Improper plumbing & trying to remodel bathroom/laundry

[zannej]

I don't remember if you mentioned this before or not but are you going to replace the shower valve/diverter? This is the time to do it.

Absolutely! I'm also replacing the tub spout. I'm putting in a delta lahara monitor 17 dual shower trim that controls pressure and temperature separately. The same valve we put in my friend's house. Also replacing the shower arm and showerhead. And installing a corner grab bar so I will have to look at the blocking for that. I want to replace the drain, but now is not the time to do it. Weather is too damn cold for crawling under the house. I may actually pay the plumber for that. I saw his brother-in-law/assistant in Walmart the other day.
Current status of the shower/tub. I will obviously have to move stuff when we start working, but it is no longer in the tub. I do need to get a cheap stopper from the store though bc I can't find the one that was in there & the hole needs to be plugged or sewer gases come up. I had a missed opportunity. Itsy ran into the bathroom and sat on one of the corner shelves but I didn't have my camera to take her picture.

I'm gonna vacuum that sucker out and wipe it down once I catch my breath. This cold air is causing condensation and making me cough more.

 

[zannej]

I discovered that my tub does have a flange. It is set back from the edge a bit so I couldn't see it. I demo'd the walls. The wooden back panel crumbled apart. Looks like it had termite damage. I thought it would be bare studs underneath, but there is some plywood. Back panel one is damaged. I want to pull it all out. to see the condition of the studs.

Can I rest the bottom of the cementboard on the flange? Or do I still need a gap?

 

[havasu]

Leave a 1/4" gap, then caulk it. You don't want the cement board sitting in water.

 

[havasu]

Does your tub have a lip on the back side of it?

 

[Ron Van]

Does your tub have a lip on the back side of it?

Yes, she said it has a “flange” in post 642

 

[zannej]

Ok, we test-fitted a piece and it will get a 1/4" gap on the left and that plus 1/16" on the right because the tub slopes. Discovered that the walls lean back so there will be some shimming. There are studs behind those boards and we can see the nail locations for them. We marked the walls above where the studs are. Friend was all ready to get the cementboard installed. Had the first board with 3 screws and I said "Oh crap!" I told him we forgot the moisture barrier. I got plastic to separate the wood from the cementboard. I plan to tape the bottom of it to the flange of the tub. Which means the flange needed to be cleaned. And the area that will be near the cementboard was filthy. They really went crazy with the caulk in there. I'll have to get pictures of some of the stuff we pulled off later. So, my friend put up the plastic and went outside to get some air while I started cleaning the flange and tub edge. I realized its going to take a lot more work and he needed to get back home. I made a paste of baking soda and vinegar that I slathered all. I'll let it soak in. If anything is still stuck on there after I scrub the hell out of it tomorrow then I doubt any tape will pull it off or come loose, but I'm going to get it as clean as I can.

We got a late start so didn't get as much done as we wanted, but the cementboard is in the bathroom ready to be installed, we marked where to drill holes for the plumbing and got the old plumbing off. Most of the time was spent going to pick up the materials. An hour each way plus waiting times and the stop at taco bell.

Not great pictures but this is the latest:


The blue contour mat was used as a cushion when sitting on the tub edge.

 

[havasu]

What type of moisture barrier are you using? If moisture gets in, it'll never get out. Do some research before doing so cuz I'm not too sure.

 

[zannej]

Oh, that plastic is mostly to keep the cementboard from making direct contact with the wood rather than an actual moisture barrier. I believe its the vapor barrier for floors and I got the tape for it. Rather than leave it hanging loose I want to secure it to the flange.

 

[Ron Van]

It will be nice to have your tub back in working order!

 

[zannej]

It will. Even if it takes weeks, it will still be nice to be able to go in and shower in my own bathroom. I won't have to drive over to a friend's house and hope no one needs to use the bathroom. Although last time I saw he had wet laundry in his washing machine so I transferred it to the dryer for him. I got a nonslip mat for his shower that works great so I got one for my shower too. I'm trying to think if there is anything I can do while waiting for my friend to be available again-- other than cleaning and organizing to make more room. I can't easily lift/move the cement boards without straining my bad arm (it is sore from yesterday). I'm trying to think if there are any supplies or tools we might need later. I believe I need hot dipped galvanized roofing nails for the surround (only the back part that will be hidden. I saw that in the instructions for attaching it. I need to find my longer level. I only have a very small one right now. I have a general idea where it is though.

