r&r for shower base


  #1  
Old 03-18-02, 07:18 AM
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r&r for shower base

In a hurry to finish the master bath shower the previous owner apparently worked too fast and missed a step or two in installing this shower stall. I had posted earlier this month as how to fix the sagging base, but now it is cracked. I have "sealed" the crack with caulk and 100mph tape. This, of course, isn't working because the vinyl peelnstick tiles are popping up around the shower, and the smell is becoming a real problem. I need to get on this asap so nothing else gets ruined. I am a little frustrated so please be patient with me. I am currently trying to refinish the main bath so we are having to use the shower anyway. I have learned how to patch, sand and paint walls. Clean up old flooring, lay patch and relay vinyl tiles on the floor, built a vanity cabinet, and rewire an outlet. Well, may be better put: I learned how NOT to do it next time. The door to the bathroom goes up today so we will be back in business and I can start on the mess in the MasterBath.

Questions are today: How do I remove this thing and install a new base? How do I choose the base?

Am wondering what else I will find under there????!!!!!

Totally clueless, a little frustrated, and thanking heaven I don't own a gun or I would shoot it (the shower).

Kay
 

Last edited by kaybyrd; 04-01-02 at 08:22 AM.
  #2  
Old 03-18-02, 09:01 AM
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Mornign Kay;

A simple repair may not be possible. (when it comes to home repair, nothing is simple. Even though thats what I always tell my wife. "real easy, 20 min tops" Four hours later and 3 tips to HD and I finish in record time) You may have to remove the tiles around the crack ( say 8 to 10 inches?) fix the problem and then retile the area. In worst case senerio you may need to completly remove the stall, fix the problem then then install and retile. Probley need a 3 or 4 day weekend to do this. hehe

Brian
 
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Old 03-18-02, 09:18 AM
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how do i begin this job? this is what i see happening. first, i have to take the 2 glass sides & door down, then remove the grill over the drain....

then what? do i need to remove the fiberglass pieces (flat) from the 2 remaining walls? please tell me no. i will definitely be tearing up things then.

i've learned too that a 20 minutes project can turn into days, and weeks. this bath, boy, one thing led to another. you go to fix one thing and then find 15 things related. i just wanted to repaint the walls, install a newer medicine cabinet and make a new sink cabinet (is that a vanity cabinet?) to replace the old one. that's when i discovered that a shut off valve had a small leak. found it was a bigger one when you actually tried to shut the water off there. then i had to move the outlet to accomodate the space for the new medicine cabinet. learned how to do 15 other things while learning how to take a cabinet out! LOL

actually, not a frustating today since kids aren't on spring break anymore. can focus on what i'm doing. no more fussin, fighting, "i'm bored" right now. maybe i can jump on this and be done with it. i saw in another post that they make some stuff to "repair" the crack. aside from that, i do need to get under here and fix/replace vinyl peelnstick tiles, clean up, and support this silly thing. would be nice if i didn't have to replace it today since i would like a larger one at a later date.

thanks, especially for the support, because it really does feel good to know that i did it. maybe not gracefully at times or ever want to do it again, but i did it.

Kay
 

Last edited by kaybyrd; 04-01-02 at 08:24 AM.
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Old 03-18-02, 11:01 AM
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um...is the crack on the wall or on the floor of the stall? Are the tiles ceramic or vinel etched to look like tile? If they are ceramic you would need to take a dremel or drill with a ceramic cutting disc and cut out your square around the crack (cut throught the grout not the actual tiles. then "break out the tiles inside the square. Patch the crack with the correct goo for the job. You may have to chisel out the crack a little, you can also drill a small hole at each end of the crack to prevent further cracking, drill all the way through the backing board and then fill both holes and crack with repair compound. ( The hole drilled should be slightly bigger in diameter then the width of the crack. Let dry, apply adhesive and new tiles, when dry re-grout the repaired area.

Now let me see if I can come up with a good reason why you drill the holes..... By drilling a hole at the very tip of a crack (centered) you break.... Nope. hehe. I know it works but cannot remember the exact wording so I dont sound like I am blowing smoke. I know it has something to do with equalization.

