Conclusion & Lessons Learned - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Conclusion & Lessons Learned

SCHEDULE:

Actual starting date of this project was 10/25/2013 and officially finished (including cleaning) on 1/3/2014, which is 70 full days total. My original plan was to finish the project in 30 days. My working time was limited because I had to work on this project after work (~after 5 pm) , and most of the time during demolition and framing, I could not work late at night because of the noise to the neighbor. (This is what I don't like about townhomes.) Most of the day, I only able to work ~3 hours or so. If I divide 70 days into 3, I can say I might have finished this project in ~23 days if I worked full-time. Anyway, I have failed to plan all the time restrictions I actually had.

BUDGET:

I have spent ~$4000 for the all the parts + tools for this project. It can be divided into ~$3487 of parts, $129 of sales tax, and ~$428 of the tools. Detailed breakdown is shown below table (Table 1). I have originally paid $15 for the shipping of the glass blocks from Homedepot. But it was refunded when they gave me credit for the damaged blocks.


Table 1. Detailed spending table.

	DECORATION	DISCOUNT	FRAMING	PLUMBING	SHIPPING	TAX	TILE	TOOL	Grand Total
amazon.com	$31.88		$887.44	$569.36				$244.56	$1,733.24
Home Depot	$5.77	-$76.33	$441.86	$85.63	$0.00	$116.59	$1,245.29	$181.21	$2,000.02
Lowes		-$34.22	$155.32			$12.41	$174.61	$1.97	$310.09
Grand Total	$37.65	-$110.55	$1,484.62	$654.99	$0.00	$129.00	$1,419.90	$427.74	$4,043.35

Below table (Table 2) summarizes the spending compared to the planned budget. I have spent 16% more (whole discount amounts are applied to the parts) on parts and 43% more on tools but saved 35% on the sales tax by using online orders such as amazon.com. Overall, I have spent 16% more which is acceptable (if not great) for me.

Table 2. Summary of actual spending compared with the original plans.

	Plan	Actual	Percentage
Parts	$3,000	$3,487	116%
Tools	$300	$428	143%
Tax	$198	$129	65%
Overall	$3,498	$4,043	116%

LESSONS LEARNED:

Project duration and budget planning looks like the main concern for almost everyone. But the quality of the outcome can sometimes be overlooked but the duration and budget is frequently affected by the final quality of workmanship. I had to redo some of the shower floor tiles and walls because it did not meet my expectation. I had to spend quite a time and effort to redo the work but if I did not spent time doing that, I might have encountered bigger problems at the next stage.

Amateur performance and workmanship can somewhat be overcome by better tools. If you do not know what tool to buy, ask the professionals and get tools what they use (if it is too much expensive, get one level below.). Do not buy cheap ones. It won't last long and you will end up spending more time and money to replace.

Spend lots of time to research. Before the first demolition day, I have spend lots of time (at least 3 months) to plan for the rough design and feasibility. I have searched and watched youtube and found one good guy (Thanks for the video, TilemasterGA!) with all the detailed instruction video.

Be careful about the scope creep. Scope creep is a term used in Project Management which means "uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project's scope". Try to focus on what you have planned. Try not to add more jobs as much as you can. For example, someone suggested me to add steps outside the tub. I was thinking about adding them but decided not to, because it will increase my budget and time to finish. I have to recalculate the number of tiles and materials for the frames and so on. My wife wanted to add the niche next to the sink. I accepted to add it and it cost me over $100 more in total and it impacted the project duration as well.

Fig 47. Mission accomplished!

REFERENCES:

TilemasterGA on youtube.com: All about the tricks and steps for the old bathroom demolition and the new tile installation.

Tiletools.com: Information about trowel size selection.

Autodesk Homestyler Floorplan design: Free online rough design of the floor plans.

Johnbridge.com: Shower floor deck mud calculator.

Tile estimator: Tile floor and wall planner.  Very nice tool to estimate number of tiles.  Estimated amount of thinset and grout is also calculated.  But you cannot save your creation.  Don't forget to print out.

Pittsburgh Corning: Glass block installation

Google Sketchup: Very detail 3D design tool.

Tiling - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Tiling

PREP:

Finally it is time to put the tiles. The first step is to install guide bar at the bottom of the wall. To set the height of the first line of the full (not cut) tile, total height is measured and decide where the top and the bottom tiles are about the same size. Put the straight bar (I used 2x4s and some other woods) and temporarily fasten to the wall. All the walls including the tub and shower should have the same height, otherwise it will look awful.

