Submitted by BillB on 7/15/2011

DIY Bathroom Remodel

Use the side navigation links under DIY Bath Remodel to access the blog. I'll describe everything I do and what I learn along the way; hope you can find answers to any questions you have about your own project. I've created a page for each major phase of the project, starting with demo/structural, then rough plumbing and so on.

This first page sets the scene, including the list of all the stuff I bought for the project and the tools I used. If I did this project again I'd hire out the tiling but everything else was easy enough for me, a fairly experienced DIY'er. The whole thing took a couple months but I wasn't working full time on it and if I did another it would probably take less than half that time. Not sure how much money I saved but I figure it's at least $10,000 and it was sort-of fun. Sometimes.

Resources
Shopping List
Outdoor Shower
Tools

Project Summary

Here's the plan:

Existing bathroom, 5' x 7' plus the tub area.
I'll eliminate the tub and replace it with a tiled shower using the same space.
I'll build a deck mud shower pan.
Shower waterproofing will be Laticrete Hydro Ban.
Shower drain is Shluter Kedri Drain.
Shower plumbing includes a Grohe thermostatic shower valve, shower head, wand, 2 volume controls.
Tile is 18" x 18" porcelain. Shower floor is a 2" mosaic.
Tile underlayment for floor is Shluter Ditra
I'll build the vanity myself with a concrete top.
Temporary outdoor shower because we have only one bathroom!

A house without a tub might be a resale issue but after reading various blog posts I decided to go with the shower only. If we move someday, which is likely and it's an issue, I'll drop in a tub; hire someone or do it myself. If a young family moves in, I kind of like the idea of bathing a baby in a plastic tub sitting on the shower floor, like how people do dishes in farm sink. Turn the wand into a spigot for filling the plastic tub.

Resources

Books, Web

Books

"Tile Your World", by John Bridge
"Tiling for Contractors", by Michael Byrne and Michelle Griffoul
"Remodeling a Bathroom" Leon Frechette
"Remodel Plumbing", by Rex Cauldwell
"Complete Guide to Home Plumbing", Black & Decker book

Manufacturer's Web Sites

Go to the manufacturer's web sites for specs, instructions and even video. There's also video on Youtube.

Web Forums

I'm amazed and thankful for all the pros out there who give time to offer advice to us amatuers on various forums. Mongo, Bill Vincent, Shaughn, lazypup, brickeye, et al. Besure to search for your answers first, before posting; many questions you have will have been already asked and answered.

And Google, of course. Sometimes I'd do a google search and add gardenweb or john bridge to let google do the searching. Also, be sure to read the specs and installation instructions for all the products you buy.

Shopping List

Here's the list of supplies broken down by source. Note that just because I bought something at one store doesn't mean that another store listed didn't sell it too.

Tile Shop

This shop also sells installation products.

Tile - Crossville porcelain 18x18 for shower walls and room floor - $4.70/sq ft = $761.40
Tile - 2"x2" Mosaic for shower floor- $20.34/box = $325.44
Shluter Kerdi Shower Drain PVC - $115.54
Shluter Ditra, 1/8" thick, crack isolation membrane for tile floor in room, 11 feet - $70.84

Tile Contractor Supply Store

This is a store that caters to tiling contractors but they'll sell to homeowners. They don't sell a lot of tile but they do sell everything required to install tile.

Deck Mud 15 sq ft for shower floor. 6 bags (1 90 lb bag for 4 sq ft 1" deep.) This is their own mud floor mix, 5 sand / 1 cement mix. $5/bag
Laticrete Hydroban shower waterproofing - 2, 1 gal pails 79.00/gal
Laticrete fabric to span joints greater than 1/8" - 6" x 75' = $17.45
Laticrete LATICRETE® 317 or Megabond unmodified thinset for laying tile on Ditra. $30 for 2 bags
Laticrete 254 modified thinset for preparing the kerdi drain and on shower floor before putting the mud down and various little tasks. $40
Laticrete 255 Multimax For setting 18"x 18" tile on walls - 3 bags @ 37.70/bag - $120
LATICRETE® Spectralock™ Epoxy Grout for all tile - $100

Good Lumber Yard

You can't find everything at a home center like Home Depot so you need a good lumber yard for backup.

