The Evolution of a Shower

We have been working on our shower forever now. Normally, a project like this wouldn't have taken us this long, but some situations arose (Watergate for one, Roto Rooter a second and other commitments bringing up the rear) that slowed down our progress by a lot. 

 

The existing shower I am not entirely sure we even have a photo of. It was a tiny, cramped room (think scary movie kind of tight) and had a tarp covering up the back wall. I was terrified to pull it down but apparently nothing was behind it. I don't know if they were concerned about mold and the tarp was preventative or what the deal was. But it was weird and gross. So when we gutted this bathroom down the the floor joists and the studs this tiny little shower enclosure was done too.

 

 

The arched area is where my tub sits now. The room to the right is the shower. Please notice that the wall separating the two doesn't even go to the floor. Yea, good times. The original shower also had the ceiling just slightly above where the door opening stops. When we tore everything out we realized there was at least another two feet of space before the attic joists started and decided to open up the space by raising the ceiling. It feels much larger than you would think it would.

 

 

Once the drywallers were done with their job, we installed the Schluter Kerdi Shower System. It comes with a pre-sloped floor, a curb, a drain kit and water proofing membrane. You can cut down the sloped floor to whatever size you need and then you combine all the elements to create a totally waterproof system. The orange felt sheets below is that water proof membrane. There are special seals for around the water supply line, the water mixing valve and for inside and outside corners.

 

 

This is apparently Paul's favorite tiling shirt. It seems to keep making an appearance.

 

 

It's incredible how different it feels now vs. before. We had our electrician include a humidity resistant can light in the shower which is tied into our exhaust fan. Which we have mixed emotions about. It means that if you're in the shower the fan is on (and lets be honest, I'm awful at turning it on) so that's a plus but if we ever want to turn the fan on by itself, the shower light has to be on too. Either way, it doesn't feel like a tiny chamber anymore. It's tall and bright and usable. And we love it.