The Conservative Cave
Interests => Around the House & In the Garage => Topic started by: Wineslob on December 09, 2008, 10:47:12 AM
-
I, in my infinite wisdom ( :hammer:) have decided to completely gut and re do the shower stall in our master bath. The existing shower is really, really, shot. So being the handyman, this coming x-mas vacation (I get 2 weeks off) I'm going to tackle this thing.
I'm not doing a pre formed pan, I'm going whole hog and doing the grout and tile route.
I've done some research, bought books, and found some You-Tube vids.
It seems it'll take me awhile but when done we should have a really beautiful shower. (I'll take pics)
The floor will be a pebble "tile". The "tiles" are netted smooth pebbles (pebbles are glued to the netting "backing") done almost as a puzzle piece. Walls will be a matching 12" square ceramic tile and the top edging is a roughly 1" square (actually 2 rows of 1" squares of stone and glass about 12" long "netted" like the floor tiles) used as a top edging/decorative accent.
I'm probably going to use a shower pan "system" like this: http://www.tools4flooring.com/quick-pitch-standard-kit-p-617.html
Has anyone done this? I'm just looking for advise and/or warnings about any "pitfalls".
-
Yeesh..............no handypeople here. :tongue:
-
Yeesh..............no handypeople here. :tongue:
What kind of backing do you plan to use behind the tile on the walls?
Do you own/have access to a wet saw?
-
What a job! I've never done the pan before, but have done my share of shower walls. I'm curious to see how you plan to do the pan.
Just today I finally, finally got through tiling my kitchen counter; just have to grout. No matter how well I plan I always run into something that's not square and have to readjust. It was also the first time I'd ever used the epoxy based mastic which is expensive. I could probably gotten by with just plain old epoxy, but wanted to be safe since I tiled over laminate.
I've got two wet saws. A 7 inch MK and a tiny 3 1/2 Plasplugs. Unbelievably, the 3 1/2 cuts better than the 7, but can't handle 12x12 floor tiles well.
Just keep your saw ready when you start laying even if you've already measured, laid out a pattern and made cuts. A pair of nippers and sanding block are indispensable.
-
also, make sure that your shower stall isn't going to be used for a while. The grout will need to completely cure and then will need to be sealed.
-
also, make sure that your shower stall isn't going to be used for a while. The grout will need to completely cure and then will need to be sealed.
Some of the newer latex grouts don't require sealing afterward. It's built-in. :cheersmate:
-
Some of the newer latex grouts don't require sealing afterward. It's built-in. :cheersmate:
That may be. The last house I was in had a brand new bathroom. I have NO idea of what kind of grout the installer used, but it was a BIG problem. Grout kept falling out from in between the tiles. All I was told is that it needed to be "sealed". Perhaps the installer used some cheap materials or just didn't do a very good job. He was back twice to fix stuff. It's not a problem any more as I'm not in that house any longer.
-
That may be. The last house I was in had a brand new bathroom. I have NO idea of what kind of grout the installer used, but it was a BIG problem. Grout kept falling out from in between the tiles. All I was told is that it needed to be "sealed". Perhaps the installer used some cheap materials or just didn't do a very good job. He was back twice to fix stuff. It's not a problem any more as I'm not in that house any longer.
A sealer is typically used to keep it from staining. It won't hold in bad grout. It was probably poor installation.
-
I've done maybe a half dozen of these when working for my brother in law.
First, you rip out everything down to the framing.
Relocate your plumbing stubs if needed, and your lighting and ventilation, make sure that is all good.
Install new pan and drain.
Mount new pvc liner on the framing (heavy rubber curtain), so that the bottom lays in the pan.
Pour concrete floor.
Mount backing board on the walls (I forget what it is called, but it's almost like sheet rock that is made out of concrete. Cut it with a diamond blade on an angle grinder.
Mount GREEN sheet rock on the ceiling.
Install tile.
Grout.
Mount fixtures.
Mount door.
Put all the finishing touches.
Come back in two days and shower with the lady of the house. :evillaugh:
-
Thanks everyone! I'm going to use Hardibacker on the walls and probably a pan "system" so the pitch comes out right. (I linked)
I'm going to be using a "wet look" sealant on the floor of the shower. The reason is the color of the pebble "tiles" will stand out better.
