We’re really making progress on the bathroom remodel now. You can check out the pre-planned design and the bathroom checklist by clicking on those links. Last week I demo’d the old bathroom and started small framing changes for a pocket door. This post will show you the framing for the shower wall niches and how I installed the new bathtub.
Please note, I am simply a determined DIYer that is sharing these projects for information and entertainment purposes only. Consult a local contractor for local construction requirements for any projects you may do.
With that said, let’s get to it!
Wall Framing for the Shower Wall Niches:
“Modern classic” is the overall theme for this bathroom remodel. The old bathroom had a fibgerglass shower tub unit. But I want to class it up a bit with full height subway tiled walls.
Because we’re tiling the walls, I can put shower niches almost anywhere I want. An easy way to do this would be to simply buy a shower niche insert. But I want something different, so custom niches it is.
Here is the tub shower area with a small window in the exterior wall. I think it would look nice to mimic the window opening with two wall niches below the window. The upper niche would serve the shower, and the lower niche would be easily reachable for a person in the bath tub.
You may be able to tell I’ve started notching out some of the stud framing below the window, Yes, here’s why: I want to install 1.5 inches of foam board insulation in the small wall section behind the niches. This is an exterior wall, so I want to maintain insulation if possible. With 1.5 inches of foam board, I’ll get an R-value of about 9.6. That’s not quite the R-15 of the upgraded wall insulation – more on that project here – but it’s better than nothing.
Here is a section of the exterior wall at the niches to show you the notched wall studs and added framing.
Here is are the framed out shower wall niches with the backing foam board insulation in place.
Each shower niche is approximately 36 inches wide by 12.75 inches tall. This will get reduced by tile backerboard and the tiles themselves, but you get the general idea. That’s a lot of shower storage space!
I did my darndest to place the niches so that they line up with the wall tiles. I measured and measured and drafted out the bathtub height and each tile row with 1/16 inch grout lines. You’ll see later that they didn’t QUITE line up as I planned due to issues with the bathtub install.
If I were to do this project again, I would wait until I had the first row of subway tiles along the bathtub installed before I finalized the niche framing. That’s a painful way to do it because you have open niche framing in one section and waterproofed tile backer below the set tiles. So you end up mixing tasks and have so many different materials going at one time. But that will allow you to set the exact height of the niches to align with the tiles.
Next, I added more wall insulation. Now you should be able to see the framed out shower niches.
Floor Leveling at the Bathtub:
OK let’s get the new bathtub installed! This new tub is a Bootzcast insulated soaking bathtub with high gloss porcelain enamel finish in white. I really like that it has a bit of insulation to help keep the bathwater warm longer. I’m going to need a nice long warm bath after all this!
Here is the new bathtub. I tried to add more insulation with some leftover Great Stuff spray foam. But it wouldn’t stick to the underside of the tub. That’s what you see at the bottom of the photo. Oh well!
The bathtub installation instructions note that it comes with a, “built-in leveling support pad that does not require a mortar base to help make installation easy.” But, our house has settled somewhat and the subfloor was pretty unlevel in this area. The tub would not sit solidly without some leveling.
I checked in the crawlspace that the floor joists and framing is all good. No rot or bad framing down there. It’s simply a settlement issue, so I decided to try and level the floor below the tub a bit. A lot of bathtub get a mortar or thin set base to help set and level the tubs. So I tried that first. I was not trying to set the tub in the thin set. I was really trying to make a level platform for the tub to rest on.
Here is my attempt at thin set leveling.
It did not work out, lol. The tub still wobbled about on the ground. So I moved on to using leveling cement, aka LevelQuick RS self-leveling underlayment, in the bath tub floor area. Here is the poured leveling cement. You can see I blocked off the rest of the bathroom floor and the p-trap drain area with 2x4s screwed to the subfloor while the cement cured. The pink insulation you see is just to block cold drafts from the crawl space.
Here is the cured leveling cement. Good news, the subfloor below the bath is level!
Bathtub Install & Plumbing Updates:
One other thing to do before we put the tub in place is make sure the overflow drain and p-trap line up. Here is my test fit up of the overflow drain on the bathtub.
Here I am, about to test fit the p-trap alignment to connect with the crawl space plumbing. The air drafts from the crawl space smell like insulation so I wear a good face mask just in case.
Check your local building requirements as you may need to hire a licensed plumber for work like this.
The the plumbing in place, I was finally able to get the bathtub set! You can see large washers along the tub flange. Those help hold the tub in place. It also sits solidly on the leveled subfloor, so I am happy to report that, after many attempts, the tub is solidly in place.
Looking back, I should have now taken the time to correct and adjust the shower wall niches to exactly line up with the subway tile lines. But you live and learn!
The new shower hardware requires some new plumbing. I took the opportunity to raise the shower head up to about 86 inches, or 7′-2″, from the floor since the tile will go all the way up to the ceiling. Google says a typical shower head height is 80 inches. 86 inches felt fancier! Plus it was a big step up from the low shower head before.
Here is our updated shower and tub plumbing. You’ll likely need to hire a plumber for this. I was happy to be saving so much money with all the other DIY work that a hiring a plumber was OK.
While the pipes are exposed, why not add pipe insulation around the hot water line to help keep that water hot longer? You can see the pipe insulation on the hot water pipes in the photo below.
Drywall Progress:
I had some leftover Rockwool wall insulation from replacing the exterior wall insulation earlier this year. You can check out that project here. It really make a difference in the house. And the cool thing about Rockwool is that is also provides some sound dampening. So I added it to the exposed bathroom walls in hopes of dampening the bathroom noises.
With the framing, plumbing, and insulation all in place, I can move on to the drywall. Most of this will get tiled so it does not have to be perfect. Here is the first piece at the vanity wall.
I’m really excited about the next part. See that box in the wall next to the door opening? That will be a small wall storage niche next to sink/vanity! I’ll store toothbrushes and toothpaste here instead of on the sink countertop.
I’m debating whether or not I should cover this wall niche with a small framed artwork on a hinge and make it a hidden niche. What do you think?
Well, I can’t take a hot bath just yet, so I guess I’ll just have to keep working away at this bathroom remodel. Stay tuned for the full wall tiling!
