hey, guys! todays’ video’s going to be totally differentthan any of the other ones that we’ve done. we’re celebrating anthony’s bathroom remodel. he took an old bathroom and transformed itinto a new one while holding down a full-time job being a dad and a husband. he’s one of our bathroom repair tutor members,and he’s totally our hero this week because this bathroom was a big challenge. there were a lot of obstacles, but he overcamethem and did a phenomenal job. so we’re going to share some pictures withyou today and also some really great tips
that’ll help you out with your own project. this is anthony’s old bathroom. so this is the outdated flooring; you cansee the large hexagonal there, an old toilet, and the vanity was dated as well. you have this laminate countertop with doublebowls in it. it’s not very attractive, and it’s kindof dating the entire home since everything else is new. now, this shower may look familiar to you. these were built over thirty years ago.
they have the 4x4 ceramic tiles in them. now, in this particular case anthony had acast-iron tub. he removed all of the tile first; simply usinga hammer and just pounding it out. so make sure that if you’re doing the samething, you’re safe doing that. now, with these cast-iron tubs, the biggestchallenge is getting them out. so in this particular case, anthony had touse a sledge hammer to do that. and that’s really the only tool that youneed. now, the floor was a totally different issue;also used a hammer and a crowbar to get out that old hexagonal tile.
and what was really challenging in this casefor anthony was the fact that that floor was sloping. we’ll get to that a little bit later on. so this is the new tub that he put in. this is the kohler archer bathtub; this isan acrylic tub. and you’ll notice that he actually pre-drilledand attached the tub to all those studs using galvanized decking screws. that’s really the best way to do it, andwe have a great tutorial on how to install this archer over on our youtube channel.
so, how did anthony waterproof his tub surround? well, he used cement board, and he appliedthinset mortar to all the seams using alkali-resistant tape. you’ll notice here her also applied alkali-resistanttape to the bottom portion of the board where it met up with the tub and then added thinsetmortar over top of that. and one really important facet of this isto ensure that your tub spout sticks out far enough and that your mixing valve plasterguard is flush with the board. always follow the directions for that plasterguard because that’s important to do before you start tiling.
now, in this case he used mapelastic aquadefenseby mapei to waterproof all of that cement board before you started to tile. it’s really important that you do that. you need to have a liquid waterproofing membraneor something like kerdi over that cement board. you’ll also notice that he started to tileall three walls. you don’t necessarily have to do that; youcan just tile the main wall and then work on your plumbing wall and then your back wall. but it is important to use spacers like anthonyused and especially between the first row or tile and the tub; you always need thatexpansion and contraction joint.
so was anthony able to tile the entire showerand be successful? you bet. so this is the finished look. you also notice that he tiled the shower nicheusing a really cool mosaic. and here’s what the top looks like. and as we work our way up the top, he dida really nice job of not leaving little slivers at the shower niche. there were some slivers on the left, but nottoo bad. i’d also like to highlight the height ofthe shower head.
anthony did a nice job of keeping that atabout 80-82 inches, and the same thing with the mixing valve height and the tub spoutheight; again, about three to four inches above the tub for the tub spout, and about18 to 20 inches for the mixing valve. so if you’re unsure about those heights,just follow your local building code or plumbing code. these are the vanities, mirrors, and new lightsthat anthony installed; they look awesome. i love those lights; they’re an oil-rubbronze. and he did a phenomenal job on the shiplapwalls, which took him some time and some carpentry, but they turned out just fantastic.
so as you can see here, he replaced the oldhexagonal tile on the left—that’s the old setup—with new hexagonal tile on theright. his biggest challenge was leveling out thebathroom, and he was able to overcome that and do a phenomenal job with the floor tile. give this video a thumbs up to let anthonyknow he did an awesome job. he’s actually doing a master bathroom remodelnext and hopefully will have some really great before and after pictures. if you’re interested in bathroom repairtutor, the course that anthony used to get some tips and tricks for his project, youcan check it out right here; that’s our
course. we have a ton of great videos; we’ve gota forum and a private facebook group, tons of really great things to help you guide yourselfthrough your own bathroom remodel. so check that out for yourself. we’re going to have more videos just likethis down the road from other members to inspire you and to give you tips on how to do yourown remodel. thanks for watching today’s video, and we’llsee you in the next one. take care.