Whats really nice is the drywall guy who's working on the house right now (LONG FRIGGIN STORY) has done many bathrooms and has offered to give me a hand, in exchange for my wife to fix some problems with his laptop (no snide remarks!). I love barter.
And, yes, the wife and I will "beak in" the new shower when it's done. :naughty:
-
Well I started on it last monday, the 29th.
I'll post pics of the des construction.
-
Well I started on it last monday, the 29th.
I'll post pics of the des construction.
We want to see them.
Good luck.
-
Just line the walls with Shamwow :evillaugh:
j/k use a epoxy resin grout.
-
How's the shower coming along?
-
How's the shower coming along?
Slow, funds are a bit low, so I go along as well as I can. I'm still waiting for my wife to send the pics for me to post.
-
yOU MIGHT WANT TO PRINT this out.
http://www.atilenation.com/shower_pan.html
http://www.leakyshower.com/shwrpncn.htm
and maybe watch / read here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/shower-pan-installation
-
Peter, ty, the vid is one of a few I've been reviewing for awhile now.
I've got the bathroom pretty much stripped now (I still waiting for the wife to mail me the pics). New underlayment, and I expanded the shower area slightly.
I'm finding a few mistakes, but hopefully nothing that would be considered major.
-
Here is a before, just after I started knocking off the tile. (week after christmas)
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1157.jpg)
All I had to do was tap the walls and the tile fell off!
Luckily the studs are ok, so I don't have to re-do the framing.
I'll get some more current pics up soon.
(yes, that's a cats head in the bottom of the photo)
-
Yeesh..............no handypeople here. :tongue:
I know a bit about tiling a shower stall having done it myself twice over 20 years ago. I learned enough to know this:
Pay a professional to do it.
Grouting sucks and if you look at your time and possible frustrations, hiring a pro may be just slightly more expensive than DIY. If you still want to do it, at least try to find a friend who has some DIY tiling experience and buy them lots of booze and food for end of day consumptions.
-
I know a bit about tiling a shower stall having done it myself twice over 20 years ago. I learned enough to know this:
Pay a professional to do it.
Grouting sucks and if you look at your time and possible frustrations, hiring a pro may be just slightly more expensive than DIY. If you still want to do it, at least try to find a friend who has some DIY tiling experience and buy them lots of booze and food for end of day consumptions.
LOLZ, ya at first it seems that way, but I did the floor first just to get the "gist" of tiling down. The floor came out great, just VERY labor intensive. My hands are pretty sore after the grouting and I'm a mechanic by trade. (people say I have "stone mitts", kinda like shaking hands with a vise :-))
I'll get some pics up as soon as we get the haze off the floor.
-
I'll get some more current pics up soon.
(yes, that's a cats head in the bottom of the photo)
Is it still attached to the cat?
-
Is it still attached to the cat?
Yes, yes it is, though we dont have the cat anymore. (we were fostering)
:tongue:
-
Where are the foto's of the completed project?
-
Where are the foto's of the completed project?
I have the floor *done* but not the stall. It's just too expensive to do except for once a month when I have some extra cash. I should be able to do the shower pan this weekend.
*still needs trim*
-
Some friends of mine and myself spent time at the salvage area of the local dump. One friend purchased 4 small vacant houses, and furnished them, sheets, dishes, stainless ware, glasses, blenders, pasts makers, tables chairs dressers, EVERYTHING , FROM THE DUMP. I furnished a home I built (but I BOUGHT BEDS, MATTERSSES and sheets new) completely with mostly nice minimal repair antiques .
Another friend got enough tile to do the home she was building in Penna. 's two and 1/2 baths, and the kitchen. Full furnature, and enough pine flooring for the rest of the home. AND enough old books to contribute to the Salvation Army to SUBSTANTIALLY reduce her tax bill by contributing them.
Got a local Salvage area?
-
Got a local Salvage area?
Nope, once stuff hits the dump, you can't touch it. About the only place to go is the ReStore, but supplies are limited.
-
Do you have a local radio station that has a "Swap and Sell " show? Sometimes you can sell your junk and buy their treasures at an even swap. Of course, being a fan of Cobalt Blue, there's no swapping for that. I'm still sitting on enough yellow, white and black ceramic tiles, new, unused, to do one bathroom....but.....not all that many like yellow.....
