Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Infinity, But at long last, Pictures of the finished product!

Main Bathroom Renovation - Part Sixteen - Shluter Kerdi Walk In Shower

The plumbing rough in, with hot and cold Pex supply lines at bottom feeding soldered copper elbows into the main control valve(black),  The mixed temperature water leads up to the diverter (silver), which splits it to the right - Pex runs to handheld shower rough in, and the left - Pex runs to main rainshower head rough in directly above. Everything is carefully blocked out for support and spacing from the proposed finish wall.

A slose up of the main rainshower head and handheld shower head rough in on the left, and main supply control  valve on the right. It helps to keep everything centered! The Kerdi base in the kit is 32 inches wide, and the tape measure is run from cement board to cement board.

The Shluter Kerdi membrane installed, showing the tiled floor and main control valve on the left, and all openings for shower on the right (Main control valve, diverter, handheld and rainshower heads)

Showing the test fitting the stainless drain piece and the shower floor tile (left). and installed after tiles are set, but before grouting (right). The Kerdi drain piece fits ever so neatly in the space taken up by four tiles. This is also where the tiling starts, at and around the drain, then to the head wall of the shower, then down the length of the shower and out to the sides.

The subway tiles climbing the shower wall being laid over the Kerdi Membrane, plus the door opening tiles installed and taped to keep them in place.

A view of the virtually finished walk in shower.  All Moen shower hardware installed, the door frame, tiles are installed and caulked, the outer door trim is in place and primed, and the frameless tempered glass door also installed. The walk in shower has two pot lights, located on center line, about 14 inches from each end, controlled by a dimmer switch.  I all looks a little better than half bad, in my humble opinion.. And it does not leak... and it actually drains properly!

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.