For the floor, I have used Detra underlayment to prevent any moisture damage from the possible crack of the tile. I have used regular thinset as recommended by manufacturer as adhesive (Fig 31).

Fig 30. Tile guide for the first full size tile.

Fig 31. Detra underlayment installation on the floor.

WALL TILES:

The grout spacing that I have used is 1/8 for the 8x12 wall tiles and 3/16 for the 16x16 floor tiles. I have searched the web and the Floor Elf was somewhat helpful. At the end of the first day (Fig 32), I have done quite a lot (it was the first tiling in my life). Before starting, I was eager to get it done so I mixed ALL 55 lbs bag of fortified thinset in a bucket. It did not take too long to realize that this was a huge mistake. I did not cut all the tiles beforehand so unless you have a helper to cut the tiles, just mix what you can finish in two hours or so. I was not able to proceed with the mosaic tiles on the front wall because it was sliding down. I had to discard about 3/4 of 55 bags of thinset at the end of the day.

Fig 32. End of first day of tiling.  The front wall's mosaic was
sliding down slowly so I removed the middle one.

Fig 33. Nails to prevent slipping of  the mosaic tiles.

After the first day is over, I've got severe flu so I could not even move out of bed for 5 days.  When I was little better (but still not able to work), I was thinking how to prevent sliding of the mosaic tiles.  I bought thin 7/8 inch nails and used them to hold between mosaics (Fig 33).  I have used about 3-4 nails for 12-by-12 mosaics. I was able to put the mosaic tiles all the way to the top in a day (Fig 34).

Shower niches will have the same mosaic tiles on the back wall.  The trick of installation is the same but the side walls had to be cut before putting the tiles.  The depth of the bottom wall is deeper so the mosaic will sit on the bottom  tile and the side and the top walls are to be installed after back tile is installed to prevent cutting the mosaic tiles (Fig 35).

Fig 34. Progress in a day.

Fig 35. Mosaic tiles on Shower niches.  (Left: Shower niche, Right: Sink wall niche)

Fig 36. Around the tub tile installation.

Lots of decoration tiles are used around the tub.  Fig 36 shows the tile installation around the tub.  The level was a little bit off on top of the tub so I had to use extra caution to add thicker mortar on the right side than left.

I have learned that the number of corners is directly proportional to the labor time.  For example, the total working time to finish the shower niche was longer than the entire wall with 8x12 tiles.  Measuring and cutting time took way longer than I thought it would be.  The shower wall is complete.  Now I have to select the grout color.

Fig 36. Finished tiles in the shower area.

FLOOR TILES:

Lessons were learned from the first few days. For the floor tiles, I cut ALL the tiles before putting mortar. Fig 37 shows most tricky cuts I made. As you can see in the Fig 2 from my old blog post, my bathroom has a small wall sticking out next to the toilet. There is a tricky cut around the wall. It is very tricky since one side was too narrow so it might easily break. I lost one tile and successfully made the correct cut in the second try. Another tricky cut was around the toilet. I had to make a big circle hole in the middle of the 16-by-16 inch tile. I also wasted one tile and made it in the second try.

Fig 37. Tricky cuts of the floor tiles. (Left: around the wall post, Right: around the toilet bowl)

After all the cutting is complete, I started to put them on the floor permanently.  I have started from the middle towards toilet area. It took me about 4 days to install all the floors.  One single mistake in using spacer will ruin your grout lines and the gap will become bigger and bigger.  So be careful!

Fig 38. Left: Drying the mortars, Right: after applying grout.

GROUTING:

I have selected LINEN (#122) grout color, which is a little bit darker than cream. I bought two boxes of sanded and two boxes of non-sanded grouts. I used non-sanded ones on the mosaic tiles and sanded ones on the 8x12 walls and 16x16 floors. I have the pictures of the shower after grout in Fig 39.

Fig 39. Grouting is completed.

GROUT SEALER:

I have used Miracle Sealants 32 oz. 511 Impregnator Penetrating Sealer (bought it from Homedepot) to seal the grouts and natural stone tiles. It is very easy to apply - just used a small handkerchief-sized cloth and rubbed. It is almost done, although it is way over due and way over budget. :-(

Fig 40. Handheld shower is installed after the sealer is applied.