-
Some friends of mine and myself spent time at the salvage area of the local dump. One friend purchased 4 small vacant houses, and furnished them, sheets, dishes, stainless ware, glasses, blenders, pasts makers, tables chairs dressers, EVERYTHING , FROM THE DUMP. I furnished a home I built (but I BOUGHT BEDS, MATTERSSES and sheets new) completely with mostly nice minimal repair antiques .
Another friend got enough tile to do the home she was building in Penna. 's two and 1/2 baths, and the kitchen. Full furnature, and enough pine flooring for the rest of the home. AND enough old books to contribute to the Salvation Army to SUBSTANTIALLY reduce her tax bill by contributing them.
Got a local Salvage area?
That's now illegal almost everywhere. You've got to nail it in the alley - at night, the night before trash pickup - and DON'T GET CAUGHT! ::) We once had a city garbage man fired because he took some usable stuff home out of the trash. It'd just KILL someone to have their "junk" reused, don't you know? ::) ::) ::)
Another "wonderful law" brought to you by our liberal, nanny-state morons.
-
Frankly, were I a kid and out of good work, I'd start a small demolition and removal business and a home clearout/broom clean business. In connection, a small second hand building materials business. I'D SELL THE METALS salvaged as scrap and reconsition the idems that are easy to fix. Keeping the charge to the contractor/homeowner low as possible partially based on the salvage. Always offering a premium discount for "old" guns.....BUT, THEN,OF ALL THE JOBS i EVER HAD, THE Marine Salvage business I likes best. It was tough, resulted in more than one 24 hour work day, skirted legality, was VERY dangerous (kept the heart pumping), but the sense of acomplishment was terrific!
-
Thought I would add a couple of before pics, because I'm finally getting close to finishing the project.
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1191.jpg)
This shows the old flooring...hedious.
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1178.jpg)
Another of the stall after I tore out the tiling, and found no vapor barrier. :thatsright: Pretty much the moisture destroyed the greenboard used underneath. Thats a big no-no. :hammer:
I'll get some newer pics tonight and hopefully post.
-
http://homerenovations.about.com/od/bathrooms/ht/installcementbo.htm
http://www.askthebuilder.com/Cutting_Cement_Board_Video.shtml
Well you can look it all up if you want. Just a thought.
-
Thanks Peter.
I've got the HardiBacker 500 on the walls of the shower stall. Quite easy to do, but tears up the hands a bit.
I'll try to get current pics up soon, as I've very proud (pats self on back) of how well the floor of the stall came out.
Tonight I've got a Naxx run to do as soon as I get home (World of Warcraft) but I'll start up tomorrow morning with tiling the walls of the stall.
-
Oh God!!!World of Warcraft! To make my son happy, I even created a figure for myself, "Whizbang" . I found it difficult to hack and move at the same time...But MIKE , my adult son and father , plays about an hour a day after work.
-
Oh God!!!World of Warcraft! To make my son happy, I even created a figure for myself, "Whizbang" . I found it difficult to hack and move at the same time...But MIKE , my adult son and father , plays about an hour a day after work.
50 yo and I love playing the damn game. It's probably the best "cooldown" after work evah! We use ventrillo to talk to eachother (Guild) and it's probably half the fun of doing a "run".
The "run" we'll be doing tonight will take roughly 3 1/2 to 4 hrs.
-
I think my son and I am in the Horde (?), anyway the figures are not "human" and I'm constantly being "Killed" when I play. So, I'm playing computer chess more and more....
-
Filthy Horde! :hammer:
:tongue:
Look up Elaith or Fafherd on the (Burning Blade server) Armory (Blizzard site for WoW) You can check out the the tier 7.5 gear I've been getting.
I got about 3/4 of the stall done but ran out of thinset and I need to cut a round hole in the middle of a tile for the shower control valve.
Hopefully I'll finish up this week.
-
A few pics:
The floor, excuse the mess, but I'm still doing trim work:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1758.jpg)
The floor of the shower stall, done with smooth pebbles:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1761.jpg)
I'll get some of the partial tiling ones up too.
edit: Bigger pics
And yes, we will be re-doing the cabs. Probably a new door(s) and refinish the bodies of the cabs.
