House of Steel--Challenging Master Bath Remodel

[ChrWright]

I'm working on a bath gut in a home that was built in the 20s.

I've worked in enough old homes to know what I'm going to find beneath the floor and in the walls before we start. This house, however, is a bit different.

Apparently, it was one of 4 in the area built entirely from steel. I knew this going in, but the house had been renovated before so I hoped I wouldn't have a lot of re-work to do to accomplish the design intent of the architect-owner.

I was wrong.

The previous renovation was a mess. The original impetus to the project was some cracked tile in the shower pan. The grout restoration company discovered some damage that indicated the shower hadn't been installed properly. In the end, the HO chose to gut the bath and start over.

A few other "issues":

The tile was laid directly to the plywood subfloor.

No pre-slope under the vinyl liner--the mortar bed was a moldy, soup mess.

Mastic was used for the wall tile in the shower.


Here are some shots after demo:
http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00222.jpg

The floor joists are 4 or 5" steel channel. It looks like the previous guy laid 4x4 material over those, and then 2x4s on the flat over that--plus 3/4" ply subfloor. Everything was framed with 3" screws. :rolleyes3:

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00217.jpg

[orson]

Maybe Holmes did it. :laugh3:

[ChrWright]

"Isn't ALL copper soft?"

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00216.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00221.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00214.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00212.jpg

[SLS-Construction]

It's another day in the neighboorhood...

Looks like fun Chris, I take it a few change orders are forthcoming

[ChrWright]

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00225.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00228.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00229.jpg

http://wrightworks.net/images/qIMG00230.jpg

[ChrWright]

Subfloor replacement at the least... I'm guessing there's at least 1 or 2 screws in the top of the 3" PVC.

The HO had wanted a trench drain in the shower and a minimal curb. Unfortunately, I don't believe that's going to be possible.

[orson]

What you don't think the installer calculated how much clearance he had to the pipes with those screws?!??

You just have no faith man....no faith. :rolleyes3:

[nEighter]

what a mess. Oh screws and aboat $1000.00 worth of liquid nail (1980's pricing)

[neolitic]

Is that the Cole house?

[ChrWright]

No, it's a different one in Meridian-Kessler.

[Taylordhome]

What is that clean out doing in the wall?

[ChrWright]

We ended up removing every bit of wood put in by the last hack and completely rebuilt the floor system. It was particularly challenging to adapt the wood structure to the steel frame. It took about three times as long as a wood framed house would have for the same work.

Here are some progress pics.

This is the entry door...the floor you see under the parquette is concrete
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMG_0001.JPG

We notched new floor joists around the 4" i-beam cross members and bolted our perimeter ledgers to the larger steel frames. We couldn't get to the back side so the bolts were drilled and tapped. We locked the joists to the i-Beams with 2x4s keyed into the webs.

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMG_0020.JPG

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMG_0019.JPG

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMG_0079.JPG

You'll note the layout is a little strange. We had the toilet drain to plan for, and a fixed main stack at the other end to work around. Since the shower pan was to have a trench drain, we placed a joist at the long border of the pan, and framed our pitch to the drain side by switching directions there.

[Eieio]

What are those red and blue lines to the far right hand corner?

[ChrWright]

The trench drain:

This was taken before the plumbing rough-in:
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMG_0082.JPG

This is the QuickDrain product, and I was very happy with it. It is stainless steal and comes with the Noble-TS waterproofing pre-applied to it. http://www.quickdrainusa.com/

Unfortunately, I didn't get any shots after rough-ins. My plumber did a phenomenal job getting everything in and routed to the existing drains. We were lucky to find a chase in the corner by the door all the way to the basement. This allowed us to bring new 3/4" supplies up and abandon the original 1/2" galv. supply lines.

Some shots of tile prep and water proofing:

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0038.jpg
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0041.jpg
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0043.jpg

[ChrWright]

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0045.jpg

You can see the pitch of the pan in this shot:
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0072.jpg


The architect owner wanted a seamless look from the main floor into the shower, and a trench drain was the only option to accommodate his tile selection. He did not however want the shower glass resting directly on the floor since the sweep would likely not keep 100% of the water in and would wear out too frequently.

