Projects › Midtown East › 220 Madison Ave
Completed project · Midtown East, New York, NY
A tub-to-shower conversion in a 41 square foot Midtown East bathroom, two closet systems built behind new pivot doors, and soundproofing and engineered flooring glued down through the whole apartment. The wall between two entry closets came out. A new breaker panel went in with a dedicated line to the bathroom. Every fixture, tile and finish below is the one that was specified and installed.
Job record
- Project
- Tub-to-shower bathroom conversion, two closet systems, apartment-wide flooring
- Location
- 220 Madison Avenue, Midtown East, Manhattan, NY 10016
- Completed
- January 2026
- Bathroom size
- 61 in by 97 in, about 41 sq ft
- Closets built
- Personal 57 in wide, linen 28 in, both 25 in deep, 92 in to the soffit
- Scope
- Bathroom renovation · Tub to walk-in shower · Closet systems · Soundproofing and flooring · Electrical upgrade · Painting
- Found behind the wall
- Corroded galvanised waste and supply, replaced in copper
- Team
- Designer Rejla · Project manager Danny · Renovation expert Ben
The starting point: a cast-iron tub and a curtain rod
The bathroom had a cast-iron tub behind a curtain rod, white square tile to about half height, a 24 inch vanity, a recessed medicine cabinet and a second recessed cabinet behind the door. The entry hall beyond it had two closets with a non-load-bearing wall between them and a carpet runner over the original hardwood.
What the crew did, in order
Protect the building first
A protective runner was laid the full length of the building corridor over the existing carpet and taped at the edges, before anything came out of the apartment.
Strip out
Wall and floor tile, saddle, the cast-iron tub and drain, the 24 inch vanity, the tank toilet, both recessed cabinets, the sconce and the shut-off valves all came out and off the premises. Hardwood flooring and baseboards came up throughout the apartment.
Plumbing and electrical
New hot, cold and waste vent branch lines were run back to the risers with new shut-off valves, check valves and water hammer arrestors. The wall held corroded galvanised pipework, and new copper went in beside it. A new code-compliant breaker panel was installed with a dedicated line to the bathroom GFCI.
Waterproofing
A lead pan and cement curb were set in the tub position, the curb shortened and a knee wall built between toilet and shower. Waterproof membrane went down on the floor and turned up the walls 6 inches, with a second membrane on the shower walls to beam height, acoustical underlayment over it and cement board in the enclosure.
Tile
Cancos Paradise Ice porcelain, 12 by 24, run to beam height inside the shower and to about 4 feet outside it, on a Paradise Ice matte mosaic shower floor. Laticrete 95 Mink grout throughout, with a recessed shampoo niche built into the wall.
Closets, floor and doors
Ecore QT soundproofing and Terra Legno engineered flooring were glued down through the whole apartment over new baseboards. The non-load-bearing wall between the two entry closets came out, and New Closet systems went in behind Trustile pivot doors on Dykes Lumber jambs.
