Because of tourist destinations such as Dickies Arena and The Stockyards in Fort Worth, Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and some of the best Texas hospitals nearby, it is important for families to have safe, comfortable accommodations available to them without the stress and hassle of hotels. For this project, Mr. W wanted us to take their builder grade master bathroom and guest bathroom and give them a beautiful and durable update that will impress short term renters, as well as stand up to the abuse that comes with having new people use these facilities week after week - and best of all, make all of these updates happen within a limited budget.
This Fort Worth home was built in 1999, and while the bathroom fixtures are still in excellent condition, they were a bit boring to look at. The countertops, garden tub, and showers are made of beige cultured marble, and the client wanted to update them to a crisp, bright white with black accents. For the countertops, shower pan, and garden tub surround, the client shose our White Vein liquid stone as an affordable way to mimic the look of granite, and glossy Pure White glaze to imitate the look of porcelain on the sinks, bathtubs, and shower walls.
Project Day 1: The two most important day of the project - prep day! First, I removed the existing outdated gold shower frame in the master bathroom, then removed the old caulk, cleaned every surface with an industrial degreaser to ensure removal of all soap scum and possible contaminants, and thoroughly sanded everything down. Next, I carefully taped around every surface with specialty painter's tape and masked off the surrounding areas with paper and plastic to avoid overspray.
Day 2: The first spray day! First, and most importantly, I set up my ventilation system. I use a 12 inch industrial exhaust fan with a 35 foot hose attachment to ventilate fumes and overspray out through the nearest window. This high powered exhaust system is the most important piece of equipment in my tool kit, because it ensures that I as a technician am not exposed to an excess of chemical buildup, and keeps odors and overspray from entering other rooms of the home, making it safe for residents to be inside the home while I work. After this is set up in the master bathroom, I give the vanity top, garden tub, and shower a final wipe down with a solvent to be certain that any oil from my hands touching these surfaces is removed, wipe the surfaces with tack cloth to remove any last specks of dust, then apply a bonding agent to guarantee that the coating I am applying will not only be physically bonded to the surfaces (via sanding them down), but chemically bonded as well.
Now, it's time to spray! Today, I am refinishing the master bathroom fixtures with our 6 hour quick dry coating in Pure White. The spraying process takes approximately three hours from start to finish. When the last spray of the day is complete, I allow the vent fan to continue running for 30 minutes before breaking down all of my equipment for the day, and leaving the coating to dry overnight.
Day 3: Now that the Pure White glaze is dry, I can tape off the items that are staying white. The vanity tops are an all in one cultured marble piece, so Mr. W decided to leave the sinks white to give them a more high end look. I carefully tape off the sinks, garden tub top and interior, and shower walls, set my ventilation equipment back up, then spray our White Vein liquid stone onto the vanity top, tub backsplash, and shower pan. After allowing the coating to dry, I sand it down with a fine grit sandpaper to allow for a super smooth finish, and apply a clear coat to give these surfaces the shine and durability of granite. I give the coating 30 minutes to dry before it's time to remove all of the masking paper and plastic, and recaulk around the tub and shower pan. When the coatings are completely cured the following morning, the shower glass company can install new, modern frameless doors, and the client is free to decorate the bathroom for the first Airbnb guests!
The following week, I repeated the same 3 day process in the guest bathroom. This bathroom is getting the same Pure White glaze on the fiberglass bathtub enclosure and sinks, and White Vein liquid stone on the vanity top.
If this client had ripped out and replaced all of the fixtures in these two bathrooms, they would have easily spent tens of thousands of dollars. We completely transformed the bathrooms for less than a third of replacement, and got it done in less than two weeks! As a result, this client was able to put their vacation rental on the market and start generating income as quickly as possible.