This week was all about the bones of the bathroom! I always seem to underestimate the time it takes to demo and then rebuild a space back to a functioning room. But I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel because the bathroom is finally drywalled and ready to be waterproofed! You know what that means….it’s almost TILE TIME!
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The Ceiling:
Due to removing the soffit/header above the shower the ceiling needed to be re-drywalled. Our home was built in 1950’s and we never know what to expect when we start opening up walls. Unfortunately, our bathroom ceiling has three layers of drywall and would be a pain to install three layers above the shower and try to match it.
We opted to install plywood shims to bring the joists down to 1/2 in short of the current ceiling. This allowed us to install the 1/2 drywall and leave the ceiling flush. We will also be installing shiplap and a beam on the ceiling. Because we will need studs , I went ahead and marked the joist locations before closing up the ceiling.
Shower Niche:
Lets talk about another todo that I drastically underestimated – the shower niche! First I did a bit of research and found this YouTube video that was really helpful! When planning out the niche, I wanted it to flow with the black marble pencil tile which will run around the entire shower. Let’s just say there was a ton of math involved (see photo).
Because the pencil tile will be on all three walls, it was impacted by the window, shower hardware, and the niche area. I first planned for enough space for one tile below the window and then started my marks around the area (the red pencil line in this case). Once this was determined I had to take into consideration the tile thickness, width, grout size, drywall, and framing.
I’m a visual person so I started marking out each layer with the specific measurements so I could determine the framing details.
If you want a 10×10 niche, you can’t frame out 10 inches or your drywall, waterproofing, grout, and tile will all alter your overall measurements.
While this took me about 2 hrs to just get the measurements figured out – the final result will be worth it! You can see below that laying out the tiles in the shape/pattern really helped me visualize what the niche would look like finished.
The Window:
At this point in the project is typically where I start altering my plans or not doing part of the project that will be a lot of work. I had always planned for the window to be wooden and knew I needed to scrape the paint away. Well after about three hours in, I wanted to jump ship. Thinking to myself, “I should just repaint it and move on!” but when I gave myself the night away, I came back knowing that I wanted to stick to my original vision, no matter the work. I really think after this beauty is stained and sealed, it will take the shower to the next level and add a bit of character!
Plumbing:
Our last piece of the puzzle before finishing up the drywall was moving the current shower system plumbing up a few inches.
This shower is primarily Cory’s and the shower head has always been a bit low. We were planning on hiring a plumber to raise it but after a few video’s, Cory felt comfortable raising it himself. He simply shut the water off, cut the three connection points with this pipe cutter, and then used sharkbite joints to add the three inch copper pipe pieces. That was it!
Cory has been a huge help and I’m not sure my back or my sanity would have made it without him so far!
Next week we will be tackling the waterproofing system and then tiling. I cannot wait to see our Jeffrey Court tile selections in the space! Once the tile is in, we are in the home stretch.
Make sure to come back next week to get a sneak peek before the final reveal – I can’t wait for you to see it!
Don’t forget to check out the other designers and cast your vote here!
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