For most people, pampering in the bathroom means extras that enhance the senses. A feast for the eyes might include a luminous Carrara marble floor or a vanity thats designed to look like a 17th-century, French baroque-styled dresser. Sore muscles and an aching back will find relief in the massaging power of multiple shower heads or the healing power of steam produced in an enclosed shower compartment.

But a perk thats often overlooked will help you start every day from November to May on a high note radiant heating under your bathroom floor. Instead of the jarring sensation of cold tile on your bare feet, you walk onto a warm floor thats heated to about 80 degrees. As the heat spreads up through your torso, it gently nudges you into a new day.

Radiant-floor heating as an enhancement for a luxury bathroom is relatively new. Carolyn Thomas, a certified bathroom designer with Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath in Chevy Chase, said she turned to radiant-floor heating to address an ongoing issue with marble floors. Though visually stunning, marble and other natural stones are cold to the touch, and during the winter Thomas often saw homeowners cover large areas of their bathroom floor with throw rugs, especially when the space was over an unheated garage and poorly insulated. Despite the obvious benefits, radiant heating was not an easy sell initially.

In 2008, only about 20 percent of Thomass clients opted for it. But those early adapters raved about it to their friends, shelter magazines began to tout its virtues and now many more people want it, she said.

Radiant heat can also be installed under a shower floor and bench. Though seemingly unnecessary, the hot water of a shower does not heat all the floor area in the larger shower compartments that are common now, and Thomas said an unheated marble shower bench is a mighty cold place to sit while you shave your legs.

Characterized by heating specialists as supplemental, radiant-floor heat for a bathroom is intended to enhance the space, not to act as the primary heat source. In the Washington area, most of the systems are electrical, and, as with any type of radiant heating, they warm the space slowly, requiring at least 90 minutes to heat the floor to a comfortable 80 to 84 degrees from a standby temperature of 70. With a programmable thermostat that turns the system on while youre still asleep, the floor will be toasty warm when you begin your morning routine; afterward, the thermostat can power the system down for the rest of the day.

How much does this luxury cost? It depends on the size of the bathroom and the actual area to be heated you need it only in the places where you will be walking or standing; the area under the bathtub, vanities and the toilet can be excluded.

Paul Lappas, a remodeling contractor based in Bethesda, said the heated area for a master bathroom in a house that was built between 1930 and 1980 is about 30 to 40 square feet. A radiant heating system for a space of this size would cost about $1,200, which would include the programmable thermostat and installation of a new circuit by an electrician. After 1980, master bathrooms ballooned in size; the heated area for a radiant floor is nearly twice as big, and Lappas said his charge for installing a radiant heating system is about $2,400.

Kurt Welch, another remodeling contractor also based in Bethesda, said he often works on even larger bathrooms with radiant-heating floor areas in the 120-to-140-square-foot range. For these spaces, the cost of a radiant heating system runs about $2,500 to $3,000. Radiant heating for a shower floor and bench must be installed separately with different wiring; the cost for this, including a second thermostat, adds about $1,000, Welch said.

Radiant-floor heating for master bathrooms in new construction in the Washington area is offered only by high-end builders and not as yet a must-have option.

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Radiant-floor heating can add extra pampering in the bathroom

When Jay and Leanne Johnston of south Charlotte decided to remodel their home just over a year ago, the master bath was a priority. The home, built in the 1980s, had outdated features, like poorly designed closet space in the master bath and a small shower.

We simply adore our Park Crossing location and neighborhood and did not want to move, said Leanne Johnston, 54. But certain aspects of the house didnt fit our lifestyle anymore, and there were many features we wanted in our master bath to make it more comfortable and convenient. Double vanities, additional built-in storage space and spa features like two heads in our shower were all elements we added in the remodel.

The Johnstons tastes are in line with national trends that see homeowners adding spa-like bath features at home in larger, more expansive master baths, said David Bengston, president of Charlotte-based Lighthouse Residential Remodeling, the contractor the Johnstons used.

Five to seven years ago, remodels were more basic pull and replace on master baths, said Bengston. Those upgrades simply involved replacing old cabinetry, tiling and bath fixtures. Today, the trend is significantly more geared to complete bath remodels, expanding square footage, removing oversized Jacuzzi-style tubs for added space and a dramatic increase in demand for spa features, especially in the shower.

Bengston said hes worked on master bath projects over the past few years that have ranged from the low teens to well over $100,000. High-end upgrades may include complete sound systems, re-circulating hot water pumps, heated floors, and marble or granite countertops. He said the average mid-range upgrade for a master bath of 200-250 square feet would likely run between $30,000 and $40,000.

Fine-tuning wasted space

Anne DeCocco is an interior design consultant based in Raleigh. Her firm, DeCocco Design, provides consultation and design services for all manner of home improvements and remodeling.

I see a lot of fine-tuning of what was previously wasted space in master baths, said DeCocco. People want built-ins. More storage space for linens and bath products is great for de-cluttering, as are drawers equipped with electrical outlets for hair dryers and flattening or curling irons.

DeCocco said that granite countertops, popular upgrades a decade ago, are slowly giving way to quartz and high-tech composite materials such as IceStone ( icestoneusa.com) a surface made of recycled glass, cement and pigment. She also sees larger subway or oversized rectangular tiles used in remodels.

The color palates that I most often recommend lean towards beige and gray for the bath, DeCocco said. These are very classic and neutral.

