Brownsville in NOAA's engineering weather data
For its Brownsville station, at an elevation of 20 feet, NOAA's engineering weather data gives a 1% summer design temperature of 94°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 78°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 40°F. NOAA also counts, in an average year at Brownsville, about 3,783 hours when the wet-bulb temperature is above 73°F and about 5,605 hours when it is above 67°F.
A local fact about drinking water
Brownsville Public Utilities Board takes its water from the Rio Grande, holding 186.6 million gallons of surface water in two BPUB reservoirs, and also from brackish groundwater treated at the Southmost Regional Water Authority facility.
Start with the people, not the catalog
The rest of this page is about one room in your house and the decisions that shape it. Before you look at tile, think about who uses the bathroom and how. A hall bath shared by children has different needs from a primary suite, and a room for a parent who may move in later needs different planning again. Write down:
- who showers or bathes there, and at what times of day the room gets crowded;
- whether anyone needs a seat, a hand shower or something to hold on to;
- where towels, cleaning supplies and medicine are kept now, and whether that works;
- what bothers you most about the current room: storage, lighting, a cramped toilet, a door that hits the vanity.
That short list does more to keep a remodel on target than any brochure.
Room to move around each fixture
A bathroom can hold good fixtures and still feel wrong if they crowd each other. When a remodeler sketches the layout, ask:
- How much clear floor space sits in front of the toilet, the vanity and the shower entry?
- Will the door swing clear of the vanity and the toilet, or would a pocket or outswing door work better?
- Can the shower entry be curbless, and what would the floor need for that?
- Where will wood blocking go inside the walls so grab bars can be added later without opening them again?
Keeping the toilet and drains where they are now is usually the simpler plan. If you want to move one, ask what the bidder found under the floor and how the new drain line will get its slope.
Keeping water inside the shower
Tile and grout shed water, but they are not the waterproof layer. That job falls to a membrane, a liquid coating or a board system with sealed seams behind the finish. Ask each bidder:
- Which waterproofing product will you use, and how far up the walls will it go?
- How are the niche, the bench and the valve opening wrapped?
- How does the drain connect to the membrane?
- Will you flood-test the shower floor before tile, and can I see the test or a dated photo of it?
If a window sits inside the shower, ask how its sill and frame will be protected so water runs back into the shower rather than into the wall.
Pulling steam out of the room
General advice for any bathroom: the exhaust fan should be sized for the room, ducted all the way to the outdoors through a roof or wall cap, and controlled so it keeps running after the shower ends. A humidity sensing switch or a timer handles that without anyone remembering. Ask for the fan's airflow and sound ratings on the quote, and ask where the duct will end. A fan that dumps into an attic or soffit just moves the moisture somewhere you can't see it.
Lighting and outlets
A single fixture above the mirror casts shadows across your face. Consider lights on both sides of the mirror, a shower light with a wet-location rating, and a dimmable night setting. Ask whether the outlets near the sink will be ground-fault protected. If you want a heated floor or a heated towel bar, decide before the rough-in so the circuit can be planned.
Permits and the trades
Electrical work on a bathroom often grows during a remodel: a new fan circuit, more lighting, outlets in new places. Put these questions to every bidder:
- Will the electrical work be done under a TDLR license, and what is that license number?
- Which city permits apply to this remodel, and who pulls them?
- Who will handle the plumbing, and are those people your employees or subcontractors?
- Can you show proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation?
Keep the answers with the contract.
Comparing bids line for line
Hand every remodeler the same list of what you want and ask them to price it in the same order:
- demolition, disposal and how the rest of the house will be protected from dust;
- any plumbing that moves, listed by fixture;
- the shower base, the waterproofing product and the flood test;
- tile or wall panels by product, with the area covered and the grout type;
- vanity, top, faucet, toilet, shower valve and trim by model number;
- fan model, duct route and control;
- lights, outlets and any heated floor;
- permits, inspections, cleanup and the written warranty.
Ask how long the room will be out of use, how hidden damage will be photographed and priced before repair, and how payments line up with finished stages of work rather than calendar dates.