Bath Renovation - Wall and Floor Tile Selection and ADA Option

[Frank S.]

Hi there, 

I considered using Miracle Method on one bath, but the quote never arrive.  So, I got my demo guy and the walls are gone. 

Now, I am pursuing Section 8 in Chicago.  Should I consider an ADA Bath?  This will limit my tenant pool, but may promote retention. 

If I go with a standard bath, can you help me pick the most common combo of wall tile and floor tile for a C area apartment?

I considered adding a soap dish, but those things must get very moldy. Don't you think?  I would prefer using Home Depot , I have a pro account. 

Thanks!

[Gail K.]

We've done two bathrooms recently using this tile for the walls:

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selections-Blairlock...

Yes; it's from Lowes; Home Depot may have something similar.  The large size was easy to work with and the tiles went on quickly (just 10 tiles needed for the back wall, 10 for the front wall of the bath, etc.).  For a bit of "bing" we ran a line of glass tiles (two inches wide) between the top two tiles.  These glass tiles were very inexpensive at Home Depot; under $5 for each.   Needed only less than 3 of these to run the entire length of the tub.  The tub walls ended up looking beautiful; the project took 2 days (this included the grouting) and the cost was less than going the tub surround route.  We didn't add a soap dish in either of these tubs as I didn't want to spoil the clean lines of the tile.

We didn't use floor tile but rather Allure vinyl flooring in the bathroom (again, from Home Depot).  We had bought a couple of thousand feet during one of their Black Friday sales a couple of years ago and have been using this up in our rental properties.

This house is probably in a C area but the tenants (especially the wife) commented on how she loves the bathroom.

Gail