The pipes, wires, and other misc. items a bathroom requires

Be forewarned...you will probably want to leave most of this shopping up to Darling Husband. Or, if your husband is not house handy, your contractor for this job. There are a few decisions...PVC vs. copper water lines, size of wiring, etc. Seek the advice of several store experts before purchase. If all else fails, buy everything you might need and return what you don't use.

Now, we had already chosen what we liked for floor tile. We found several boxes of 18" by 18" tile at a Lowes that was clearing them out. There was just enough for our floor plan. (Exciting news, we found the same tile at our local Lowes in case we need to get another case or two!) See photo at left. So, now the question was, do we get the 1/4" thick Hardie backer board, or the 1/2" thick board? Based on the large size of tiles and the need for stability between the floor joists, we decided to go with the 1/2" thick board. We DO NOT want anything to crack! We also purchased the special screws for the board-1 5/8" long so it will penetrate both the Hardie board and the 3/4" subfloor. Backer board tape...an unnecessary waste of money. Both the thinset and and grout will provide a barrier/glue to prevent movement, so the backer board tape is just an extra.

Although some sources claim the moisture resistant sheetrock is no better than regular sheetrock in a high moisture environment (like a bathroom), my father-in-law put it in his bathroom with great success. My parents' bathroom has regular sheetrock, which is peeling, bubbling, etc. So, my husband insisted we invest in the moisture resistant stuff. (It's not that much more money, and hey, if it makes a difference.....)

The most excited thing we purchased so far--a door. I went to pick up shims at Menards...and, well...they were right down the aisle from the doors...so I picked out a lovely, unfinished, 6 panel door. The pic is of their Oak finish door. I went with the unfinished so I could have it dark on the bathroom side and light on the other. If I had purchased the Oak finish, I would have left the one side oak, buffed the other with sandpaper, and used gel stain to darken it. I also chose a nice lever style doorknob with a brushed nickel finish for the lock. The old-fashioned knobs would not work in this new door, so instead of matching the old house, I decided to match the fixtures in the bathroom to the doorknob.

Now, just put it all together!