Shower Renovation
by
Roxann O
A total shower rip-out; replaced walls, shower fixture, new ceramic tiled shower, floor, and a new toilet.
Advice:
I would do the demo again. It saves about a $1,000.00.
I would stay home and ask questions of the products he is using and look them up on the internet to be sure he is using the right products.
I would check on out old references / projects he has completed over 6 months to year ago.
I would NOT go with a contractor who tells you verbally one price and another higher amount on paper. Invoices are their legal contract and maybe used against them.
I saved some money by doing the demolition myself which took 3 days. It would have gone faster if I rented a power jack hammer. I had a contractor and his plumber finish the project. Poor planning on the contractor part delayed the project a 5 days, his plumber was out of town for the holidays, the week after Christmas. Then I had to go back to work and the contractor finish the project while I was at work, Big Mistake. Do not let any contractor work while you are not at home, they will cut corners. He used a polymer based adhesive (mastic) instead of thin-set. I started having problems 6 months later with the tile shower floor. I called the manufacture of the adhesive and they said it should not be used in a wet environment such as a shower since the adhesive will re-emulsify (become liquid again) when it comes into contact with water. Mastic is a very good product for walls and floors but not for showers. So I had the contractor come back out and replace the shower floor at his expense.
Materials:
$567.44 - $0.00
Advice:
I would do the demo again. It saves about a $1,000.00.
I would stay home and ask questions of the products he is using and look them up on the internet to be sure he is using the right products.
I would check on out old references / projects he has completed over 6 months to year ago.
I would NOT go with a contractor who tells you verbally one price and another higher amount on paper. Invoices are their legal contract and maybe used against them.
I saved some money by doing the demolition myself which took 3 days. It would have gone faster if I rented a power jack hammer. I had a contractor and his plumber finish the project. Poor planning on the contractor part delayed the project a 5 days, his plumber was out of town for the holidays, the week after Christmas. Then I had to go back to work and the contractor finish the project while I was at work, Big Mistake. Do not let any contractor work while you are not at home, they will cut corners. He used a polymer based adhesive (mastic) instead of thin-set. I started having problems 6 months later with the tile shower floor. I called the manufacture of the adhesive and they said it should not be used in a wet environment such as a shower since the adhesive will re-emulsify (become liquid again) when it comes into contact with water. Mastic is a very good product for walls and floors but not for showers. So I had the contractor come back out and replace the shower floor at his expense.
Materials:
$567.44 - $0.00
Before picture during demo.
In a 30 year old house they used 2 layers of dry wall. The tile was set on the 2nd sheet so that it looked raised and not flat to the shower wall.
The dry wall was totally soaked with water not even mold can grow if it's too wet.
In an older house the shower floor was up to 4 inches thick with cement. A hammer jack works best to break up the concrete.
The shower floor is lined with thick plastic under the concrete to prevent water from damaging the wooden floor.
Demo is done. The wall is gone exposing the plumbing so the plumbers can replace (reconfigure) the copper pipes for the new signal handle shower fixture.
After picture of new shower head and fixture.
Close-up view of shower.
New tile floor and toilet.
Comments
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2 of 10 comments
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Thanks for the warning - nice job!
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All contractors are not so shady, really sorry you got a bad one! Always get references, then relax at work, our customers do, and when they return home and see the progress they are delighted. This is how it should work, and it does.
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