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.

Glass blocks & shower door - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Glass blocks & shower door

GLASS BLOCKS:

Now it is time to finalize the shower back wall - Glass blocks. Pittsburgh Corning web site provides the instruction for four different glass block installation methods.  Since I have decided to use ProVantage II method, I bought spacers for the Thinline blocks and the wall brackets.  I realized that they do not have brackets for the Thinline blocks so I had to cut the side of spacers to use with the regular-sized (for 4-inch thick blocks) brackets (Fig 41).

Because the side walls for the glass blocks are tiles, I had to drill the holes at each side of the bracket, total 14 holes.  I have used regular drill bit for the bricks, but it did not last long.  It became dull after drilling 5 holes.  So I bought better ones as in Fig 42.  These worked great and did the job much faster.  

I have used the special adhesive for the glass block (Pittsburgh Corning Glass Block Sealant from Homedepot) as recommended in the instruction.  Due to poor precision of the hole location on either side, the grout lines should be carefully inspected before the sealant dries.  After one day, the glass blocks became very sturdy.

Fig 41. Spacer for Thinline does not match with the regular-sized metal bracket.

Fig 42. Bosch glass and tile drill bit set from Homedepot (Courtesy homedepot.com).

 I have installed 7 rows of glass blocks in a few hours.  The most time consuming job was to drill the holes at each row.  Installation using the sealant was clean and easy.  I personally think it is as good as the traditional mortar method for my indoor application.  I let it dry for about 24 hours and worked on the grout.  I used white grout that is designed exclusively for the glass blocks (Pittsburgh Corning ProVantage 15 lb. Grout Mix).  My local Homedepot did not carry this item so I have to drive about an hour to Fairfax, VA to pick it up.  After the grout is dried, I applied the sealer because the spec said Mold/mildew resistant: NO, Stain resistant: NO.  Figures 43 and 44 shows some pictures during the Glass block installation.

 Fig 43. Glass block installation. 

Fig 44. Picture showing after putting the glass block grout.

SHOWER DOOR:

Frameless shower door that I used is 3/8 inch thick tempered glass manufactured by Dreamline (DreamLine SHDR-61487610-07 Frameless Sliding Shower Door 44-48 by 76 Chear 3/8 Glass Door: Brushed stainless steel).  I purchased it from Amazon.com.  One thing you have to keep in mind is that the price at amazon goes up and down very frequently.  So you have to be careful not to buy this item when it is too expensive. I recommend you check the price change even after you place an order.  If it drops, call or chat with them to get price adjustment.

My shower width is 46 inch so I had to cut the rail pipe by 2 inches.  Since I do not have blade for the metal cutting, I used hand tool to cut it.  It takes time but it is doable.  Sliding door is more expensive than the regular swing door.  The sliding door works better in my situation because of the location of the sink.  The particular sliding door I bought had 4 inches of wiggle room (between 44 and 48 inch width).  But if you want to use swing door, the width can only be adjusted within 1 inch.  

The glass door is very heavy.  Moving or installing the glass door requires at least 2 people.  Instruction was straightforward so I did not have any trouble installing.  Vertical and horizontal level is the most important factor at this moment.  Spend more time to make sure the levels at different surfaces.  Figure 45 and 46 shows the pictures of the bathroom after clean up.

Fig 45. Upper: before renovation.  Lower: The new shower with the frameless door.

Fig 46. Panorama picture of the finalized master bath after clean-up.

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.

Framing - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Framing

FRAMING AROUND THE SHOWER:

Fig 17. Glass block (Pittsburgh Corning Thinline).
These two blocks were damaged on arrival. Other 28 blocks
were OK.  I was able to get refunds for those two blocks
from Homedepot.

After the plumbing is complete, the walls and floors are to be ready for the tiles to be installed, which includes all the walls where tiles are going to be installed (including the tub and the shower curb.)  The dimension of the shower became 35-by-48 inches after backer board installation.  The wall against the tub had to be installed with extra caution because it has to be leveled as perfect as possible because the glass blocks will be installed on top of this wall.  The glass blocks I am going to use is Pittsburgh Corning's 8-by-8-by-3 inch thickness blocks. 4-by-7 of these blocks will be installed, which requires opening of 31-⅞ wide x 55-½ height.  

Fig 18. Shower curb is installed with three 2x4s.

SHOWER CURB: 

I stacked three 2x4s for the shower curb which will yield ~5-inch of height of the finished surface from outside of the shower and ~3 inch of height from inside of the shower.

SHOWER PAN:

I am very thankful for the deck-mud calculator in http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showerfloormudcalc.cgi which is a great tool to estimate the amount of portland cement and sand for desired dimension and depth.  Without this tool, the procedure would have been much uglier.  As recommended by the deck-mud calculator, I mixed 58 lbs of Sand Topping Mix with 29 lbs of Play Sand in the medium size of mixing tub.  Also as recommendation of Johnbridge.com, minimum amount of water is used.  

