Thread: Bathroom renovation

Originally Posted by dumbdog213

Hello - just about to start moving forward on a bathroom reno in a 1930's clinker brick house (single brick veneer). I've finished the demolition stuff and now need to start building up all the new 'layers'. The bathroom floor is a concrete slab sitting on brick wall footings (house is timber floor on stumps/joists). I needed to jackhammer some bricks out of the footings under the floor so I could get access to put in/relocate the new plumbing - that was fun (4 hours on my stomach). Existing floor covering is terratzo tiles (want to tile over this) - I want a walk in/out shower so I have cut out/chiselled 900mm x 1000mm into the tiles/mortar base. I now want to form up a slope from the edge of the terratzo tiles down to the new puddle drain in the centre of this space - I have established a fall of about 40mm (like an up-turned pyramid). How do I do this? As the thickness is variable over the space(from 1mm to 30mm) and I want it sloping I was thinking about using self levelling compound but 'forming' the slope/4xflat surfaces with 4 carefully shaped chipboard panels with weight applied at the centre/drain. Does anyone have any ideas? All assistance greatly appreciated.

chipboard in the shower floor! and 40mm fall!
I'm normally more charitable, but you have a disaster in the making, get some professional help.
my lips are sealed

cheers
Michael

Thanks for your reply Michael - but to be frank, 1) I've yet to meet a 'professional' who can do a better job than me, and 2) as a newbie to this forum, I was hoping for more.

The chipboard will be used to 'form' the shape of the poured compound, not as the shower floor!!

Originally Posted by dumbdog213

Thanks for your reply Michael - but to be frank, 1) I've yet to meet a 'professional' who can do a better job than me, and 2) as a newbie to this forum, I was hoping for more.

The chipboard will be used to 'form' the shape of the poured compound, not as the shower floor!!

So you want to pour a compound into a recess in the mortar you've cut out and then push the chipbboard down into it to form it?
The search function is your friend here. Here is the way to do it: (although I use medium bedding sand now)
http://woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/...ght=shower+mud
Since you've recessed it into the floor you will need to waterproof the recess before you add the screed to prevent water weeping into the general floor.
And 40mm fall over 900mm is far too much. 20mm is the most you'd go, but 10mm is adequate .

Cheers
Michael

I am in the middle of detailing my bathroom renovation on my website. The bathroom itself has been finished for months, it's just the writing that I am slow with, but I have wrote up the falls to the floor waste and the waterproofing.
You might find a bit of info that is usefull. I added a page on tiling just this morning.

There are different ways of doing things and as with anything no one way is right for all occaisions. The way Mick shows it is as good as any.

Originally Posted by dumbdog213

T 1) I've yet to meet a 'professional' who can do a better job than me,

Nothing like making a good impression, eh?
In almost 50 years in the building game, I guess I must have spent at least five years of them fixing up the stuff ups of people who thought they could do it better than a pro. and bathrooms are fairly common on the list.

Cheers
Bill

Originally Posted by dumbdog213

Thanks for your reply Michael - but to be frank, 1) I've yet to meet a 'professional' who can do a better job than me, and 2) as a newbie to this forum, I was hoping for more.

The chipboard will be used to 'form' the shape of the poured compound, not as the shower floor!!

I've not seen a bathroom done like that before?

You need to get a good book on bathrooms and read it through. Sorry to say it but I agree with Mic, you need some help with this. Hope you did'nt do your own plumbing too?

Thanks Mic-d, Bricks and Billbee. I realise I was a bit curt - apols to you Mic-d. Your advice was excel. I ended up priming the rough base and edges with 2 coats Davco primer, then mixing a normal slump 1:3 with plasticiser added. It formed up well, but I used a triangle shape from yellow tongue off cut and gently pushed this in 4 times to get 4 flattish surfaces around the puddle drain (lay bed under puddle drain first). To be sure the sides were flat, I scraped the surfaces flat with a straight edge about 12 hours later. Reason I wanted flat surfaces was in case the boss (wife) wanted to use large tiles or even this new 3mm tiling product (Italian) which comes in large sheets which you then cut shapes/strips to suit (amazing product, very strong, cant remember name just now). I will get a prof tiler in!

Also - when I said 40mm, that was how deep I cut into the suspended slab (ie. cut out old tiles and mortar base). The overll fall now bed is in is about 10mm over 500mm.

I have another dilemma if I can test the friendship once more - I have moved shower across the room to where the toilet/wc room was. I have removed the wall between the wc and the bathroom however, the wc had a 2nd door to the outside (it's an old house). Rather than brick this door up, I am putting an opaque (grey) glass brick wall in. The alum frame for this wall will sit at the floor level on the old concrete step and act as one of the shower walls in the shower recess. I am thinking that I should tank up the shower recess/walls etc first then carefully sit the frame on top of/overlapping the membrane (on silicone bed) then put the glass bricks in (slicone method) rather than put the frame in first and then membrane up/over the frame. Reason I'm thinkin this is to ensure a nice clean finish where the tiles meet the frame. Do you think this makes sense or is too risky? Advice will be keenly accepted this time.

AS I understand from what you wrote, I think that would be a good idea. Just check the technicalities of what type of sealant/silicone is compatible your waterproofing membrane and run this sealant up the sides of the aluminium frame as well.

There are some conflicts with acetic cure silicones and polysulphide sealants and some membranes. One membrane that takes everything including acid is Gripset 2P.

The better result IMO would be to build a hob 1 course hig from house bricks, water proof over it lay the tiles and then as you suggested put your glass blocks on after that.

Just my 2 cents. The way you want should work too.

Agree with bricks,
A waterproofed hob, tiled, would look neat and be sure to keep the water in.
Cheers
Bill