For those who have been looking to remodel a master bath, you’ve probably seen that you can spend $50,000 to $100,000 or more for the real high-end look, like this.
How about a mid-ranger?
Thanks to doughboy for letting us follow along!
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Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
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Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Jim & Donna Klinge helped us sell our home of 30 years in Ocean Hills. We were very happy with their service and would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for an Honest, Knowledgeable, Skilled, Informed Efficient realty team. Both Jim & Donna were so helpful in different ways and complemented each others skills. Please refer to a more detailed review that we wrote on YELP. Thank You Both for all your help!!!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. A+ thank youTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Many years ago, we purchased a home in Carlsbad, using a realtor that was recommended to us - Jim Klinge. Fast forward to 2025, we recently had the privilege of selling 2 homes in Carlsbad, CA and didn't hesitate to reach out to Jim and Donna Klinge of Klinge Realty Group to guide us through the sales. The transactions were very different, each with its own unique situation, opportunities and challenges. From start to finish, Donna and Jim helped navigate the pre-sale preparation, the listing, showing of the house, buyer negotiations, the final close and all of the paperwork and decisions in between. What stands out with both transactions is the professionalism of Jim and Donna (and their team), wonderful communication (timely, relevant, concise), their deep understanding of market dynamics (setting realistic expectations), their access to top-notch contractors, and last, their ability to guide us across the finish line successfully. We wouldn't hesitate to use Jim and Donna in the future and highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell a property in North San Diego County.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We sold a home with Jim and Donna and from beginning to end they were consummate professionals. Their initial walk through the property resulted in a list of items to be repaired or updated. They supplied a list of vendors and job quotes to do the repairs and updates. We originally wanted to sell ‘as is’ and just get it over with. They gave us a selling price for ‘as is’ and options for doing a few updates/repairs to doing it all with the selling price for each option. We agreed to do all they suggested and we sold for the exact price they predicted. For every dollar spent we got back more than $2 back in the selling price. And they got that price in a rising interest rate environment! Donna and Jim are extremely detailed and guide you through ever aspect of the sale. There were no surprises thanks to their guidance. We couldn’t be more pleased with their representation. Thank you Donna and Jim, Jerry and MaryTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years. Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. 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Jim and Donna demonstrated exceptional professionalism, offering expert guidance on market conditions and pricing strategy, which resulted in a quick and successful sale. Communication was prompt and we were well-informed throughout the entire process. For anyone looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate team, look no further! ---Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim Klinge of Klinge Realty Group have our highest possible recommendation. From Donna and Jim’s first visit to our house through closing their advice and counsel was candid and honest in all dealings. They kept us fully informed throughout the process. The house sold less than three days after listing with a two-week closing. My wife and I have sold several houses during our lives. This was by far the best experience. Klinge Reality is a premium service realtor. You can’t make a better choice for someone to sell your home fast and for top dollar.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim provided exceptional support and professionalism throughout the entire process. We couldn't have been happier with their efforts. They made our house shine, and thanks to their expertise, it sold above the listing price in the very first weekend! Truly a fantastic experience from start to finish.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This year has been difficult on our family, mainly due to having to sell our home. Thankfully we knew God had a plan for us and working with the Klinge team was a key part of it. It was an obvious decision to work with them again after such an amazing experience when purchasing the same home we needed to sell. The challenge was, how will we do this in so little time with so much going on? Jim and Donna held our hand every step of the way. 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Jim understanding my needs, recommending potential places, pointing out the pros and cons of each property was invaluable. Then when the offer was accepted Donna’s organized guidance through the inspections, paperwork etc made the whole process seem effortless. So grateful that I had them on my side!Load more
I wish I had a bathroom to remodel. Nice clean look. I would had rounded the edges on the tub though and would have put a bench on the opposite side of the shower so I can sit while I shave my legs.
wow. gives me confidence we can remodel without going nuts.
now, if we could just get the house…
11k!? That’s it!? Nice work. I hate shower doors so I love this setup.
This is money well spent because you get enough of an updated look, but you leave enough flexibility should you decide to sell in the future. If travertine is not in style 10 – 15 years from now, this setup would be easy to fix. A future buyer would look at this and say “I can live with for awhile.”
Very nice bath and excellent value for the money. Looks beautiful. For the $11k, was all the work done by contractors or any of it done by the homeowners? Thanks – the videos you bring are so interesting and helpful, Jim!