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Bathroom remodels add luxury with spa-like features

Even with a new location and fewer vendors, the annual event still gives back to community

By Brandon Stoneburg

bstoneburg@eveningsun.com @b_stoneburg on Twitter

Kevin Russo, left, and Nate Herr, right, prepare the display booth for Re-Bath bathroom remodeling on Tuesday morning at the North Hanover Mall. The 62nd annual Builders Home and Garden Show will be this weekend, Thursday through Saturday, at the North Hanover Mall during mall hours. (Shane Dunlap - The Evening Sun)

Roger Sears, of Hanover, and owner of Songbird Ponds landscaping, transports stone for his patio display in the North Hanover Mall for the 62nd annual Builders Home and Garden Show on Tuesday. (Shane Dunlap - The Evening Sun)

The 62nd annual Hanover Builders' Show kicked off Thursday at its new location The North Hanover Mall.

The recent venue switch has raised some vendor's eyebrows, but others see the change as a chance to share their trade with a more diverse group of local homeowners and to continue giving back to the community.

George Hubbard, event organizer from the Exchange Club, explained the new changes and how they could possibly present a few challenges.

The vendors can only set up before the mall opens, which doesn't allow for much time to set up elaborate displays.

Because of the new regulations, some had to buy new displays this year, including four-year vendor Holly Marshall, co-owner of The Beveled Ege Marble & Granite, Inc.

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Builders' Show continues through Saturday

THE FIRST Unitarian Church of Seattle was built in 1889, only two years after Samuel Eliot, the 25-year-old son of Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University and perhaps then the most famous educator in the Western Hemisphere, arrived in Seattle to help its Unitarians get organized and build this sanctuary.

Local architect Hermann Steinman presented the drawings as a gift to the new congregation. Soon after the construction commenced mid-May 1889, the churchs rising belfry was easily visible around the city. The construction, here on the east side of Seventh Avenue between Union and Pike streets, was not affected when most of Seattles business district was consumed by the Great Fire of June 6, 1889.

The photograph by Asahel Curtis was recorded about 20 years later most likely 1909, by which time the Unitarians had moved on and turned the building over to other users. In the Curtis photo, the church building is squeezed on the right (south) by the popular Dreamland, a large hall built as a roller rink in 1908, but then soon given to dancing and a great variety of assemblies, many of them labor-related and politically liberal. These politics also fit the activism of the AOUW (Ancient Order of United Workmen), which used the old church for its Columbia Lodge soon after the popular Unitarians had moved to Capitol Hill. The Columbia name is signed on the steeple.

The First Unitarians dedicated their new, larger church on Boylston Avenue in 1906. It had 800 seats, the better to stage the churchs productions, which included concerts of many sorts, adult Sunday schools led by University of Washington profs, classes in psychology and comparative religion, and plays by the Unitarian Dramatic Club.

Dramatic presentations continue on the original church site with ACT Theatre. Jean Sherrard used his recent benefit appearance on an ACT stage as an opportunity to pose the theaters support staff at its Seventh Avenue side entrance for this weeks Now. To quote Sherrard, I dont know if any are Unitarians or not, but they are surely united in their vision for a transcendent theatrical experience.

Check out Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrards blog at http://www.pauldorpat.com.

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Built for show, sacred and otherwise

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) A steam shovel reshapes the landscape by Route 28 on the North Side. Its just down the road from the site of the first Croatian Roman Catholic Church in the western hemisphere.

Citing structural problems, the diocese demolished Saint Nicholas Church a year ago.

Susan Petrick, of the Preserve Croatian Heritage Foundation, says construction of St. Nicholas Church shows the dedication and need for the Croatian people to build something that was their home away from home.

The Troy Hill activist recalls the glow of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, and the hope of rebirth on Easter Sunday.

She says the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has approved a historical marker on the site where St. Nicholas stood.

Were going to have a beautiful memorial wall, she says. And the last piece sandblasted into the wall will be Saint Nicholas Church. Next to it on the right will be a seating area.

Jack Schmitt, of Preservation Pittsburgh, says the memorial path will extend from the River Trail to the 31st Street Bridge.

Right now theyre doing the excavating, he explains. And theyre building the retaining walls. It should be done by November of this year, when there will be a ribbon cutting.

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Historical Marker Going In At Site of Old St. Nicholas Church

Etobicoke Guardian

Wesley Mimico United Church officials are cautiously optimistic, but hopeful that their final redevelopment proposal will be supported by city planners and councillors.

Revised plans reflect significant changes and is the result of many conversations with community residents, congregational members, city heritage and planning staff, and consultation with many community groups and leaders, the church states in its Feb. 19 application submission letter to Kathryn Thom, a senior city planner heading the file.

Wesley Mimico Place, as the redevelopment is being called, is intended to repurpose, renew and add to the original 1922 church.

It proposes to preserve heritage aspects of the building, add seniors ownership housing crucial to raising the necessary capital to preserve the property, church officials argue, and add 4,000 square feet of flexible community program space.

Changes in the new application include: reducing the seniors units from 40 to 30; an increase in community outreach space, and the provision of residents outdoor amenity space.

We think weve done a lot of work to respond seriously to neighbourhood concerns from a few people, Harry Oussoren, president of Wesley Mimico Place corporation, said in an interview this week.

We believe were riding a crest of support. Community people are saying, Its a no-brainer. Get on with it. It comes at no cost to the city. It provides housing and community space in the area. Its part of the revitalization of Mimico.

In February 2012, a group of Mimico residents formed to promote the importance and preservation of the 1922 church for its architectural significance, and as a prominent physical and contextual landmark on the main street of the old town of Mimico.

The group created http://www.savewesley.com

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Mimico church submits revised plans to city for new seniors housing

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