Stay tuned. The next topic will be the Glass Block installation and the shower door installation.

Plumbing - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Plumbing

Fig 11(a) Drain must to be leveled.

DRAIN:

2” drain pipe had to be cut about 2 inches to level with the bottom of the subfloor to install the new drain I bought (KOHLER K-9136-G Square Design Tile-In Shower Drain, Brushed Chrome).  Cutting was not easy because I had to use the saw while pulling the drain trap upward.  After the cut, the edge was ground to be the right angle using 4-1/2-Inch Small-Angle Grinder.  Once you are happy, stop there.  Do not glue it now!  You will have to glue it after laying the tar paper and metal lath later.  

Fig 11(b) Drain fits after cutting the PVC pipe. 

In order to match the colors of the faucets, I bought a new set of tub faucets in oil-rubbed bronze color.  The valves also had to be replaced to match with the new faucets.  Faucet valves and diverters had to be completely installed before I put the tile backerboards.






List of plumbing valves and trims I bought:

Pfister R89-7MBY Marielle Single-Control Shower Only Trim Kit, Tuscan Bronze
Pfister 0X8-310A Single Control Pressure Balance Tub/Shower Valve, Unfinished
Pfister 016-200Y Wall-Mount Slide Bar Shower System, Tuscan Bronze
Pfister 016-DT1Y Shower Diverter Trim Kit with Handle, Tuscan Bronze
Pfister 015-IWDX Two Way Diverter Valve, Unfinished
Delta Foundations BT2796-OB Roman Tub Trim, Oil Bronze
Delta Faucet R2707 Flexible Roman Tub Rough

TUB:

I cut the copper pipe to the spout and then shut off the water of the house to started working on the water inlet pipes.  The cold and hot valves are located in the weird position because of the rubber tube around the Whirpool tub.  

Fig 12. Old tub faucets
that is going to be replaced.

I did not want to solder near the rubber tube because it can melt things, so decided to use Shark-bites for the main water connections.  I soldered the copper pipes for all other locations.  I had to bend the output copper tubes from each faucet valve and connect to the T shape connector.  It was difficult to make them aligned with 90 degrees T connector.  I had to be very careful not to break the flexible copper pipe.  On the last elbow soldering, I was so excited about what I did.  I mistakenly turned on the water before the pipe was completely cooled down.  The solder at the last elbow cracked and started to leak!!!  WAIT UNTIL THE PIPES ARE AIR-COOLED. I had to remove the water in the pipe and re-solder again to fix it.  I should have waited longer until the pipe became cooler.

Fig 13(b) Side view of the tub valve.

Fig 13(a) New faucet valves after solder.  You can also see the Shark-bites behind the rubber pipe around the whirlpool tub.

Fig 14 Elbow at the spout.

Fig 15 New tub faucets after all.

SHOWER:

Fig 16(b) Time consuming job for the
diverter to hand-held shower spout.

Fig 16(a) Shower valve with diverter.

 The next day, I replaced the main shower water valve along with the diverter for the hand-held shower.  It was much difficult procedure than the tub, because I had to make sure the right depth of the valves from the finished wall.  I used Shark-bites on three of diverter valve connectors because I wanted to allow flexibility when installing the pipe to the main and the hand-held shower.  Due to the non-standard stud installation in my shower, I had to scrape the studs for the hand-held shower pipes.  It was very time consuming process.  I used various sizes of drill bits up to 5/8 inch bit as well as chisels. 

Fig 16(c) Completed shower valves.

The next step is to do the framing work including the water damage fixing.  I have a lot of things to cover so stay tuned.

To be continued...

Introduction - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Introduction

Fig 1(a). My master bath before the renovation

I have planned this project at least 3-4 months ago due to the leak to the kitchen ceiling while taking a shower.  I had to put food wrap at the rear wall so it would not leak. This is the picture right before the demolition.  You can see the tiny part of the food wrap.

Fig 1(b)

Fig 1(c)

I should have started the demolition which took most of time and labor during the U.S. Government shutdown, but for some reason, I was hesitating.  Finally two days before the Government reopen I started the demolition.

1. It looks fun, 

2. I think I can do it. 

3. I do not trust anyone. :-( 

I had a very long planning phase because I have no experience in the tile work, nor the plumbing work before. "Failure is not an option" because this is our MASTER bathroom.

To be continued...