Well, we already knew Doughboy had great taste! 🙂
After our move in we acted as the general contractor with Jim’s contacts for each trade. We bought quality travertine and Kohler tub and sinks. Reused the existing cabinets, toilet and faucets trim pieces, just replaced the plumbing guts. We went for pure value and bang for buck in planning the process, start to finish 2 months to completion. There was 6000 pounds of demo materials taken out of here, so the first 7-10 days was a mess. We still have the old glass doors for the shower, our new enclosure came out 1/4-1/2″ narrower than the old opening so after using it a few times we thought…we don’t need the doors, lets just keep it open. We were fortunate to start with a good space and general lay out, this was really a resurface of 15 year old stock white tract home tile with moldy grout. We might have gotten a few more years out of the room as it was but the old jacuzzi tub leaked when powered up and the shower pan was just about shot we discovered when we tore it out too. And yes, we would do it again…original quotes from some bath and kitchen remodel folks for same work were in the 25K+ range. Thanks for the help and inspiration to get ‘er done JTR!
Awesome job, doughboy! Only $11K? Nice! I don’t have a shower door on my shower in my master, and I love that. Glass shower doors are just another thing to clean.
Although my sister remodeled her guest bathroom a couple years ago, the sliding glass door for the shower/bath combo doesn’t need to be wiped off after guests shower. Somehow it magically dries without water spots. I thought that was ridiculously cool…
Jim,
Shower door glass cannot be cut. By code the glass has to be tempered so that if it breaks, it will shatter into thousands of pieces to minimize serious injury. On very rare occasions tempered glass can sometimes spontaneously explode – it is the nature of the beast.
Annealed glass (e.g. glass shelving, mirrors, etc. ) can be cut. However, when such glass breaks, the shards can be very big and can cause serious injury.
This is a very nice renovation job that really dramatically updated the bathroom. Travertine may have its detractors, but I think the value comes in its endurance against trends. Kinda like wood flooring. I don’t think wood floor really ever went out of style, even when blue carpets were all the rage. 🙂 I think the natural beauty of travertine will be a major factor.
Doughboy had some advantages, like he mentioned, this was essentially a resurfacing job. When I look at the video, it actually reminded me of our brand new master bath complete with standard builder white tiles. With the exception in that our contractor told me the demo was easy because of the fact that the tiles were easy to chip off due to the newness factor.
I’m sure a builder probably would have charged $25k or more for the “options” doughboy installed, so this type of resurfacing job is highly recommended for new home purchasers as well.
This is a really nice, basic reno. Especially like the tile baseboard, a dream to clean while mopping or steaming the rest of the tile floor. Personally, I would have updated the wall to wall vanity mirrors and the over the vanity light fixtures, don’t care for the row of light bulbs look. I’d have to add a swing out glass door on that shower. I also think it looks great without any band of deco going on, which could make the overall look seem dated with time.
Sol we are with you! Next steps are replacing lighting fixtures and most likely framed mirrors. We just got it to the point of 100% useable and Jim was here for the follow up after video. We needed a breather after the major stuff to enjoy having a bath again, no dust and noise. Once you get past the major stuff the little details seem like a breeze.
Hi Doughboy-
Thanks for your personal response on this. We basic reno’d a summer place condo about 10 years ago ourselves. We’re now getting ready to do the finishing touches – gutting, then travertine to all existing shower stalls/tubs (everything else in the baths already done). Thanks again, for allowing Jim to video and post, because I intend to have the Hub look at this for the clean simple look we’re going after (which coordinates with the trav. floors, etc. we previously did).
we ended up getting a mirror company to come in and cut the existing mirrors to size. and had them reinstall/glue back on to the walls. then just went to mirrormate and ordered the frames.
@ #14 ocrenter – can you answer a few questions?
1. Can they cut the mirrors to size on the wall or do the mirrors have to be pulled down, cut, and reinstalled?
2. What was the approximate cost for the mirror cut down?
3. Were you happy with the Mirrormate product?
I want to take our mirrors down but I have a problem finding replacement mirrors in the sizes I want. When you get into the larger size mirrors from sources such as Uttermost it gets expensive – at that size the replacements generally have beveled glass and unique frames.
The mirrors do need to come down. As for cost, it wasn’t very much.i don’t recall the specifics, maybe around $50 per mirror? And mirromate is around $200 per mirror. So the cost is reasonable comparing to a framed mirror of the same size.mirrormate install is a breeze. I recommend it.
Thanks Ocrenter for the mirror tip!
Thanks, OCRenter for your tips. BTW, shouldn’t you be OCOwner now? 🙂