Q: I recently read about the possibility of having colorful, period ceramic tile reglazed white.
Is such reglazing cost-effective in refurbishing bathrooms, and what is the reglazed tile's life span?
Additionally, if retiling completely, that tile may well have a more modern appearance, so is it possible to conclude whether, in resale value, updated tiling is likely to be more advantageous?
A: Chris Winterer Ryan of Ambler, Pa., had the pink-and-gray 1950s tile in both upstairs bathrooms of her 55-year-old house reglazed white about three years ago.
At $950 to $1,000 for each bathroom, it was a lot less than the $15,000 it would have cost to gut and redo them, she said.
Ryan said she got the idea to reglaze from her niece in Evanston, Ill., who had the tile in her children's bathroom reglazed white and added a new toilet.
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The work in both cases was done by a professional - the process is too toxic for an amateur to handle safely, she said.
It has been three years since the work was done, and Ryan said that except for a couple of nicks, it still looks really good. The tile reglazer has called since completing the work and offered to come out to fix the nicks.
The job took less than two days, Ryan said.
Pay attention to the flooring, Ryan recommends. "I needed to change the floor because it was gray, but decided to replace it with marble," she said. "It wasn't worth the expense."
By replacing the floor, they were able to check the plumbing, "which is good because if we ever went to sell the house and we were asked about the condition, we can answer the question," she said.
Regarding the resale value, Ryan has been a real estate agent for 25 years, so I would assume that she wouldn't do anything that would affect it. She said another real estate agent she knows also reglazed the bathroom tile in her house, so that's two votes in favor.