In a recent post about…ahhh, what was the word? …unfortunate bathroom tile, I promised future advice about reglazing.
Gentle Readers, I sense that you are ready to receive this important information.
Beware reglazing as the quick fix. It is neither easy nor inexpensive. Please do not try it yourself, and do not listen to your contractor/handyman if he insists he can reglaze your bathroom.
He cannot. And you will regret it.
Take the time to find a reputable reglazing company. A rep. will come to your house and give you an estimate before you sign anything. Please ask about a warranty, because it may take a few months for problems – bubbling, peeling – to manifest.
Your color options are generally white or almond. Naturally I prefer white for a full bath, but under the right circumstances, I can get behind almond for a funky powder room.
REGLAZING WORKS BEST WHEN:
– Your floor tile is in great shape. Or…
– You’re prepared to replace the floor tile. (Remember that a painted wooden baseboard can smooth the transition between new floor tile and reglazed wall tile.)
– The sink and tub are closer to white than to yellow or gray. Blindingly white, freshly reglazed tile can make tired fixtures look even worse.
– You can get away with reglazing only the accent tile. The lovely and enterprising Sara of Russet Street Reno reminded me of this option: painting only the offending accent tile. As a comment to my previous tile post, she wrote:
“Weird bathroom tile is hard. In our first floor bath, we had very acceptable gray tiles in the shower area and on the floor. Sadly, they had ‘accented’ the gray tiles with ugly maroon ones.
I painted the maroon tiles with white epoxy paint myself. It still looks great 9 months later.“
THINK TWICE ABOUT REGLAZING IF:
– Your sink, tub, and toilet are a color other than white. Pink, seafoam green, powder blue…all are going to look odd with white or off-white tile.
– You have acceptance in your heart. A reader alerted me to the heartfelt and well researched blog, SaveThePinkBathrooms, which advocates embracing these period rooms rather than gutting them. Acceptance is an option.
Gentle Readers, consider yourself armed. Please proceed with caution.
Picture of pink and grey bathroom from HGTV via SaveThePinkBathrooms.com. Thanks, Russet Street Reno, for the fab tip and pictures.