Today I finished the (Vinyl) tile floor in the upstairs bathroom. It’s a click system that’s waterproof and has a 22 mil protective top layer.
I also fixed the door jamming. All that’s left is to paint the wood under the shower pan and fill some gaps.
The downstairs bathroom rain shower was in need of some TLC. The small rubber strip on the floor was worn and as a result, the entire bathroom floor would get wet every shower.
As I did not want to put a shower pan in, I opted for the next best thing; creating a shower pan with a special strip, much higher than the rubber strip. But as the strip alone would not prevent water splashing over the pan, I also mounted a shower curtain rail and bought a fitting shower curtain.
I also used the steel wire that came with the rail to properly strengthen the shower head, which had been supported by an improvised support made from an older coat hanger.
The pan strip is intentionally a little larger than the rail, so that water dripping down from the curtain stays with the pan.
This should fix the wet floor issue. Just to be sure I will place a warning on the right mirror to be aware of the strip as you step back, as even though there’s enough space to stand, if you step back not knowing there’s a pan strip on the floor, it could trip someone. Think of it as the warning on microwaves not to dry your cat in it.
Earlier this year, the upstairs shower had a leakage problem. At first I thought it was water going through the cracked hardy backer board that was used as un underfloor. So I used grout sealer to make the grouts more waterproof. But as it turned out, the problem was bigger; besides the cracked underfloor, the shower pan exhaust pipe got loose, so whenever the shower was used, water would leak under the shower pan, through the grouts, underfloor and floor boards onto the kitchen floor below.
So drastic measures were called for, as can be seen here
I removed the tiles, (cracked) hardy backer board and the shower pan.
After that I put a new subfloor in of 19/32″ plywood. I decided to not put the tiles back in, as the floor might work some more and again break the underfloor or tiles.
I managed to get the plywood under the shower wall, so there’s now a solid underfloor that can give a little bit if the beams on which the floor rest work some more.
On top of this floor I will put vinyl click tiles, which are waterproof and more flexible than stone tiles. And warmer to the feet than stone tiles.
The floating toilet upstairs somehow got its support frame inside the wall bent. I suspect someone with more weight than is healthy managed to do so. In order to prevent it from bending even further, I gave the toilet trunk support;
I used the part I cut out of the wall to put the pellet stove outlet, as that has about the same curve as the toilet bowl. Although it’s no longer floating, it will support even the heaviest people.
A floating toilet is always a bit nicer than one that has an exhaust going down through the floor. Especially when it’s on a floor that is right above the kitchen stove. A bit of work to the pipes work and to get it to lock with the bolts, but it’s in and all works well
The green will be painted white, and the gaps filled (in reverse order). It’s the first floating toilet with soft close seat I’ve ever owned (or installed). Scratch that of my bucket list. The seat closes very very softly and there are separate buttons for number 1’s and 2’s
There’s a lot of grouts, even if the shower stall is only 36″. But it’s done and it doesn’t look half bad;
The top and ceiling still need to be finished, but that’s for tomorrow.
Today all the tiles were set. Tomorrow I will do the grouts and clean it up. I’m glad it’s a small bathroom, as I’m kinda done with those tiny tiles.
This may seem like a never ending story, but I’m still making progress. Today I put the moisture resistant drywall into the shower stall.
After that, I started with the tiles;
It’s not difficult, just a bit labor intensive. I guess that’s the downside of choosing a small tile. My plan is to tile to the height a little bit under the rafter. Above that I will paint the wall white.
Small steps as I had to code and get materials first.
The shower and valve are now hooked up to the water lines. An intricate set of rings will limit the hottest and coldest temperature that can be set.
The line going down from the valve is for a bath tub, but since it’s only a shower it’s just capped.
Also got the moisture proof dry walls; they’re heavy to lift by myself, but for now they’re inside. I will cut them to size downstairs and only haul the needed sizes up.
With an intermission of visiting my friends the Klockman family in Alpine (West Texas) and a short visit from Arnoud, today I have recommenced the work on the bathroom. It was a bit of double work first, as the pipe joint compound I used wasn’t compatible with the pipes, causing them to not be glued at all. But no harm done; all could be restored and is now in place with the correct compound.
The picture above shows the new vanity, which now is hooked up to the septic and the hot and cold water lines. Going through the 12″ solid cedar wood walls was a challenge, but doable.
The shower now has the Pex lines coming to the valve, and the shower head has been mounted. I won’t be able to connect the Pex water lines to the valve, or the valve to the shower head, as I don’t have those parts yet.