Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Fifteen

The wall below the bathroom showing the vertical pex runs for the shower and the main bath vanity, along with assorted fished electrical.

After laying the last of the ceramic tile, I had enough mortar to bed the Shluter Kerdi shower base into the show stall. The full 32 x 60 was used, it just had to be sanded about 1/32 inch from each side to lay in properly.

Yay more issues. It appears whoever painted the first coat over the old paint (not us) on the trim inside the old closet door either didn't prep properly, or used unsuitable primer over the old oil based paint. With little effort, the overlying layers peeled off with ease.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Fourteen

Laying down the ceramic tile. The Shluter Ditra-Heat requires the tile be laid using non-modified thinset mortar. I had some minor issues with the first mortar batch being a little thin, and using a trowel with notches that were a little big, in hindsight. A fair amount of mortar came up in the numerous tile gaps and had to be cleaned away.

Looking into the corner between the main bath vanity (rough in visible  on the left) and the walk in shower door (just visible as well on the right).

Diagonally opposite, the corner where the rough in plumbing for the clawfoot tub is located. The door opening is the pocket door to the water closet.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Thirteen

The right hand end of the kitchen bulkhead showing (from the right) 3" toilet drain, 3" vertical vent stack (the one that passes up the newly built wall), 2" drain from clawfoot tub, and then a 90 degree bend to continue vertically downward to the basement.

From the left end of the kitchen bulkhead one can barely make out the 2" drain from the shower, then the horizontal drain, to which the 1.5" drain from the main bath vanity joins about halfway, then just to the right of the photo this drain joins the three inch waste stack.

The 2" drain from the left joining the 3" drain from the right. The pex supply lines are those that run through the floor serving the clawfoot tub, toilet, and vanity in the water closet.

It's difficult to imagine that the waste plumbing visible in this bulkhead was previously installed through the floor joists of the bathroom. Acccck!

I spent a total of one hour and thirty five minutes in this position, generally in increments of between two and six minutes each! Not fun, whatsoever...

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Twelve - Schluter Ditra Heat Floor Installation

Ditra flooring with Ditra Heat cable installed, main bath vanity will be located in the open space on the right, and the clawfoot tub in the open space on the left. The Ditra membrane was installed using latex modified thinset, over a 1/2 inch ply sub laid on top of  3/4" ply sub. The lower ply was glued and screwed into all joists using 2" flooring screws, and the top layer of ply was screwed in lines across the joists, using 1-1/4" flooring screws.

A closer look at the Ditra with heating cable. The kit included 5 sheets of Ditra underlayment, and I had to purchase three extra to ensure I had enough.

The heated to unheated cable interface, which must be located in the Ditra floor. To ensure the top was flush with the top of the Ditra, a small cavity had to be removed with a chisel.

Installation of one of the two temperature sensors. As with the heat to non heat cable interface, the ditra had to be cut back, and a small amount of ply scraped away using an OLFA knife.

The two temperature sensors in place. Two as one is a primary, and the second a redundancy back up, in case the primary fails.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Eleven

Drywall installed, taped and mudded, from w/c end looking toward walk in shower, main door on left.

Looking from walk in shower end back to water closet.

What some readers may have been curious about... The wall separating the main bath from the water closet nearing completion of framing, the interesting horizontal framing on the right is the sliding pocket door kit. Note how neatly the ABS vent stack tucks into this wall, which is actually constructed of 2x5 lumber ripped down from nominal 2x6 stock.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Ten

View from main bath to water closet end, and door from guest bedroom into w/c. Small ceiling fan and ceiling light box installed, and this wall given roxul insulation for a bit of soundproofing.

Ceiling of main bath, one of the ceiling light boxes, and the large ceiling fan roughed in. The only remnant of the old reno-massacre I was able to re-use was the slightly dropped ceiling framing, but even it had to be modified somewhat. The ABS is venting that collects the vent from the w/c vanity (from left) and the main vanity (just visible coming up the wall in the phote) and directs it across the room to join the shower vent, and subsequently the main vent stack.