Brian
 
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Old 03-18-02, 12:22 PM
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I think what you're trying to saying with the drilling of the holes at the ends of the crack, it prevents spreading. I compare it to an arch or rope bridge. If you have a "circle" or half circle at the ends then the stress is dispersed over an area instead at one small point, thus keeping the crack from continuing its path. You can etch a circle around a chip in your windshield to keep it from "running".

Guess I should have explained more about this silly shower. I have pics, but can't figure out how to upload anything to my homepage so I can link you guys to pics. Oh well, that's computer forum I believe....

The bath is the old storage room. The shower is a fiberglass base, looks as tho it could have been freestanding with glass all the way around, but they opted to put it in the corner and use two flat sheets of fiberglass on those two walls, erected glass panels and and a glass shower door. May have been a kit. Underneath is slab, don't think the peel n stik tiles they used are actually underneath. I found those at Home Depot, so I can grab some to replace the ones popping up.

I figure what I need to do first is take the 2 glass panels and the door down. Seems easiest place to start since the glass pieces are screwed into "racks" or whatever on the walls. This way I can assess the situation better and figure out (maybe) how this shower base is put down. I have a feeling that once I remove the actual attached pieces, I will find that this thing was just thrown in there long enough to sell the house.

I'll post more when I get that much done. Unfortunately, it is almost time for the kids to be home so my DIY moments are about over for the day.

Kay

PS. I have 4 children, ages 17 to 9 if you're wondering what I'm up against.
 
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Old 03-18-02, 12:54 PM
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9-17? at that age you can issue a dont bother me order. hehe
The easiest way is to use ftp to upload your pictures to your website. I like ws-ftp is on www.download.com very small very easy to use and effective. when you set it up just ftp to your provider. (www.yourprovider.com/(most use /~yourusername)) enter your username and password. when you connect you can create a new folder with ftp and then upload your pics to that, or into your root directory.

then when you want to link to the pics you would use
www.yourisp.com/~yourusername/foldername/pic.jpg

you can go to your isp and search for a help file on creating a homepage, or uploading files to your webspace.

Brian
 
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Old 03-18-02, 01:39 PM
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don't bother me orders are taken like "please bother me because I have nothing better to do than a)listen to you, b)give you money, c)give up my time on MY computer......

will try to get the pics uploaded. i have the ftp prog that you spoke of, but am apparently doing something wrong. i've built a webpage before with earthlink, how different can roadrunner be? oh well, will try that tonight so maybe i can get some visual aids going since i don't know what everything is called. doomahitchy, and thingamabob don't always get it, nor does "the blue thing hooked onto and over the..."



Kay
 
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Old 03-18-02, 01:43 PM
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Cool

Kay,
Take this to www.johnbridge.com or to the Ceramic Tile forum.
Good Luck!
Mike
 
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Old 03-23-02, 01:08 PM
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here's what i found

Pic so big, I linked instead

Seems that instead of putting concrete all the way into the shower after digging into the slab to lay the drains, they either ran out, or just decided to put all the concrete pieces into the hole. It has now crumbled and compressed. This is what caused the shower base to crack, no support. Doesn't seem to be such a big deal. I may be wrong but just clean out the pieces, pour concrete in the hole keeping in mind that the drain flange deal on the shower base has to have room to seat on the drain itself. All of this after repairing the crack in the shower base. fortunately they aren't too bad. The base is self supporting, so the floor just needs to be level and solid underneath. Is this all correct? Or is there more to this than meets my meager eyes? Also, I don't know how to remove the surround and remount it when I go to install the shower base. We pulled it out without removing it, but it seems obvious that the base needs to go in first.

Kay
 
  #10  
Old 04-01-02, 08:17 AM
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Question how to do the concrete..

Okay, if you linked to the pic above, you can see that I've got a hole there. I pulled all the compressed/crushed and broken concrete out and found that I'm now to the ground. I cleaned it out so that it could dry out, and now I'm ready to put concrete in there. A couple of questions, tho.

1) I noticed that the original slab had a plastic barrier between the ground and the concrete. Should I put plastic down on the ground before I fill the hole? Seems to reason that I should, but there may be a reason that I'm not aware of that means I shouldn't.

2) How do I keep the concrete from filling the area where the drain pipe comes up to meet the drain on the shower base? I can leave the plastic glass that is currently covering the hole there (it's the same size as the drain connection on the shower base)...will the concrete 'seep' upward under the cup?