Fig 19. The amount of sand and the Portland cement for my shower pan size.   http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showerfloormudcalc.cgi

Fig 20. After installing tar paper on the subfloor.

Staple 30-mil tar paper (yes, 15-mil is fine, too) on the subfloor (Fig 20) and metal lath was cut and laid on top of the tar paper (Fig 21).  I have had a final check of the level of the drain.  Desired height was marked around the shower floor before dumping the deck mud on the pan.  The pre-slope was carefully laid using level and finish trowel.  

Fig 21. Metal lath on top of the tar paper.

Fig 22. After the pre-slope with deck-mud.
Sorry, I do not have pictures during the pre-slope installation.
I was too busy to take photos when the deck-mud was wet.

After drying ~48 hours (it is dry in 24  hours), the shower pan liner is installed.  The most important thing at this stage is to minimize cutting of the liner.  I have used Oatey shower pan liner 6x5 feet without cutting (Fig 23). It fits very well with enough heights around the walls and the curb. Corner should not be cut in order to maximize waterproof of the shower pan.  The center is carefully cut and the weep hole protector and the shower drain cover is tightly screwed (see Fig 24).

When the shower pan liner is completely installed, the insulation should be installed before putting up the backer board (Fig 24).

Fig 23. Laying down shower pan liner.

Fig 24. Shower pan liner is complete.
The pink insulation is installed before the backer board.

WALLS:

After the shower liner is installed, cement backer board was cut and ready to install.  I used Hardie backer board because it is lighter and easier to cut.  Wonderboard is a little bit inexpensive but the edges chip easily, which I did not like.  I have used table saw and circular saw to cut the board.  Boards were carefully cut  and used Hardie backer screws to secure them on  the stud.  I have used ones every 10-12 inches.

Fig 24. Backer board is installed after the shower
pan liner installation.

FINISHING SHOWER PAN:

We are not done yet for the shower pan prep - we still have to do the top layer. Again, top layer of deck mud is mixed as directed by the calculator.  The problem was that my mid-size mixing tub was way too small for 117 lbs of sand topping mix and 58 lbs of sand.  I mixed the powder without adding water then split to the bucket.  As you can imagine, bucket is not a good place to mix the deck mud, because of adding minimum water, it is very difficult to mix all the corners.  It is simply too heavy. When I pour the mixed mud to the shower pan, I found some unmixed powders so I had to mix them on the fly.  Again, that's why I do not have pictures while working on the deck-mud. Finished top layer is shown in Fig 25.

Hardie backer board is installed where the tiles will be installed. around the shower and the tub. The finished pictures are shown in Fig 26. The most important thing to remember at this stage is to level right. If you think you can adjust the level by the thickness of the thinset during the tile installation, yes, you can. But it is not a good idea. Believe me. It will be much easier and faster to fix it at this stage.

Do not even think of cutting the Hardie backer board using knife by scoring. Quarter inch board can be cut but still requires lots of labor. I simply used circular saw, table saw, and grinder. Beware, this work creates lots of dust. Use gloves, safety glasses, and high quality dust mask.

Once all the backer boards are installed, it is time to apply waterproof membrane on the joints and the holes where the water might possibly get in behind the backer board. I used RedGard 1 Gal. I only used about a half gallon. Use fiberglass tape at the big gaps and joints (Fig 27).

Fig 25. Completed top layer deck mud.

Fig 26. Backer board installation.

Fig 27. RedGard water proofing membrane was
applied at every joints and the nail holes. 

 ANOTHER FRAMING CHALLENGE:

Fig 28. Post installation using two 2x4's.

The biggest design change of this project is the shower back wall where the shower meets the tub.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have decided to used the glass blocks.  To support them, the post should be installed at the corner of the glass blocks and the shower door to support both glass blocks and the frame-less shower door (Fig 28).  Since the thickness of the Thinline Glass Block is ~3 inch, I used 2 2x4s as a frame.  The actual thickness of 2x4 stud is 1.5 inches so It made 3 inches of thickness and the backer board will add 0.5 inches and the tile will add another ~0.5 inch each side.  The total width after the tile installation will be ~5 inches. The total height of the glass blocks will be 55 ½ inch and the shower back wall is about 20 inches from the top of the shower curb.  The height of the shower door is 76 inches so I had to be very careful to raise the bottom of the glass blocks to match the final height of the wall with the shower door (Fig 29).  Since the glass blocks cannot be cut, the height and the width of the opening has to be exactly measured and prepared.  One 2x3 is attached against the wall to allow appropriate openings for the glass blocks.  

Fig 29. Adding 2x4 to raise the wall to match the total height
of 76 inch (Shower door height).   See the gaps filled with
wood chips to achieve perfect level.

Framing is complete and ready for the tile installation. To be continued...