Sunday Afternoon Shower Construction

Saturday was going to be my big day to work uninterrupted on the basement. Which it was. Mostly. Except for a few distractions here and there.

The biggest accomplishment was rebuilding the shower wall. It really isn't that hard, except for all the plumbing that goes inside. And the fact that the valve has to be centered properly in the hole which has already been cut in the shower enclosure.

It took just a few minutes to detach the old wall from the ceiling & bathroom wall, then haul it over to my "workshop" in the soon-to-be den/family room. I was going to try to re-use as much of it as possible, except for the parts which were too full of holes. Like the top plate. Our should I call it the Swiss plate?

Monty Python and the Search for the Holey Top Plate

The two inner studs were in bad shape, too. One was so twisted that it would not align with the top and bottom plate at the same time. Both had been chiseled to make room for the valve plumbing. They looked horrid.

The top plate was garbage, so it came off.

Then the inner studs. Off! One of them still had some good parts to it, so I cut it in half and used it as my new top plate. Lo and Behold, it was then that I discovered where that missing stud from the bedroom went: it had been used as one of the inner studs for the shower wall! And the original screws - the ones that had held it to floor of the bedroom - were still there in the wood. At least, half of them were still in the wood. Cut right in half.

Cut-off screws and Weird Gaps

Still makes me mad to think about it.

Since they were cut off right at the surface, I had to use my Dremel to notch the tops so they would come out with my handy-dandy screwdriver. Then I attached the new top plate to the sides, and cut some new inner studs from a couple boards just purchased from the lumber store.

The New Wall - Before Inner Studs Added

The New Wall - After Inner Studs Added

The Pexx routing holes were cut with a regular drill, then channelled with a small saw.

Buenos Notches

Then it was time for a fit-check. The important thing during the fit-check was to make sure the shower side panel fit nice and snug against the wall and was also snug with the other side panels. And that everything was level. That took some doing, adjusting the side wall and the back wall and the panels ever-so-slightly until they all came together just right.

Fit-Check without Side Shower Panel

After that, it was time to cut the fixture supports from 1x4 stock and secure those between the inner studs. That'll keep the pipes from moving around. I hope.

Shower Head Support Plate

Shower Valve Support Plate

Top Plate Pipe Cutouts In Action!

Top Plate Pipe Cutouts In Action (Backside)

Shower Head Support Plate (Front View)

 It looks so much nicer than before!

All Done Now ... Mostly