Project Preamble:
I was hired by a local Building Contractor in the Anderson, South Carolina area to build a custom corner shower, in an existing 1930's era single family home. The new shower wall finishes will receive Italian Porcelain 12x12 tile, installed with a 1/16 grout joint, a 3 piece listello accent that features 1x12 Tumbled Travertine, and 3/4 x 3/4 inch glass and tumbled stone mosaic. The shower floor finish will receive a 2x2 mosaic porcelain tile blend. Accessories include 2 on-site custom fabricated Travertine Shampoo shelves.
The existing fiberglass corner shower insert had been removed from the work area and new plumbing valve installed prior to my scheduled start date. Unfortunately that was merely the beginning of the deconstruction and preparation process. First on my long list of duties is removing the existing 80 year old plaster to gain access to the wood framing. This makes a lot of dust and requires sealing all openings with Visqueen and blocking the air vents with shop towels.
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After the dust and air filtered through my vacuum for a while, I snapped this shot to show the old slat plaster system behind the plumbing valve wall. I've seen it a hundred times and impresses me still. Make note of the existing base board in the lower left corner. That edge is our target completed finish line.
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I've performed enough remodeling projects in my career to know that I should expect the unexpected. See the 1/4 inch drywall behind the level? That was nailed and finished on the wall you see in this photo. Except, it isn't a wall. It's the back of the built in side board of the adjacent room. |
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This is the front of the side board mentioned above. If you look close you may be able to see the holes in the painted tongue and groove, between the upper and lower cab sections. Those are from the original glass enclosure of the fiberglass corner shower insert. I dislike the idea of attaching my tile substrate to the back of this cabinet. I'll have to build a frame to attach the tile substrate to. This is easy enough to do but will require return jambs on each end of the shower.
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Skipping ahead a couple of days in this photographic presentation, I've framed a wall between the sideboard and the bathroom, added the return jambs, installed floor to shower head, overlapping 20# felt for a moisture barrier, built the pre-slope, installed the shower pan, poured the curb, hung the cement board, taped and finished with polymer modified thinset. I wish I had photos of all of this being done. I was sort of proud of the way I screwed and glued the framing together. Plus the curb forms were kind of cool looking. ;)
When I have a choice, I utilize the formed and solid poured concrete curb building technique, instead of wood framed. I've sure prepped and tiled a ton of them that have been wood framed but in the past, I've seen glass enclosure installers drill holes in them. That's not a good thing for a famed curb and since my showers will be around a lot longer than I will, I like poured concrete better and that's how I do them when I have a choice.
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This photo shows the shower pan liner sandwiched between two layers of poured concrete and the 20# roofing felt, moisture barrier underneath. Since this home is built on a wood subfloor, it's a good idea to provide a barrier between that type of subfloor and a moisture producing system, like this shower.
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This image shows the right hand jamb, taped and finished and perhaps the most important bathroom accessory in the upper right corner.
There are times when the proper placement of this fixture is debated. Opinions vary but I'm pretty sure if you can find it when you need it, then it is where it should be.
See the gap between the original base board and the jamb face? It's exactly where it needs to be. |
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This is a nice shot of the finished curb face and miters. The glass enclosure has been installed, the tile finished and gorgeous.
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If you made note of the existing base board in the second photo above, this is the same piece. It wasn't removed. I built the shower to finish exactly at this edge. (And that's probably something only a tile man could appreciate.)
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This is the final photo of the finished shower. The shower floor space is larger and aesthetically, this build has made an enormous difference in this bathroom. Though I built it, I can't take full credit for all of it's appeal. The home owner selected beautiful tile. I just put it together. ;)
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All done! If you're still reading, thanks!
