NE Hazel Dell — Vancouver, WA
This primary bathroom was already a generous size. It just never felt that way. A built-in jetted tub the homeowners had stopped using consumed the middle of the room, the shower was too small to be comfortable in, and a single-sink vanity meant two people took turns every morning. We gutted it and rebuilt it as an actual spa — a steam shower with a bench, a freestanding soaking tub tucked into the window corner, a heated porcelain floor, and a 72-inch double vanity — without moving a single exterior wall.
The homeowners came to us after getting several bids. Their brief was short: the bathroom was dated, cluttered and closed off, and they wanted it to feel like somewhere they’d actually want to spend time. The problem was not square footage — it was how the square footage had been spent.
A large built-in jetted tub sat on a tiled deck in the middle of the room. It was the single biggest object in the bathroom, it was the most dated thing in it, and by the homeowners’ own account nobody had used it in years. Everything else had been squeezed in around it: a shower barely wide enough to turn around in, a small single-sink vanity, and a walkway that pinched between fixtures instead of opening up.
We did not move an exterior wall or add a square foot. The whole design rests on one decision: take out the built-in jetted tub and its deck, then spend the reclaimed floor area on the two things the homeowners actually wanted — a shower big enough to sit down in, and a tub worth looking at.
Removing the tub deck freed enough width to push the shower out into a full steam enclosure with a built-in bench, a linear drain and a low-profile curb. The freestanding tub then moved into the window corner, where it reads as a feature rather than an obstruction and gets natural light. The vanity wall absorbed the remaining width, which is what made a 72-inch double vanity possible where a single sink used to be. What was left over became the thing the room had never had: clear, open floor in the middle.
Finishes were kept deliberately calm so the room feels larger than its dimensions. Large-format marble-look porcelain runs floor to ceiling with the veining aligned across the sheets, which removes most of the grout lines the eye would otherwise read as clutter. Against that, the navy shaker vanity and brushed gold fixtures give the room its one confident note of contrast.
The built-in tub and its tile deck came out in week one. That single demolition move released the floor area that funded every other decision in the room, at no cost in overall square footage.
The enclosure was designed for steam from the start: fully waterproofed, glass to the ceiling, a tiled ceiling pitched so condensation runs off instead of dripping, a built-in bench, and a Kohler Invigoration Series generator sized to the enclosure volume. Dual heads mean it works as an everyday shower too.
A freestanding soaking tub with a deck-mounted filler and handshower replaced the built-in unit. Set against full-height porcelain in the corner, it takes up a fraction of the floor the old tub did and finally gives the room a focal point.
A 72-inch navy shaker vanity with two undermount sinks, a quartz top and drawer storage replaced the single-sink cabinet. Underneath the whole room, a Schluter DITRA-HEAT electric warming system on its own thermostat means the tile is never cold underfoot.
This was a complete gut to the studs and subfloor. Our in-house crew handled design, demolition, waterproofing, tile and finish carpentry, with licensed, vetted trade partners on the plumbing and electrical scopes — the steam generator feed and the heated-floor circuit in particular. One Serden Group project manager ran the schedule and the inspections from the first walkthrough to the final punch list.
Specification matters more in a bathroom than almost anywhere else in a house, because everything in it has to survive daily water and, in this case, daily steam. These are the products this bathroom was built from.
Six weeks from demolition to final walkthrough, with permits pulled before start. The sequence below is roughly how any steam-and-heated-floor bathroom has to run — the order is dictated by inspections and by cure times, not by preference.
Week 1
Protect the route in, gut to studs and subfloor, remove the built-in jetted tub and its deck. Rough plumbing relocated for the new tub, shower and double vanity; rough electrical run, including the dedicated heated-floor circuit and the steam generator feed.
Week 2
Rough plumbing and electrical inspections signed off, then the shower pan, linear drain and full waterproofing go in. The steam enclosure is framed and vapour-sealed and the ceiling pitched so condensation runs off rather than dripping.
Week 3
Schluter DITRA-HEAT membrane and heating cable laid across the whole floor, tested, then the large-format porcelain set over it. Layout is dry-fitted first so the veining runs the way it was drawn.
Week 4
Full-height wall tile through the shower and tub surround, the built-in bench and recessed niches tiled in, shower ceiling tiled. Grout, seal, and cure.
Week 5
Double vanity and quartz top set, sinks and faucets plumbed, shower valve, rain head and handshower trimmed out, steam generator commissioned and tested. The frameless glass is templated to the finished tile — which is why it can only happen now.
Week 6
Frameless enclosure and door installed, mirrors, lighting and ventilation finished, toilet set, paint and trim completed. Final inspection, punch list, a walkthrough of the steam and thermostat controls, and handover.
All 33 photos of the completed project, including the matching powder room. Select any image to open the full gallery.
“Working w David has been 10/10! I did my research and got several bids for our master bath — they had competitive pricing and were able to execute my vision better than what I had even imagined!! I had a massive ugly dated jetted tub that took up way too much space and the overall old bathroom was just, not it. David & his AMAZING guys went above and beyond to make sure my dream bathroom was what I wanted. He also did my kids bathroom — and they are so happy with it! Such a nice guy. Def hire them to get your next project done!!”
Margaret C.
Google review — Vancouver, WA