DIY Sealing the Tile
Alriiight. Now that we’ve got our shower and floors tiled, we just needed to seal them. That is not a job for the faint of heart, let me tell you. Luckily, it’s fast.
Bathroom Remodel: How to Tile a Shower
DIY Shower Tile
Tiling a shower is where the fun really comes in. We’ve been so excited for this phase of the bathroom remodel. And for good reason! It’s actually starting to look like a shower. Joe’s dad gave us a huge hand so we were able to knock out all the tile in a weekend. Check it out!
Bathroom Remodel: Priming and Painting
Project Updates
Let’s step back and recap: We are unfortunately way over budget, but hey, we’re ahead of schedule! We should be done by May 1. We had a lofty goal of $2,500 for our bathroom renovation, but we’re currently around $3,200. This was our ambitious plan, but we realized all the little things we forgot to take into account along the way: Nails, screws, bags of mortar, caulk… That stuff adds up fast! We do have returns to make which will hopefully bring some balance back to our universe. In the grand scheme of things, that’s still extremely inexpensive for a whole new bathroom that we DIY’d. We’re almost done, and we don’t expect to exceed $3,500.
Bathroom Remodel: Knockdown and Niches
Niches get Stitches
First things first. We had in mind that we’d like some shelves in the shower, right? Not any after-the-fact shelves, but real built-ins. There are a few ways to get recessed, inset shelves installed from the get go. Let’s explore the options.
Bathroom & Shower: Taping and Mudding Walls
Mud and Tape
The natural next step after pouring the shower pan is? You guessed it: Adding shower walls. And you can’t just use regular drywall, you need to really waterproof that new shower of yours. It’s a high-stakes job, but you can do it!
Here’s a glimpse of us mudding and taping (with a little help). It’s in reverse order, so you’ll see the shower walls up first, then the rest of the bathroom. Enjoy!
Shower Pan Part 2: Lining and Final Pour
Insane in the Membrane
The shower “membrane”, that is. After your shower pre-slope is fully dried— you waited 48 hours, right?— you can place the shower liner in and do your final pour of shower mix (sand and cement mixture). Then it’s smooth sailing. Honestly, don’t skip the pre-slope! Without it, your water will sit and mold will grow below your shower’s surface. Ewww, nobody’s got time for that.
Pouring a Shower Pan
Pre-Slope
All we do is work work work work work. Thanks Top 40 radio for that one. We’ve been listening to the same 40 songs all spring break due to limited music options. But, back to the task at hand.
This video is lengthier, so feel free to breeze through it at your own pace. The pre-slope is a one night project, but it’s important to give it plenty of time to dry (48 hours to be safe) before advancing to the rest of the shower pan. We’ll walk you through the steps.
Bathroom Remodel: Plumbing, Electrical & Exhaust Fan
Status Report
Joe says we’re half way done with the bathroom! I’m wary of this prognosis; I think we’re still a little shy of the halfway mark… Luckily, it’s basically uphill from here. We’ve done most of the dirty jobs already. Very dirty indeed: Demo, rerouting the drain, reframing, and now we’ve finished up the electrical, plumbing and the exhaust fan.
Bathroom Remodel | Framing the Shower
We Have Walls
They’re up! We just have to get them covered with sheetrock, but they’re looking good already. I’ve never done this, so it was all a learning experience for me. I even got to use gunpowder to nail into the concrete! It took me a few tries, but I finally made it through.
Bathroom Demo | Phase 4: The Big Kahuna
Last Demo
I find smashing walls infinitely entertaining, and I’m a little sad to be ending demo. But alas, all good things must come to an end. If you’re tired of seeing us crash through walls, on the other hand, good news: this is the last one. At least for the bathroom… We have a whole lot of building to do, so we really need to get a move on. These bathroom updates will be coming in rapid fire – I really need to keep up!