“It turns out drilling into concrete is, in fact, as hard as it sounds”
THIS is Season 6 of the Jeffrey Court Fall Renovation Challenge, where we will renovate our kid’s full bathroom… taking it from an outdated, carpeted, builder-grade bath to a functional, beautiful oasis where my boy-girl siblings can fight over counter space in style!
14 contestants – 1 grand prize winner – YOU get to choose!
Come behind the scenes with me on INSTAGRAM, where I will show you live video of the entire process. Then, hop over to the blog for a weekly breakdown of our progress. Lastly, head over to the Jeffrey Court Site and VOTE VOTE VOTE for our design along the way! The design that YOU – the voters – choose will win a grand prize of $5,000!
You have the chance to vote once a day EVERY day, from each internet-accessible device you own. Your cell phone, tablet and computer? Absolutely! And don’t worry… I’ll remind you!
WEEK 3
PREP
We started week 3 running hard and fast. With all the demo complete, we were able to start working on adding things back in. The first item on our list was floors. We added cement board to the bathroom floors and built up the shower pan. We did the prep work for the shower, which included framing out the niche, putting up cement board, and painting on the RedGard waterproof membrane.
In week 1, we removed the vanity doors, took down the hardware, and demoed the shower. If you missed the before pictures or the design plan, you can find them HERE.
In week 2, we had the plumbing roughed in, removed the tub, and finished demoing the rest of the bathroom – mirror, countertop, and floors. You can find the week 2 blog HERE.
For a list of tools I like to have on hand during demo, head back to my WEEK 1 post. I have found several must-have bathroom reno tools that I will list when we are done with the project.
Ok, let’s take a look at how to prep the floors and the shower for tile.
FLOORS
We were lucky that our floors were very level and didn’t have any high or low areas that needed to be fixed. We put ¼ inch cement board down over our subfloor with Hardie screws. Cement board is a layer of mortar sandwiched in between fiberglass mesh cloth. It’s a substitute for a mortar bed underneath your tile.*
It’s important to use the screws that are specifically for cement board. These screws have a coating to resist corrosion, a special wide head with cutting flutes and hi-low threads for a strong grip. You can find them in the tile section. (*https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/cement-board-ceramic-tile/)
The 1/4 “ cement board snaps easily once scored with a knife. A carbide blade is ideal. Any areas that need to be cut out can be cut using a hole saw or a jigsaw.
THE SHOWER
The first thing to do in the shower was to frame out the niche and create the curb. Both of these were done using 2×4’s. The niche was simple… I measured for center, cut out a section of a stud that was not load bearing, and installed a rectangle using pocket holes.
For the curb, I measured across and left a 1/2“ gap on each side where the Hardie board would go on the walls over the 2×4’s. We were able to move the curb out a little bit from where the side of the bathtub was, since building code states that the shower glass must be 15” from the back center of the toilet.
After the framing was done, we were ready for the shower pan. The shower pan consisted of three layers – a layer of Ram board (since it’s what we had on hand – you can also use a tarp), the pan liner, and cement. The Ram board was to cover the screws and anything else that might poke through and damage the pan liner. The pan liner is what actually makes the base of the shower waterproof, and the cement creates a hard surface and the slope down to the drain. (You can also find a pre-fab shower pan in place of this.)
When installing the pan liner, it’s important to note – you do NOT cut the corners! They must be folded up and screwed in place. The liner should go up each wall 6-8” and also cover the curb. Another thing to remember is not to place any screws through the liner below that 6-8” side. If you create a hole in it, you will defeat the purpose of the liner.
A small hole should be cut around the opening of the drain and after it is installed over the shower liner, silicone caulk is applied to make sure the drain is air and water- tight.
Once this is all complete, concrete is laid over the pan liner. But before that can happen, we want to get the cement board up on our walls.
For the walls, we used ½” Hardie board. We cut pieces to cover all the framing, up to the drywall. The drywall above the old tile did not have to be cut out since it will get Redgard painted over it. Again using the special screws made for cement board, we hung all the walls. This took some man power since the boards are heavy and difficult (for me) to screw into.
After all the cement board was up, we taped over all the seams and filled the gaps between boards with thin set mortar. Make sure you use the fiberglass mesh tape available in the tiling department. Drywall mesh tape will rot.
On to the concrete shower pan…
We began around the drain then built it up to about an inch around the sides. Use a level to create a slope to the drain. You want at least a ¼ to ½” slope so the water runs downward. Make sure to leave a space under the edge of your drain for the floor tiles.
Once your concrete is down, let it cure for 24 hours before walking on it.
The last step in shower prep was painting on our Redgard waterproof membrane. It says on the bucket that this can be applied with a brush, roller or trowel, but be wary if you apply with a trowel. If the Redgard is applied too thick, it can fail to cure or crack.
I chose to use a brush and roller and it worked beautifully. I applied two coats to the corners and seams, then rolled the remainder. The first coat went on vertically, and the second coat goes on perpendicular to the first. The Redgard goes on pink and turns red when it’s dry. Make sure to wear your PPE when applying… the smell is very strong.
Two more fun things happened this week… head over to IG to see our tile get delivered and watch a little family pow wow as I put together the tile saw!
That’s it for week 3! Now that the tile is here, we can begin putting it up. I can’t believe we’re halfway through the competition already!
Next week, here’s the plan:
- Take a Tiling Lesson with Taylor Construction + Design
- Tile the floors
- Begin tiling the shower
- Start the vanity doors
I am definitely feeling the heat of only having three weeks left, so I will begin woodworking this week.
I’m looking forward to both learning a new skill (tiling) and getting to do something I am familiar with (woodworking) in WEEK 4! Can’t wait to see you guys next week!
You can vote for our design HERE and remember to follow along on INSTAGRAM for behind the scenes video and DIY tips!