I know that this probably isn’t too thrilling, but I documented it anyway.

The previous shower had rotted through the sub-floor……good thing we never used it. The cross beams were a little weathered as well. We solved that issue by doubling them up with new pressure treated 2X6’s attached with lag screws.

Way, Much, More better….but we’re still left with a “Reverse-Nevada” shaped hole in the floor completely exposing our crawl space.

First off, we need to get the hole up to the height of the existing sub-floor, 1/2 inch. There’s no way I’d ever get a 4X8 sheet of 1/2 inch plywood in my Jeep.

No worries, because I found Ismael at the Home Depot to cut it for me. More like; he found me and even asked if I needed any help today. He must be new….all the other guys there know to run the other way when they see me with a cart of lumber.*

*(I’m a little too precise with my measurements for most of them…..and have been know to make them re-cut wood before. You know, until they get it correct)

Didn’t faze Ismael one bit. He sliced that 4X8 sheet into 5 perfect pieces.

Most importantly, one piece 39″ X 30″, and another 51.5″ X 32.5″ (I checked his work with my own tape measure)

These pieces will fit in my Jeep just fine.

The 39″ X 30″ piece will become the “Reverse-Nevada” after I slice a corner off…….like so.

Should fit in my empty space just perfectly. But I can’t tell because there’s a drain in the way.

I must slice the “Reverse-Nevada” in half with a circular saw and make room for the drain.

After making a cut-line through the almost middle, I use a drinking glass as a template for the drain hole. Pretty clever, I know.

Once the board is cut in half, I used a jig-saw to cut out the 2 half-circles.

Then simply slipped it around the drain. (I know, looks like my precise measurements were about 1/4″ off on the left)

I screwed the “Reverse-Nevada” down with about 25 drywall screws, and started the process over with the 51.5″ X 32.5″ sheet.

This one will cover the entire shower floor. It took 3 slices to get it around the drain, but it fits beautifully.

Did the same with 1/2″ thick cement board. Could not possibly screw this thing down enough.

So there ya have it.

Looks like our plumber centered that drain just perfectly BTW.

The new dimensions of the shower floor, 51 X 32 (Pretty big for an 8′ X 5′ room)

Still have to do a layer of sloping Quickcreate, the water-proof liner, and tile.

And Way, More Better than the gaping hole that was there this morning…….