Materials and finishes
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Wall and floor tile | Cancos Tile Paradise Ice porcelain, ELEPAIC1224, with ELEPAICBN324 trim |
| Shower floor tile | Cancos Tile Paradise Ice matte mosaic, ELEPAICMOS22 |
| Grout and caulk | Laticrete 95 Mink grout, Laticrete 90 Light Pewter caulk, Aquamix sealer |
| Shower panel | Fleurco VSXS34-25-40-79, brushed nickel |
| Shower valve and trim | Crosswater TH2-RGH dual-control three quarter inch thermostatic rough, with Fenmore 28-20-T-GR trim in graphite |
| Showerhead | Crosswater Elements 8-jet US-SH08GR, with SH04-ARM-GR arm and 28-07-GR Fenmore handshower |
| Drainage | Infinity Drain UCP 42 clamping drain and CDIQ 42 floor drain in cast iron, N 5-SPF gunmetal cover |
| Stone | Caesarstone Organic White, polished 3cm, for the vanity top and all three saddles |
| Vanity | Kohler K-29469-1WX in slate grey, with a Kohler K-2882-0 Verticyl undermount basin |
| Lavatory faucet | Crosswater Fenmore 28-08-GR, graphite |
| Toilet | TOTO MS446234CEMFGN#01 in cotton, with a THU842#BN brushed nickel flush actuator |
| Medicine cabinet | Sofia Medicine ART2430-1D with an MSK 4-30 site kit |
| Cabinet hardware | Top Knobs TK3245AG, ash grey |
| Vanity light | Shades of Light BS19207 BK, graphite |
| Accessories | Crosswater Fenmore 28-58-GR paper holder and 28-67-GR towel bar, graphite |
| Electrical | Lutron SCR-15-GFST-MI GFCI, DVSCELV-300P-MI dimmer and SC-1-MI plate in mist |
| Bathroom paint | Benjamin Moore Aura Bath and Spa on the walls, Regal Select on ceiling and trim |
| Flooring | Terra Legno engineered wood PEWONN-N31X24.86 in Natural Nude, glued with Bostik EFA over Ecore QT Sound Control QTSU 4005 |
| Closet systems | New Closet in Summer Breeze L-54, for the personal, linen and entry closets |
| Closet doors | Trustile single slab doors on Dykes Lumber JL491 jambs, with Emtek and Top Knobs hardware in satin nickel |
| Mouldings | Dykes Lumber F8712 base, WC1CT and C105 casings, WM126 shoe |
| Apartment paint | Sherwin-Williams Emerald, SW 9546 on walls and SW 7005 Pure White on ceilings and trim |
| Behind the tile | Lead shower pan · cement curb · waterproof membrane turned up the walls 6 in · acoustical underlayment · cement board · recessed shampoo niche |
The part of this job nobody photographs
Two of the three progress photographs on this page are not of the finished rooms. One is the building corridor with a protective runner down its full length. The other is an open wall with corroded galvanised pipework in it and a new copper line run in beside it.
Both are the job. In a Midtown co-op the corridor belongs to everyone in the building. And what is behind a wall of this age decides whether the finished bathroom is still fine in ten years, which is why the specification below includes a lead pan, two separate waterproof membranes and a layer of cement board that nobody will ever see.
The result
The bathroom reads as a larger room without moving a wall, because a single glass panel and tile run to beam height do what a curtain rod and half-height tile cannot. The apartment got a new floor, a new breaker panel and three fitted closets on the same schedule.
More MyHome projects in Midtown East
Questions people ask about renovating in a Manhattan co-op
How do I protect my building hallways and keep my neighbours happy during an apartment renovation in NYC?
On this job the building corridor was covered with a protective runner for its full length, over the existing carpet and taped at the edges, before anything was carried out of the apartment. It stays down for the whole job, not just for demolition day. It is the cheapest part of a renovation and it is the part the rest of the building actually sees.
What actually goes behind the tile to protect the apartment below?
On this bathroom: a lead shower pan and a cement curb set in the old tub position, a waterproof membrane across the floor turned up the walls 6 inches, a second waterproof membrane on the shower walls to beam height, acoustical underlayment, and cement board in the enclosure. Infinity Drain cast-iron clamping and floor drains take the water out. None of that is visible in a finished photograph, and all of it is the reason a bathroom does not become the downstairs neighbour’s problem.
My pre-war apartment bathroom has a leak and the tile is failing. Should I repair it or do a full renovation?
The wall on this job held corroded galvanised waste and supply lines. Nobody could have known that without opening it. New hot, cold and waste vent branch lines were run back to the risers in copper, with new shut-off valves, check valves and water hammer arrestors. If the pipework behind your tile is the original galvanised, a surface repair puts new tile over the actual problem.
Can a tub become a walk-in shower without moving plumbing or walls?
Yes, and this is what it looks like. The shower sits in the cast-iron tub’s old position on a lead pan, with the cement curb shortened slightly and a knee wall built between the toilet and the shower. The room stayed 61 inches by 97 inches, about 41 square feet, exactly as it was.
What permits and building work does a bathroom renovation trigger in a NYC co-op?
On this job the bathroom pulled in work well beyond the bathroom: a new code-compliant circuit breaker panel with a dedicated line to the bathroom GFCI, and acoustical underlayment under new engineered flooring through the whole apartment, which is the kind of thing a co-op alteration agreement asks for in writing.