Another view of main bath ceiling, toward the built in shower.

The nightmare job... supply and waste and vent plumbing for the w/c vanity, toilet, and main vent, which will then collect the clawfoot tub drain, and proceed to the main stack and join the drains for the shower an main vanity in the left of the photo.

Waste line from w/c vanity that joins the toilet waste line. toilet rough in and pex lines to the w/c vanity are shown here.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Nine

The long exterior wall, in process of being framed. 2x4 studs on 16 centers flat to the wall, and carefully shimmed out to make them vertical, and to produce the correct reveal on the window frame. paired window shims were used to space the studs, which were then screwe into the wooden keys located every fifth course of bricks.

Close up look at the existing window frame, new wall stud, spacers, and wooden key.

Wall framing nearing completion. The black ABS is the main three inch vent stack, with a cleanout installed... This stack will be hidden by the proposed wall that will seperate the main bath area from the water closet.

Wall completed and sprayfoamed. plus a view of the bathroom including the walk in shower. The shower stall will have no foolish glass walls, just a door frame with a swinging patterned or etched glass door.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Eight

Initial framing of main shower. including blue styrospan 1.5 inch placed against exterior end wall. To save wasted space, the end wall was built with 2x4 and 2x6 strapped flat against the wall, rather then built on edge. the shower gets a slightly raised floor built over 2x4 laid flat over the 3/4" subfloor.

A 3/4" rigid foam foil board was then laid crosswise over ther framed and styrospanned wall. The foil board itself is a vapour barrier, and does not need additional poly.

The end wall of the shower, showing a small portion of the completed and insulated long wall. The ABS pipe is a 1-1/2 vent that extends from the 45 degree stub shown several posts ago. I had more room available, so the end wall actually is two walls thick, an outer and an inner 2x4 wall both filled with Roxul, with the same foil backed 3/4" foam laid on top. The vent as can be seen is located essentially between both of the walls (look at the bottom plate)

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Seven

Three gang box for the water closet switches, which include switches for ceileing light, exhaust fan, and vanity light. Note the proper support for a three gang box, and proper spacing from the door trim.

Octagon box location for vanity light in the water closet. Three wires lead to it, incoming supply, outgoing two wire to the GFCI receptacle, and outgoing three wire supply and switched return to the vanity light itself.

Large box for the Ditra heat thermostat controller, and three gang box for the main bathroom switches. The thermostat can be seen parked on the upper support, and the main bathroom door is visible in the left of the photograph.

Rough in wiring completed on the main bath wall, from L to R Shluter Ditra Heat thermostat box, three gang box for switched ceiling lights, exhaust fan, and vanity lights respectively, 1-1/2 inch ABS vent for the main bath vanity, supply lines with stub Tees for the main vanity, with supplies then leading to a future attic bath, GFCI outlet over vanity, and finally switch for recessed ceiling light in walk in shower.

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Six

Supply and drain for the small vanity in the watercloset at the guest bedroom end of the bathroom.

A view from the walk in shower end to the watercloset. The main door to the bathroom from the landing is on the right of this picture, the exterior wall on the left. Directly ahead is the inside of the former closet door of the guest bedroom, which will now be secondary access to the water closet

Continuing to plane and level the joists. The most any were out was about an eighth of an inch, so there wasn't a huge amount of planing required. the three pieces of blocking (the plane sitting on the first) are in place to support the wall that will partition the main part of the bathroom from the water closet.

Another view of the watercloset vanity with the 3/4 ply subfloor installed. These pex supply lines also serve the toilet located roughly where the photo was taken, and the clawfoot tub located in the main bathroom. They will then run back to a pex manifold located in the basement.

A view showing the main vanity plumbing, and the pex serving the walk in shower. The shower supplies run directly down the wall underneath, to the basement, and make a home run direct to the pex manifold. The vanity supplies do the same, but will further supply a rough in for a two piece attic bathroom directly above this bath.