When we last left off….(Before Dolly Parton’s Birthday, of course)
Our young heroes were busy patting each other on the backs for a job well done.
They had continued with the remodel of their master bathroom and completed the daunting task of pouring their own concrete shower pan.
Little did they know…..that everything was about to go to SHIT.
(Sorry about the salty sailor-language, but this one really stung)
After drying overnight,……here’s what we woke to:
Not only does it look bad; but it “crackled” when we stepped on it. And I could feel it shifting a little too.
We’re certainly no renovation experts (this is our first bathroom remodel, after all) but I can tell that it’s probably not supposed to do that.
What went wrong?
We aren’t sure…….possibly the wrong cement? Was it too wet? Not enough sand? Too much humidity?
Doesn’t really matter, we knew it had to come out. So I grabbed a crowbar and a sledge hammer……and worked out a little anger about the situation.
Sadly, it took just a few minutes to remove the day’s worth of hard work we did.
But it wasn’t just the cracked concrete that was wrong………There was more.
(Well, apparently, there a few different ways to make a shower pan, and we were advised by our contractor to back up a few steps……and remove a few feet of the hardie board walls in the shower so a plastic liner can go behind it.
We’ve been following an online tutorial that has some “progressive” suggestions in the area of shower pan installs.
The Red Guard being one of those “progressive” suggestions. It’s a relatively new product, and most contractors will, as ours did, say that although Red Guard is a fine water barrier for the walls, a plastic liner is the best way to go for the shower floor.)
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!!!
I apologize once again for the adults only language in this post.
Soooooooooooo, Jamie took a reciprocating saw……and cut out a few feet of the beautifully-installed Hardie board from the shower walls as well.
I’m not gunna sugar coat it,
It stung.
It stung a whole HECK of a LOT.
That’s why I was cussing. And again, I’m sorry.
We hired a professional plumber to fix our “boo-boo” with the concrete……
and install the plastic liner on top of it….the correct way…
About this point,
I stopped taking pictures….
But here’s the summary of what happened next: Jamie reattached the removed Hardie Board wall pieces, slapped mortar over the screws and seams, painted on more Red Guard, and the plumber came back to add one more layer of concrete to the shower floor…..
…..and then we closed the bathroom door,
….and sulked,
for a couple of months.
THE CAVENDER DIARY 
And you are Still not finished?
Not yet…….most of the tile is on the walls, and there is some end in sight. (There’s been a lot of distractions this past year)
I can feel your pain in California….man that hurt. Happy knowing you’re back on track.
We’re getting there Janet! It’s slow work…..but now we’re back at it!
So sorry to hear your news, but it will all be worth when all is said and done! Take care you guys. Looking forward to seeing the end result! 😊
We’re making progress Kim……..we’re just not in any rush. I’m anxious to show y’all the tile, 2 walls are finished. It looks amazing!
I know that must have been beyond frustrating, but thanks so much for sharing your mistakes along with your success stories. The information is priceless and so are the two of you!
Awe thanks Gayle! You are too sweet. Looks to me like our bathroom does have a price – a chunk of our souls. LOL wait till you see the tile! It’s stunning !!!
That WAS painful! But just think how much easier the next bathroom remodel will be!?
LOL!!!!!! Of course I keep thinking about the next bathroom too!!!!! Jamie gets nervous every time I mention it. “Must focus on current project” – (says to self)
Take heart guys! We’ve all been there. It’s just another day in the life of a construction project. So many frustrations. It looks like you used bitchethane (sp?) as the moisture barrier? Excellent choice. That shower will NEVER leak. Great installation! Keep your eyes on the prize.
I’m not sure what he used…..it’s thick. It’s a process, I know that much. But we are doing it ourselves, and learning along the way . There’s a prize waiting for us someday . I know it!
Salty sailor language aside, thanks for sharing the tips and tricks of your bathroom DIY. We installed new glass shower doors last year, and we had to take them down three times before we got all the leaks fixed. I can’t wait to see the tile pictures!
Ohhhh Gina, now you have me worried about the shower door. Hehehe, just wait till you see the tile. It’s stunning in that small room.
If those were the only two bad words you said, I applaud you. I would still be saying much worse and I’m sure you would be able to hear me in Texas and I’m in Atlanta. I know it is going to be amazing!
I said a few more bad words than those. We’re so happy with the results so far……its just been slow.
I have been wondering for SO long what has been going on with your bathroom … and now I get it! Ugh. That sucks!! Glad to see y’all are on the righteous path now! Good luck with the rest of your reno. I can’t wait to see it. I know it will be amazing!!
Thanks Jennifer. It’s been slow. We are pretty anxious to share the tile progression……it looks so wonderful….in spite of a few bumps along the way.
Is the shower going to be concrete when you are done? I bet that will look so cool! Kudos to you guys for even trying to figure all that out.
We thought about s concrete floor, but choose a pebble instead……we’re not far from tiling the floor now. Promise to keep y’all posted on the progress.
While I’m sure that experience was horrid in many ways, take heart that there are a lot of us out here in space who will benefit from your experience! Do you plan to write a tutorial on this topic that we could follow? I have a bathroom in need of renovating, and I keep putting it off. Mike Holmes has scared me about every contractor out there (his shows are my idea of horror films!) and I don’t know which websites to trust! Except I know I could trust yours! 🙂
I feel your pain. Very deeply. We have had several of these of varying intensities and they hurt and are frustrating. (Actually, I think it started with dressmaking when it would go wrong and I would rip the whole thing up. Mature. But you can’t do that with your home). But it will be worth it. But I also have to ask…..have you done or are you going to do the hot mop of the shower? Or is the plastic liner instead of it? And if so is it going to be strong enough to withstand years of use? Anyway, have a drink, or a few and know you are in good company. ❤
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