For my website I have chosen NOT to use google ads to help support my site and my videos. I instead hand select products on Amazon for you to check out, I receive a couple pennies regardless of what you end up purchasing there. Most of these products I either own or have used, or otherwise highly recommend. Enjoy!
Meanwhile I can use all these links for myself to keep track of what I bought for what project!
It begins.
After a short hiatus to finish paying off our house, the master bathroom remodel begins NOW. The design has nothing too crazy really, but as always with my builds there’s SOMETHING custom and experimental that makes the whole project take forever. The reality is, the “custom and experimental” element is what keeps me motivated to spend weeks doing this mundane work.
Day two – Framing the Tub.
I decided to put the tub in before the shower because the exact location and dimensions of the shower glass will be dependent on where the tub actually is. Here I reinforce some of the joists, lay the plywood and test out the fit so I can drill a hole for the drain and another for the overflow…
Day three – Setting the Tub
Today was about leveling the floor by using a shore jack and a beam, installing the whirlpool electricity, preparing the plumbing and setting the tub into a cement base. Whew! I used a 4:1 mix of sand and Portland cement mixed a little wetter than deck mud. Don’t forget those ridges in the cement before you set the tub down!
Quick DIY hack: How to connect tub drain to straight pipe.
OK, I thought I was losing it, when the PVC threads on a standard PVC fitting didn’t match up to the threads on the chrome drain piece I have in the tub. I wanted to eliminate 2 of the 90 degree turns the drain water had to make with the standard setup so I needed a fitting that was an 1-1/2 slip connection on one and 1-1/2 thread on the other. Well the piece they give you at the store is so similar to what I needed, it even threads on a full turn before you notice it’s wrong. The hardware store and big box stores did not carry the proper piece. THIS IS THAT PIECE.
In case you are at a loss for what I’m talking about I made a mock-up of my tub drain, pictured below, to show you how a tub is typically plumbed and how I wanted mine. Keep in mind though that my tub is on the first floor with a crawl space under it.
Meanwhile they do sell the kit on Amazon. It differs than what you’ll find at a store since the typical installation involves a 90° elbow directly under the drain called a tub shoe.
For some it may be that there is not enough room under the tub for my custom setup exactly and if you have a hole through the floor directly under the tub drain (or can drill one) this heel outlet trip waste may be the answer. It’s a tee fitting (3 holes) and the threads for the drain flange are integrated to save you space when you connect the pipe from the overflow.
HEY! Have you notice that there’s no random pop-ups or HUGE ads that you have to scroll around or try to avoid clicking?
I know anyone trying to earn ANY income from a website must do those things, but I hate it.
My “Amazon Link” method is simpler, it’s not working for me really, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I haven’t frustrated a bunch of people who were kind enough to visit my page 🙂
Framing the Shower
DAY 4. While the tub cement cures, it’s finally time to do some real damage to this new shower. The dimensions ended up being about 8 feet x 4 feet, even after adding shelving and ledges. I have a habit of getting rid of any conventional storage areas, I think I have an aversion to cupboards and closets where JUNK needs to live.
Pre-Slope for the Shower Floor
DAY 5. I’ve chosen to install a pre-slope under my shower pan liner made from deck mud. It made sense to me despite the arguments I’m reading from long time installers. It’s tough to take the advice from old school guys who say it’s not worth it to do… well, because the rotten sub floor and joists under many showers, presumably installed by “someone” 20 years ago, sorta indicates BULL. Since this is my house and I have the time and energy to put extra work in, the additional day of curing needed is not a problem for me.
Deck mud is amazing by the way, 4 scoops of sand and 1 scoop of Portland cement and just enough water for it to hold its shape when you ball it up- PERFECT. Way better than using a wet mix, dries perfectly solid and as easy as building a sand castle after which your tool are barely dirty.
I use the big bags of sand you can have delivered from Lowe’s, that are sitting out in front of the building and they need a fork lift to move, and use the Portland cement that has nothing in it, just PURE Portland Cement. I switched up my mixer from a paddle type just for this and it’s been great:
Shower Floor Liner
DAY 6. I left the deck mud dry for a couple days as you can see by the now white color. The liner was just the right size to fit in one piece. I forgot to buy X-15 (<—–Amazon Link to buy it) which is just a nice PVC adhesive to have to seal up the outer corners, since those and the drain are the main spots you can expect leaks. My local hardware store didn’t have it but Lowe’s did luckily.
NO JOKE, do not use this PVC glue without a mask. They aren’t expensive and after Covid, everyone should be used to throwing a mask on. This stuff has intense fumes. Open a window and put a fan in it too. I had my mask on and I didn’t notice the odor, but I came back a couple hours later and the smell was overwhelming!
Meanwhile putting the liner in is easy, just don’t put any nails or staple or screws anywhere in the liner, except at the very top of the liner and NONE in the curb. Use the final cement layer to hold that all in place.
Shower Mortar Bed
Day 7. I may have been putting this last step off for a little while, because mixing and moving 13 buckets of deck mud across the house seemed like a pain. This is the last step before applying tile so it’s a big one to have out of the way. I used wood glue to secure the screed guides to the sides to take the guess work out of defining the slope/ height. Well worth the time to get this prep work done propery, especially if you are new to this type work.
Don’t over estimate your concrete skills, because unless you do this for a living, you have none! Being well prepared with clean tools, a good strong straight-edge and working in small batches however, will make it possible to succeed anyway. You might want to pick up this finishing pool trowel that I use because it’s amazing for making really smooth surfaces and it doesn’t dig in every time I make a pass. I know some people get really good at this type of work and can make perfect concrete forms using a rusty old hubcab or something, but that’s not me!