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After a week of wet saw noise and activity, the tile is all in and grouted. I only needed to scramble for 4 more of the decorative border pieces than I had originally purchased so my budgeting for “cuts and partials” was pretty close. I have extra marble for any future mishaps but everything looks great.

The shower floor is a basket weave pattern and really compliments the other design elements. The shower bench is purely there for any potential resale inducement but it also forms the half-wall where the frameless glass enclosure will attach (as well as along the curb on the floor).

Finished Tile

   

   

 

This and a follow-on post will show all the tiling work but it took a full week. That’s due to the complex tile design I dreamed up. Personally I blame the overwhelming number of bathroom and kitchen examples fully built out at The Tile Shop….inspiration overload. Couple that with my natural level of OCD tendencies and I found myself caught in “analysis paralysis”.

“Can I make the Hampton Carrera marble blend well enough with my Imperial Slate floor tile?”

“Does the Queen Beige marble bring out the browns of my floor better?”

“Are the Emperador Dark Polished accent tiles just a little too dark?”

‘Which glass mosaic tile might work best here……Emperador With Crema Small Broken?……Nantucket Dune Blend??”

Ultimately I settled on the Queen Beige marble with the Nantucket Dune Blend mosaic tile. The mosaic tile was selected for an “in wall” niche below the exterior window, a decorative section of the wall where the shower fixtures are attached, and a decorative part of the shower bench. I used border tile pieces to frame the decorative sections and some bullnose to frame out whole of the shower. What I couldn’t have guessed at where the sheer number of cuts required at the wet saw to bring this design into being. That led to a full week of tile work but the results speak for themselves……I think anyway.

The Tile Goes In

   

   

   

   

Adding the new plumbing was a little complicated. I drew up a design on paper and then we had to translate that, virtually, over exposed 2×6 wall structure. This included a thermostatic control/mixer, 2 body sprays, a shower wand, and a shower/rain head mounted high on the wall. Next came a concrete pan for the shower that was followed by fiberglass work to waterproof the entire bottom structure of the new shower stall.

There’s an interesting aspect to laying down the fiberglass and allowing it to cure…..it stinks. It permeates the entire house for several days. I was warned about this fact and I moved from my bedroom to the guest bedroom in preparation. I think I’ll just stay there till it’s all finished.

Plumbing, pan, and waterproofing

   

   

The demolition took a single day, Friday 9/4. With the exception of some areas of sheetrock that will be removed at a later date, the primary parts of the old bathroom are gone. The old vanity, with it’s granite counter top, sink bowls, and plumbing fixtures, was donated to Habitat For Humanity to hopefully find a new home. The water pipes, which these days are flexible and not really pipes at all, had to moved further into the wall to make room for a new shower enclosure.

Demolition

   

   

The slab had to be jackhammered some to make adjustments for the plumbing and eventual drain for the new shower.

So I have lived in my present house for over 8 years. When I had it built, I added a last minute upgrade to the vanity in the master bathroom….an upgrade to 40 inches height. Suffice it to say that I didn’t really comprehend 40 inches of height and how ridiculous that is for a person of typical stature. By the time I realized my mistake, I was unwilling to change my “close” date and I have been living with “bellying up to the bar” each morning to shave and brush my teeth!!

Replacing the vanity has been a lingering desire for many years (about 8) and though I’m not inclined to sell my house any time soon, I decided to address the problem. As I was about to make a significant change to the bathroom, I decided to make some other improvements as well. Changes like a bigger and better “walk in” shower. Changes like real tile in the shower instead of cultured marble and fiberglass.

Before The Remodel

This was the bathroom with the 40 inch tall vanity, tub, and shower