61" bathroom to 60"

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swindmill

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I'm remodeling a bathroom with the tub against the back wall. The old tub was 61", and the new tub is a standard 60". The walls around the tub will get CBU and tile. The tub is in place but I need to fur out the right hand wall an inch (lefthand tub). I'm look for ideas on how to best handle this. Everything I can think of is 3/4 or 1/2.
 
I'm hoping to just shim out each stud 1", I just don't know what material to use. I don't have a table saw that will allow me to rip my own strips, so I'm stuck using stock material. If there's nothing available, it may just be time to get a decent table saw. I'd like to have one, so if I have to get one...
 
I guess I've never looked for 1" plywood, but if the big box stores carry it, that would work.
 
If the wall come out and stop at an outside corner, where you might want to put up corner bead for drywall, don't use plywood , it messes up with the screws for the cornerbead.
 
Your best bet is to cut 1" shims from a 2x6. Put two of them side by side to create a steady base for the skill saw as you cut the strips.

Now you will have a good shim for corner bead nailing. This is better than buying milled 1" casing ... and a lot cheaper!

Tub-framing.jpg
 
I nail my corner bead on and haven’t had any issues with plywood or OSB even. I just use drywall nails as the heads are so thin they don’t stick up and don’t bend the bead like screws will want to.

Without a table saw it’s still not so hard to rip stock with a hand circular saw if you take your time. I often screw a guide strip to the piece I’m ripping similar to what Villa suggests. I find a nice straight piece of trim wood works better than a 2X as the 2X has a round corner and my saw wants to get stuck in that corner. I bought a thing called a workmate last summer at a garage sale and I love it for holding a long piece to rip like this.

I would cut two strips of half as oldog suggests.
 
I could rip 2x with some clamps and a guide. Doubling up 1/2" would work too. I'll be going with one of those options in the next few days.
 
I guess I would look at it as to what I have laying around. I always have a pile of edges of half inch plywood stacked up because I can’t force myself to toss a 12 inch x 8 foot piece of 4ply out. But if I had to go buy a sheet to just rip some shim strips off of I would go with the 2X as it’s much cheaper.
 
I finally bought a saw guide and I should have done it a long time ago. Little blocks of plywood will prevent the guide clamps from marring the wood you are cutting.
It's also a great straightedge.

For fine adjustments on your project I recommend shoebox cardboard shims but you may want to waterproof them first.

As to buying a table saw, figure out how much your travel time and convenience are worth and foresee how often you will need to do ripping and crosscuts in the near future.
As a gift I got a Harbor Freight sliding compound miter saw and that comes in pretty handy, too. It brings out the shortcomings of just having a table saw or a circular saw.

As you get better you may want vernier adjustments on your equipment.
 
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Guess who got to cut 1 3/8" strips from a 2x6 today freehand with by skill saw? Coincidence but true. Didn't take pics but I did it using the technique I described (above) to create shims for a fireplace trim repair.

So, it CAN be done ... Just remember what they taught you in school: "Stay in the lines."

KID.jpg
 
Guess who got to cut 1 3/8" strips from a 2x6 today freehand with by skill saw? Coincidence but true. Didn't take pics but I did it using the technique I described (above) to create shims for a fireplace trim repair.

So, it CAN be done ... Just remember what they taught you in school: "Stay in the lines."
Every saw comes with a rip fence and if if you are making a narrow cut just start the cut and clamp your finger on the nose of the saw, Your finger can be the fence. Watch out for slivers.:beer:
 
I'll probably give a freehand rip a try and see how it goes. I can follow a chalk line fine, but it's easy to move an 1/8 one way or the other when you change your footing as you make your way down an 8' cut.
 
If you no longer have the rip fence for the saw. Drill a couple holes in the base of your saw and screw a peice of would to use as a fence, make sure it straight with the blade.

rip fence 1.png

rip fence 2.png

rip fence 5.jpg

rip fence 6.jpg
 
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If it came with a rip fence, I must have it somewhere. I'll look around for something that looks like it might be it.

It's looking like I will be ripping from 2x6.
 
Decide which is worse, undersized or oversized.
I hate forcing things or using a plane or sandpaper or a rasp so if you can cut accurately to +/- 1/16" then cut it 1/16" undersized and shim and caulk.
No one can hit it perfectly, especially in this application.

Also, you can easily make a cardboard mockup.

In general, make your marks with an Exacto knife rather than a pencil or pen. The accuracy can only get worse from your mark.
 
Decide which is worse, undersized or oversized.
I hate forcing things or using a plane or sandpaper or a rasp so if you can cut accurately to +/- 1/16" then cut it 1/16" undersized and shim and caulk.
No one can hit it perfectly, especially in this application.

Also, you can easily make a cardboard mockup.

In general, make your marks with an Exacto knife rather than a pencil or pen. The accuracy can only get worse from your mark.

With a fence you cut one peice, if wrong toss it adjust the fence and keep cutting.
In this case a little big would be fine.
 
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