2, 1/2" exterior plywood sheets 5-ply 1 side smooth for underlayment for entire bathroom floor - $28.80/sheet = $57.60

Home Center

Your basic Home Depot/Lowes/ Home Depot Design Center

Structural Supplies
- Air duct parts for heating duct under vanity with vent in kickspace. $25
- 2x4 studs, kiln Dried for reframing shower area, blocking, curb. 20 @ $2.20 each = $45
- 2x6 lumber for blocking between CBU $10
- Insulation batts
- Drywall (5 sheets), screws, mud, tape, corner beads: $70
- Kohler sink
Plumbing
- copper pipe, assorted copper fittings for water supply
- Assorted ABS fittings and ABS pipe for drain and vent system
- Toilet wax ring
- Angle stops 3, one for toilet 2 for vanity.
Tiling
- Extruded mesh 2x8' piece for tiling shower floor $7
- Durock Cement Backer Unit (CBU) - 7, 3x5 sheets $68
- 1 1/4", 1 5/8", 2 1/4" Durock Screws and Nails (Don't really need all these) $20
- Alkali Resistant mesh tape (Fiberglass) $4
- Modified thinset to put down between deck mud and plywood for shower floor
- Tile spacers $3
- Rub stone - to sand tile edges $9
- Laticrete Spectralock Grout 4 Units @ $20 + color $4 = $88
- Megabond unmodified thinset $11 + liquid latex additive 2 @ $18 = $50
Misc
- Brown Tarp for temporary outdoor shower
- 6' tall straw Garden fencing for temporary outdoor shower - $25.00

Online

I bought the faucets and valves Online

Grohe thermostatic shower valve part 34 331
Grohe shower trim part 19 170
Grohe on/off valves, (2), part 29 273
Grohe on/off trim, (2), part 19 182
Grohe shower head, part 27 291
Grohe wand, part 27 812
Grohe wand connector, part 28 672
Grohe Vanity Faucet, part 32 138
Kohler grab bar
Grohe Toilet paper holder

Local Hardware Store

I'd love to use these guys more but the prices are so high

Angle Stop for vanity - $8.00

Miscellaneous

Odds & Ends

Kiddi-pool for temporary outdoor shower - $11.00
Straw fence for outdoor shower - $25.00

Outdoor Shower

Shower I Installed a new water heater last year and while I was at it, thinking I wanted to add a big utility sink outside, I put in a faucet with hot and cold on the outside of the garage wall. This is my source of hot and cold water for my temporary shower. The frame for the screen is made of old wood I had lying around. The screen is a straw fence I got at Home Depot, which turned out to be very see-through so I added a brown plastic tarp to the inside.

A hose runs from the faucet and a garden sprayer attachment serves as a shower head.

Pool The idea was to not have to shower standing in a pool of water. So the kiddie pool, which you stand in, has a hole which drains into a 5 gallon bucket I buried in the ground; the pool sits on a plywood sheet over dirt that I sloped a bit so the water runs down to the hole. There's a sump pump in the bucket that pushes the water up and into the house drain system through an exposed pipe I put in at the same time I added the outdoor faucet for the utility sink to drain into. (I covered the whole area with plywood with holes for the pump hose, pump wire and another hole for the water draining from the pool.) The trick is to set the water flow on the shower to match the sump pump flow so the 5 gallon bucket neither overflows nor empties, which would be hard on the pump, during a shower. Works great. One thing though: these little fountain sump pumps say not to use in water over 86 degrees and my wife like s HOT shower; she killed a pump. Also, the 330 gpm was a good rate for my shower setup - it kept us well with the water flow from the hose.

I had most of this stuff lying around. Had to buy the kiddie pool, hose for the pump, the straw fencing and the tarp; maybe $50-$60. Took a day to cobble together.

Tools

Here's the list of tools you'll need, give or take:

Hand Tools - Hammer, Tape, Pry Bar, Nail puller, chisels, screw drivers, levels, carpenter's square, hole saws, paint brushes & rollers, etc.
Hand Held Power Tools - screw guns, sawzall, circular saw, jig saw, 3/8" right angle drill is a nice to have
Pneumatic tools - I don't have any but a palm nailer and a compresser would be nice for those tight spaces under the house.
Stationary Power Tools - table saw, chop saw (nothing fancy required), Tile saw
Plumbing Tools - propane or MEP torch, tube cutter, etc.
Electrical Tools - circuit tester, screwdriver, etc.
Tiling tools - Assorted trowels, thinset mixer bit, 5 gallon buckets, rubber hammer
Safety - Ear muffs, safety glasses, thick clothing for crawling around under the house, gloves, knee pads

BillB