My apologies if this weekend’s Toronto Sun column seems very familiar. It’s based on the experience we had with Miracle Method which was the subject of earlier posts. It’s called working smart, not hard! So I took the blog posts I wrote about the reno and turned them into a column complete with photos I took of the process.
One of the biggest fears when hiring a contractor is having things go so horribly wrong that you have to call Mike Holmes in to “make it right”. Not that anyone would mind a visit from Mr. Holmes, mind you, but you want the job done properly the first time.
Our dated, main floor bathroom needed attention and we considered everything from ripping out and replacing the countertop, tub and surround to the one-day-fix guys. The cultured marble counter was still in good shape but it was wearing around the sink stopper and its colour matched the original fixtures: 1970’s harvest gold. The tub’s finish was starting to erode to the point where it had to be cleaned every day. There were small spots where the enamel had worn right off. It was coming to its end.
A new shower head installed a couple of years ago certainly helped. The room has been painted and hubby put in new flooring and a white toilet a couple of years ago, too. But there was no denying a major overhaul was needed.
A few weeks ago I was flipping through the weekly flyers when a glossy page caught my eye. It featured before and after photos of kitchens and bathrooms redone by a company called Miracle Method. Having never heard of them I did some research on the Internet and read customer reviews. The company has been around in the US for some time and are just making their way into Canada. Miracle Method is a two-step, spray-on process that’s warrantied for five years. After an in-home estimate showed the cost was about 1/3 of those put-a-new-one-over-the-old-one companies, we went for it.
They need two consecutive half-days in order to do the work. The technician was polite and neat. There was no mess outside of the bathroom and he had a monstrous venting system set up in order to take away most of the smell of the chemicals which they say are not harmful. Everything that could possibly get sprayed was taped off and covered in plastic.
At the end of day one the old surfaces looked new with a lovely white prime coat. We left the bathroom window open and the fan on to reduce the odour which, if you’re sensitive, might bother you. But it didn’t last very long.
We were out of town for day two of the Miracle Method process and arrived home that night to a bathroom exactly as we ordered it. The surfaces have to “rest” for 24-hours before they’re used and without a second loo it could spell trouble. For us it only meant a short-term change of routine while I elbowed my way into hubby’s bathroom for showers.
The earth tone counter has a bit of a rough feel which we really like. They taped off the sink and coloured it the same bright white as the tub and surround, another option we approved. The smell is unpleasant but it only lasts a day or so and we didn’t find it problematic. Some wall paint came off with the masking tape but we were told that was a risk and I was only too happy to touch up the walls ahead of using our new bathroom.
Miracle Method only has one Canadian location so far, in London, Ontario, a city frequently used to test-market new products and services. The company has franchises all over the US so it’s just a matter of time until they spread across this country. They didn’t leave behind a spec of mess and as long as the product holds up as our warranty claims, we are happy customers. And we won’t be putting the coffee on for Mike Holmes anytime soon.