Any ideas and suggestions of what to do, or not to do will be greatly appreciated! I do not want to make this problem any worse than it already is, or create a new one.

Kay
 
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Old 04-01-02, 03:36 PM
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You have a job ahead of you. At least you are motivated.
You may have to remove the first several inches of sheetrock on the walls to obtain the proper fit for the base.
Remove ALL the old, broken concrete. Clean the area with a shop vac to remove all broken teeny, tiny pieces. Measure the area for the new base and then buy one at Home Depot or where ever. READ the instuction for installation. Look at how it has to be connected to the drain line. Leave enough room for the drain and the fittings. Try dry fitting everything together so you can get a feel of what is needed.
Then repour a somewhat wet concrete mix where it is needed.
Let dry overnight and then install base.
The easiest way to remove old surrounds, ceramic tiles, etc, is to just cut around the where the old stuff stops, tear it out, and install new green board (or durock for tile) and install a new surround.
Something to think about while all this is going on, replace the old shower valve. Wall is open and you will never have an easier time for this repair.

Have fun and ask questions if you run into problems.
 
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Old 04-16-02, 07:39 PM
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arrgghhh!

Okay, I laid the concrete into the hole. I made sure that I cleaned it out thoroughly, and mixed the concrete according to the directions. That was the easy part. However, now I've put everything back in there it leaks around the shower walls. I had no instructions since I installed the original stuff. I fixed the crack in the fiberglass shower base, and reattached everything the way I took it out.

Does anyone have instructions on how to put a shower stall together? I am so frustrated with this silly house that I could scream. I can't afford to go buy another one (shower stall/base or house ). I can upload pictures of what I have if needed. Some tips, tricks? I caulked everything, and leveled everything. I took a shower, and walked out of it into a huge puddle of water that originates where the shower walls sit on the fiberglass base. I caulked (and let dry for 48 hours) inside the walls and outside the walls where the base meets the shower walls, as well as along where the shower walls meet the walls themselves. It isn't leaking from the drain area. Thank goodness that I haven't relaid the "peel and stick" vinyl tiles yet. I was afraid that it would leak and mess them up.

Kay
 
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Old 04-16-02, 08:46 PM
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If it's a 3 section fiberglass shower kit. I will not post my personnal opinion here. In remodels, I have found that it is easier to just throw it away and get a 5 section shower kit. If this was new construction, 3 section is great and fast.
I use the durawall kit #247 for showers. Home Depot sells these and this may be a very good source of info for you. Actually, Home Depot sells may different styles and brands of shower surrounds, and you can go in and look at how everything goes together in their display. Lowe's will have the same set up as will any of a number of plumbing supply houses.
I'm making an assumption here, I'd take a very close look at where the shower door frame meets the wall and the bottom of the door frame for a) no or loose caulking b) a bad fit on the door, for the cause of the water on the floor. If no door, but a shower curtains,
then delete the above, and still look around it while the water is running.

One last place to make a quick check for leaks, pull the handles and trim pieces off your hot and cold valves. Leave the stems alone, (brass looking thingys) just place the handle only on one stem at a time and turn on the water. See if you have a leak around the stem. Water can, and has, ran inside walls from this type of leak. It should take about 5-10 minutes for you to do this, including putting it back together.
If there is a leak here, we can walk you through the repair.

Let us know what the outcome is and please keep in this thread.
 
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Old 04-26-02, 06:14 AM
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yeah, husband home again!

I'm so glad he's home so he can help me. I looked up some sites that specialize in shower stalls and found one with instructions along with the specs. I see now the step that I missed. I didn't realize that I needed to run a bead of caulk along the center lines of where the shower walls rest on the base, as well as along the outer edges of the shower walls after installation. It also explains how the panels fit together and how to level/realign them.

I haven't done this yet since I was trying to install these things on my own, but now that hubby dearest is home from his trip I will give him a few days rest before I put him to work! He did ask me if I would like to go ahead and call someone to do it for us since I got so frustrated, but I don't want to give up yet. Aside from the fact that I've run into problems, I still desire that feeling of "hey, I did it myself (with tons of help from this site and my family/friends)!" I will have someone come in and look at it if this doesn't solve our problem since our really miss having a second shower in the house!

Kay
 
 

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