East Sac Fab 40s Master Bath Restoration

Project Brief

Location: East Sacramento Fab 40s, between 38th and 46th Streets.
Year built: 1937 (original Storybook Tudor).
Scope: Master bath restoration — preserve original character, modernize plumbing, salvage hex floor, hide a real walk-in shower inside the original tub footprint.
Timeline: 7 weeks demo to walkthrough.
Investment range: $58,000 to $72,000.

Existing Conditions

The original 1937 master bath was small by 2026 standards (8x9 feet) but proportioned beautifully — clawfoot tub on the long wall, pedestal sink under the leaded-glass window, original 1-inch white hex floor with a black accent border, and 4x4 white subway with green accent strip on the walls. Plaster walls were intact but had three areas of soft-pin damage near the tub from 80 years of slow leaks at the supply lines. Original galvanized supply was failing throughout — water pressure had dropped to a trickle at the sink.

The clawfoot tub itself was structurally sound (cast iron with porcelain enamel) but the homeowner had not bathed in it in years; it was used as a planter. The original tile work was largely intact and the floor was in remarkable condition under decades of grout haze.

Design Approach

The brief was period authenticity without sacrificing modern function. The clawfoot tub gets relocated to the guest bath one floor down (where the homeowner actually wants a soaking tub). In its place we build a frameless walk-in shower in the same footprint, with custom-shaped curb and a polished-nickel hinged door that reads as period rather than contemporary. The original 1-inch white hex floor gets fully salvaged — carefully demoed in 18-inch sections, cleaned, and re-set over a fresh Schluter Kerdi membrane. The 4x4 subway tile on the walls gets replaced (originals were too damaged) with a modern subway from Daltile that matches the 1937 dimension and glaze.

The pedestal sink gets replaced with a single Kohler Memoirs Stately pedestal in white, with polished-nickel Kohler Antique Bridge faucet. Lighting goes period — a polished-nickel Visual Comfort Bryant pendant over the sink, two Hudson Valley sconces flanking a polished-nickel-framed mirror, all on dimmers. Wall color is Farrow & Ball Pointing throughout; trim is preserved original.

Build Notes

Two real surprises during demo. First, the original supply lines were a mix of galvanized and lead — typical for 1937 Sacramento. Full re-pipe of the affected branch in PEX-A from the basement, plus an inspection of the rest of the home revealed two more branches that needed attention (we scoped them and the homeowner extended the project by two weeks). Second, the plaster behind the original tub had concealed a 6-inch zone of dry rot in the bottom plate; we pulled the lath, sistered the bottom plate, and re-plastered using a three-coat traditional approach.

The hex floor salvage went better than expected. The original tile installer had used a thin, sandy mortar that released cleanly with patience. We saved 92 percent of the original tile and supplemented with an exact-match hex from a tile-salvage specialist in Oakland.

Materials List

• Wall tile: Daltile Restore 3x6 white subway with green accent strip
• Floor tile: salvaged 1937 1-inch white hex with black border + matched supplement
• Shower glass: 3/8" frameless tempered with polished-nickel hinged door (custom-fabricated locally)
• Shower fixtures: Kohler Antique Bridge thermostatic valve in polished nickel, Kohler rainfall head, handheld wand
• Sink: Kohler Memoirs Stately pedestal, white
• Sink faucet: Kohler Antique Bridge widespread in polished nickel
• Toilet: Kohler Memoirs Stately one-piece, white
• Lighting: Visual Comfort Bryant pendant, Hudson Valley sconces, all polished nickel
• Mirror: custom polished-nickel-framed beveled, sized to existing window proportion
• Hardware: polished-nickel Emtek throughout
• Waterproofing: Schluter Kerdi membrane and Kerdi-Band
• Paint: Farrow & Ball Pointing on walls, original trim color preserved