-
A shot of the back wall of the shower with the shampoo niche I put in:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1759.jpg)
-
looks very nice, what are you doing for the stall walls? I REALLY LIKE THE large ffloor tiles, as they look good AND require fewer for area covered.
What made you go for the broken tile style floor? That was VERY IN back in the early 70's, slowly faided from the scene, and now is back.
-
looks very nice, what are you doing for the stall walls? I REALLY LIKE THE large ffloor tiles, as they look good AND require fewer for area covered.
What made you go for the broken tile style floor? That was VERY IN back in the early 70's, slowly faided from the scene, and now is back.
The wife and I both liked it. The "tiles" are netted (on the back) small river stones (no tile pieces) and are mixed with agate. We had seen a stall done this way (and used it) and liked the look, (though that one was stones only), and the feel on our feet. The price was right too, about $4.00 per "tile" in Tile City's sale area.
The tiles are from Lowes and only ran .79 each! They look great and have a pretty good wear rating (4, I believe).
-
Getting closer to the finish:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1772.jpg)
The back wall now:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1773.jpg)
-
Here's the shampoo niche:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/DSCN1771.jpg)
-
sO FAR, SO GOOD.
-
Looks good!
-
Looking good.
Also looks like way too much work for my lazy ass.
:cheersmate:
-
TY everyone! Barring any unforseen "problems" this weekend I should have this thing finished by Sunday afternoon. Then it'll be clean up time and finish off the moulding and then, uggh, paint.
OH BTW, we are looking at getting this: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100417657&N=503484+503484+190+90401
while it's at the very top of our price list, it looks like a pretty good crapper.
-
It says "right height;" what exactly is the "right height" for a commode?
I've personally always found most commodes to be too close to the ground, for me.
-
It says "right height;" what exactly is the "right height" for a commode?
I've personally always found most commodes to be too close to the ground, for me.
Same here. I believe they are taller than "normal" whatever that is. The one removed from the bath I'm working on could be considered "right height". It's taller than the other commodes in the house, but we don't like the style and it's cracked.
-
Right height and Chair height are both the same thing. They are what were used in handicapped stalls for many years and are now used by we tall folks who got tired of going numb from the waist down.
You can get a Kohler from Lowes for just under 300 that will suck down an ungodly pile of golf balls....just in case you need to flush a couple dozen one day. :rotf:
-
Right height and Chair height are both the same thing. They are what were used in handicapped stalls for many years and are now used by we tall folks who got tired of going numb from the waist down.
You can get a Kohler from Lowes for just under 300 that will suck down an ungodly pile of golf balls....just in case you need to flush a couple dozen one day. :rotf:
Someone needs more fiber in their diet. :popcorn:
-
The day I shit golf balls................................................ :o
-
The day I shit golf balls................................................ :o
Heyyy
You never know.
:-)
-
It says "right height;" what exactly is the "right height" for a commode?
I've personally always found most commodes to be too close to the ground, for me.
Frank, it turns out the a "regular" height toilet is roughly 14", a "right height" is roughly 17".
Almost have the stall done, I'm down to cleaning the tiles (I got grout on them that WONT come off) and then using a sealant on the whole thing. It looks fantastic!
-
The last shower stall I helped instal and trim out was next to the stage at a strip bar.
True story.
-
The last shower stall I helped instal and trim out was next to the stage at a strip bar.
True story.
Well now, talk about "perks". :naughty:
Got the stall done, sealed, and delivered. It looks great. I'll get some pics up soon.
-
Well now, talk about "perks". :naughty:
Got the stall done, sealed, and delivered. It looks great. I'll get some pics up soon.
The pics so far look great, you are doing a nice job.
-
Ok I FINALLY got my wife to D/L the pics off her new camera,
A good shot showing the finished curb:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/IMG_0029.jpg)
Another a bit higher up:
(http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/Apogeespeaker/IMG_0030.jpg)
Since these were taken I've done more plaster work to the edges where the tile meets the wall, so it looks more "finished".
-
That looks good! I would be proud to take a shower in your house. :-)
-
Looks great!