Just a little side note to begin
I debated about including the planning process in my blog, thinking it may be a bit boring, but this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in this process. Sure, it doesn’t leave you sore or scratched up, but it leaves you scratching your head and wanting a glass bottle of wine. So, to stay true to the idea of sharing everything, here we go…
Now that demo is well underway, its time to start thinking about plan and design. Actually, it is well past time.
There is A LOT to think about when designing and planning and it can be a bit overwhelming. For my sanity, I have to break it down into phases. The initial phase is coming up with a plan for the shower and bathtub. Then I can choose the style and products.
The Shower
The old shower was 36×36. It was tiny. There was no storage.
It often seemed like shaving my legs should have been a new Olympic event. Being a mother of 2 small children, showering is difficult in general, let alone in a dysfunctional shower. So, for me, having a larger shower is a must.
Things I didn’t know I needed to consider
To leave room for the tub, I decided a 32″x48″ shower base would work. Easy, right? Completely and utterly wrong.
Did you know there are about 20 million different types of shower bases? I sure didn’t. There are so…many…options. Naive me thought you pick your dimensions and go, but nope, that’snot how it works. I am really getting used to being wrong. I had to figure out the following:
- Shower base material: Acrylic, tile-ready, or form your own sloped pan with concrete
- Drain placement: This one was hard. Our drain was 17.5″ off the studs, and it is difficult to find pre-made bases that would fit those dimensions. I thought about moving the shower drain, but it is between joists and would be very difficult to relocate.
- Waterproof walls: Cement backer board? foam board?
- Shower enclosure: Again, there are a lot of options. The size is only the beginning. Do you want sliding, hinged, or fixed shower door? Which way will the door open?
For our space, it was not easy figuring out what would work the best. I had to pull the trigger and just go for it.
Its time to get creative…
For the shower pan, I decided on the Schluter Kerdi-Shower Kit 38″ x60″, PVC Flange.
It’s super cool because you can easily cut it to fit your specific needs, then tile to make it pretty. Using this system I can have my bigger shower AND not have to move my drain. I’d call that cake and eating it too! Their website also has amazing how-to videos and it looks very doable.
For the walls, I tried to find the Kerdi foam board, but the kits available either did not have enough or had way too much and I couldn’t just buy 1 board. Also, it was very expensive. So I decided on cement board that I will have to waterproof. I needed the cement board to be the same depth as my drywall, so I chose the Durock brand, as some of the other cement boards actual depth was .42″.
I am going to extend the tile around the walls where the bathtub will be, so I will use this board on those walls too.
The enclosure was tricky too. The ones that I would that would fit would have to have a sliding door, and again, those are expensive. Because the shower base I found will have curbs, I think I should be able to have an open shower. I found this fixed glass door that should work (fingers crossed).
The Bathtub
I have VERY messy kids and sometimes a shower doesn’t cut it. I need a bathtub. Because we have the space and because they are pretty, I want a freestanding bathtub. Again I thought this would be easy, and again I was wrong. It’s all about drain placement. Our house has joists running both ways, so moving the drain would be very difficult (sound familiar?).
So I had to find a tub that would fit just right. I landed on this Woodbridge freestanding tub.
It has a flexible drain so we will be able to be flexible with the placement.
Now that I have a plan… I know what I still have to do. Time to remove more drywall and get ready for plumbing!