We Have Walls Again!

Before I go into what I did over the weekend, I just want to report that after a full week of working at my new job, I really feel good about it. I think I'm in a good position to be very valuable and I really like my co-workers! Not to mention I'll get to use my brain again!

Anyway, after the numerous slowdowns and weekends with no progress lately, I was determined to get the walls up this weekend! My goal for the whole project is to be done (or at least tiled) by the end of May. Each weekend I'm able to actually able to get some work done, the bathroom starts resembling a bathroom more and more.

Last weekend Cass and I bought the backer board but then it sat in my truck for a whole week because I was sick and totally drained over that weekend. I started this weekend by putting up the three sheets of board on the widest wall since it was the easiest wall. No fixtures to cut out or anything. Just three 4' sheets.

After doing that and before I got stupid, I capped off the plumbing for the shower and opened the shower valve to make sure that every bit of plumbing I'd installed would hold pressure. Not just the valves and water hammers I installed back in March, but also the pipe and elbow running up from the valve to the showerhead. Not a drip! That made me happy.

I then got started on the wall opposite the showerhead. This wall is going to have recessed, tiled shelves. We bought these prefabricated shelves from the Tile Shop because we really liked how the finished product looked in the store. This of course meant I got to use my rotary cutting tool again! Man, am I EVER glad I bought that tool. Cutting the holes out for the shelves and shower fixtures would've been a nightmare with regular hand tools. The circular saw and the cement board blade were even more worth every penny. I'da been cutting cement board until I turned 40 if not for that well spent $80.

I stopped on Saturday after putting up the first shelf (the red one) and the surrounding backer board. Sunday I started right back where I left off and finished the recessed shelf wall. Because of the configuration of the shelves, I ended up cutting a sheet of backer board in the shape of an "H". I was a little worried about the structural integrity of the crossbar in the "H", so I ran a stringer between the studs so it'd have some extra support behind it.

That wrapped up the shelf wall. Finally, I had the showerhead wall. This wall turned out to be quite simple despite my own expectations. I measured twice (as the old adage suggests) and cut once and Bingo! The fixtures fit the holes I cut like a glove. Before I closed up the last bit of the wall with backer board, I wanted to leave my mark on this job. I know the bathroom's not done yet, but it was my last chance to do this.



After nearly killing myself standing awkwardly on a step stool so I could get leverage on the last few screws, I got the last piece of backer board in place! Apart from the door frame and a couple slim pieces of drywall I need to hang again, there are no more studs exposed! It's amazing how rewarding that accomplishment is!

More exciting developments are sure to follow! Stay tuned!