The curb was custom made from Caesarstone to the dimension of the smallest width floor tile to fit the layout. It is a nearly dead-on match for the porcelain.

The short side curb was made a little taller so we could notch it into the pitch with a grinder.
http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0059.jpg

As you can see, the entire bathroom floor has been waterproofed. The shower glass will set directly on the curb, with a pivot door off the corner.

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0061.jpg

[ChrWright]

http://wrightworks.net/images/SteelIMAG0067.jpg

After grout:
http://wrightworks.net/images/Trench3.jpg
http://wrightworks.net/images/TrenchShower.jpg
http://wrightworks.net/images/Trench2.jpg

[neolitic]

Is that lath showing with
the wire and staples?
I've seen that a few times.
Figured it must have come in rolls?

[ChrWright]

Is that lath showing with
the wire and staples?
I've seen that a few times.
Figured it must have come in rolls?

All of the walls and ceilings are concrete, over that wire.It looks like fence wire rolls, with a 1/2" u-channel wire wrapped across it. I'd really loved to have seen the original bath floor, as it looked to have been concrete keyed into a 2" steel channel bolted around the perimeter.

[ChrWright]

What are those red and blue lines to the far right hand corner?

Your favorite....Pex.

[ChrWright]

The tile layout for every tile and joint was given to us by the architect and planned to align with the major features of the bath. There's a short side grout joint centered on the vanity drain, and the tile in the other direction centers on the toilet and also symmetrically laid out to the width of the space. The walls will be a white glazed porcelain, also in multiple widths of 24" long pieces.

[Eieio]

I see its Pex now with the shower photos,

I assumed the floor is pitched towards that drain I assume? never though of doing that..

[ChrWright]

I see its Pex now with the shower photos,

I assumed the floor pitched towards that drain I assume? never though of doing that..

Yes, the floor of the pan was framed to pitch to the long wall for the trench drain. They'll make that drain to custom lengths, but the they have a standard 58" long unit that fit our 60" rough length shower pan perfectly. In the finish, the drain cap fits perfectly from end to end of the shower, and right against the wall tile of the long wall.

[bconley]

Chris,
Question about the curb, how was that made up? solid, stacked, mitered?

[ChrWright]

Chris,
Question about the curb, how was that made up? solid, stacked, mitered?

My fabricator build it up solid from 3cm. The shallower curb has the seam on the side right at finish tile level so it won't be seen. The short side, which had to be made taller, has it on the top which will be completely covered by the glass track.

On both, they did such a phenomenal job of matching the epoxy color you hardly see the seam anyway. They also honed them to closer match the matte finish of the tile.

[neolitic]

My fabricator build it up solid from 3cm. The shallower curb has the seam on the side right at finish tile level so it won't be seen. The short side, which had to be made taller, has it on the top which will be completely covered by the glass track.

On both, they did such a phenomenal job of matching the color you hardly see the seam anyway. They also honed them to closer match the matte finish of the tile.

Cathedral?
Do Los hermanos always do
the installs?



( I'm late in saying, thanks for that tip.)

[ChrWright]

Yes, Cathedral.

They have a great group of people and they've always given great service. Because we do a lot of volume with them I get great turn around on small stuff like this. This past week I needed an absolute black stair tread. They pulled it out of remnant stock and had it cut and polished for me in just a few days.

[ChrWright]

What is that clean out doing in the wall?

I'm not sure. The previous hacks had burried it in the wall. :smash:

[neolitic]

They under promised and
over delivered for me as well.
They said, 2-3 weeks to fabricate.
It was 7 days from measuring to install.
HO is over the moon.

What's the name of the guy
from Boston?
Gary?

[ChrWright]

The owner's name is Dave, and he's from Boston. But there's another field guy who I think you're talking about. Can't remember his name.

[neolitic]

Wasn't Dave, Gary , Garson,.....
Really nice guy.

[Greg from K/W]

Nice work Chris. Did you know Schluter is coming out with a U drain I think this fall?

[ChrWright]

I'll be interested to see it Greg.

[SLS-Construction]

Thanks for the updates Chris - nice work & attention to details

[Greg from K/W]

There is no info on their site right now but the rep I took their course with said it was coming. Should be interesting.