 

[zannej]

I've slowly been cleaning. I got the debris out of the bathrub and vacuumed. Been slowly scraping off the cleaning paste. That adhesive is on there good and is tough to remove. I thought I had it off in some spots but ran my hand over and could feel it was still there. I found that rubbing alcohol softens it up a bit so I squirted a bunch of it all over the rim of the tub and flange and am letting it sit. Partially to let it take effect but also bc the smell was strong. I put a fan in there to help circulate air and keep me cool. Letting it soak right now.
This is part of the old back panel. I guess it was swans instead of ducks. Higher up i had a more artistic sort of sepia sketch of swans or ducks on water.

This is an example of how thick some of the caulk was put on there. It looked like melted hot glue

Picture with the cleaning paste on the tub

After I cleaned it off

Back of the tub being worked on

 

[havasu]

Looks like 100% silicone from a caulking tube.

 

[zannej]

Looks like 100% silicone from a caulking tube.

Probably. It really held up well. Cutting through it was a pain. The adhesive from those L shaped strips that people put around stuff was a nightmare to remove. I had to scour every inch of the flange and edge near it. I vacuumed the tub out and next step is wiping it down and cleaning it up before I put the plastic in it to keep stuff from falling into it.

 

[zannej]

I worked on it last night and this morning. Got the flange and the adhesive near it cleaned off and then decided to clean the inside of the tub.

Last pic-- its cleaner than it looks but my fat behind was blocking the light in the upper corners.

 

[Ron Van]

Looks good, Z!

 

[zannej]

Thanks. I'm letting the progress motivate me. I've modified my plan for the shower surround again. I got that trim that is supposed to be for drywall, but I figure I can use it on cementboard too. It can be glued up and then have staples as reinforcement. I'm going to get the adhesive specifically for the vinyl trim stuff, but staples will be backup. They are stainless steel.

The new plan:
Cut the cementboard off at the edges of the glue up surround. Use tear away L trim at the edges (side and top). The plastic will extend past it to at least the edge of the tub. The 1x6 (0.64"x5.5") PVC boards will be cut to fit on the sides next to the surround (leaving a 1/8" expansion gap that will be enforced by the tear away L bead. 1x6 will be over the top as well. I will also glue up and staple one of the L bead trims to the corner of the wall where I removed some trim that hid an ugly transition around the corner. I'll have that all the way to the ceiling.
Waterproof gorilla tape will secure the plastic sheet behind the cement board to the flange.
Cement board will go over the flange since the wall panels behind push it forward too far to just float over it.
Pipe for tub spout will go through existing hole for diverter (~6" above tub).
Shower controls will be ~21 (center of valve) above the tub (the flat part, not the flange)
Showerhead will be in the PVC trim ~59.5" (or something like that) above the tub

So, no cement board will be exposed. All edges of cement board will be sealed with aquadefense.


I will trim the pvc board on the left for symmetry and also because if it extends farther it will conflict with towel bar placement (although, I might just move the towel bar to a different wall so it is easier to reach when I get out of the tub.

 

[zannej]

I got better pictures of the boards under the plastic:

The higher it goes the more damage there is.
You can see how it looks through the plastic
So, should I try to clean it up a bit-- brush off debris?
Should I try to seal it with anything or do something to it to reinforce it?
Cover it with Killz?
Or should I just leave it alone?

I suppose I can vacuum off any loose dirt and stuff, but I don't want to make it worse than it is.

There are two holes on the right side that I intend to fill with spray foam. I don't want bugs or mice coming in through them and gnawing the plastic.

 

[zannej]

I vacuumed the walls and didn't like how much crumbling I felt. Brushed them off, still not happy. Decided to listen to Havasu and pull the boards (after checking the price of wood hardener and the filler was $100 before tax). Price of furring strips is less than $2 a piece.
Good thing because this is one of the studs:

 

[havasu]

Do you see termite poop? If not, that is pure dryrot.

 

[zannej]

I don't think I see any termite droppings. The tunnels look clean. I know the wall got wet at some point. So it is rotted in some areas. I wonder if what looks like mud is termite poop that got wet and stuck together.
I didn't see anything that looks like the photos I googled of termite poop.

As an aside, I'm such a monkey that when I was pulling a board off it hit me in the head. Didn't really hurt though. I'm hardheaded. Also my arm slipped when I was prying and I scraped my elbow, but no blood drawn. I'll post pics of my progress later.