Bathroom Project of Doom

Nope. Compression fittings are a one-time use.

The only way to save it would be if you could find an identical valve or parts for that valve and rebuild/replace the guts.

Once you loosen that rear nut, the seal integrity of the compression fitting is compromised and it will not likely seal again.

 

Alright. The reason I ask so many questions is because the nearest hardware store is 20 miles from my house. That would be a long round trip with my wife nagging me about the water to the house being turned off. Friday is my next day off, so I am going to try to gather up some supplies for that tomorrow after work. I also need a couple 2x4s to frame up where the tub is going. Friday sounds like it could be an interesting day...And I've already checked the valve on the toilet, it shuts off just fine. But, if they aren't to much money, I may pick up a few extras and just try to make it all look pretty.

 

Yay...Now I just need for the surround to get here.

 

Any updated pics on the bathroom job??

 

Subbed

 

Plumber by trade. You are at the right place now. You'll need a stiriker board horizontal on the back wall for the tub to rest on. If your installing a stall, you need studs at all corners to attach to. There's so much going on in the pics, it's hard to tell where the water was coming from. You are going to have to shut off your main to replace those angle stops. Once you chopped into your tub... it was done. Cheaper and easier to replace.

 

Subd, any progress?

 

Latest update. Shut off valves are replaced and the tub surround is FINALLY here. I just brought it home tonight on what turned out to be a very windy drive home with it. I love living out in the country but it sure has it's drawbacks sometimes. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but progress had halted until I got this.

 

I've got a 3-peice tub I am installing. What material should I use for the stiriker board?

(again sorry I was absent for so long)

 

So I will just go ahead and give an update as to why I haven't accomplished much in the past month or two...

My wife and I picked out a bathtub and a surround that we both liked at our local Menards. The tub was in stock, the surround was not. They gave us an estimated arrival date of about 4 weeks from the time of order to be able to pick it all up. I asked then if I had to pay for everything upfront, and pick up the tub now or if I could do it all at once when the surround came in. The associate LOOKED ME IN THE EYE and said I could do that. So I figured in 4-5 weeks, I would be ready to start working.

Fast forward to the week of December 5th. By now the 4 weeks has come and gone and we are on week 5. I call Menards and try to figure out what is going on. I give the name of the associate who took my order and I find out he is no longer working with the company, swell. So I give them my order number, and I am informed that because I did not pay upfront for both the tub and surround, that my order was booted out and never placed. I was not happy.

After a few days of de-stressing and focusing on the holidays, I go onto Menards website (mostly because my wife REALLY likes the surround) and place a new order. I pay for it online, with my credit card, and I get my paperwork, and all is right with the world. They tell me the tub is in stock and the surround has to be ordered and will be in after 4-6 weeks. Once again, swell.

So I am taking my bathroom apart, got the vanity out, had to get a little help replacing the shut-off valves since my house water would not shut off properly (few things are as exhilarating as the rush you get from bolting from a bathroom to a crawlspace while the wife is screaming), and I even learned the fine art of turning my hot water heater both off and on, when I get an e-mail from Menards. It basically states that I have not picked up my tub and I need to do so or I will be charged a re-shelving fee. Where is my surround at this point? In a warehouse in Terra Haute. So I decide since it's close to the holidays, and I don't want a criminal record, I go get the darn thing and it has been tucked in a corner in the garage since December 15th.

(side story, when I was driving home with it the sky looked like it was going to rain. This prompted my highly educated, hard working, extremely intelligent wife to say "Well, what if it gets wet?")

So about two weeks ago I still have a garage tub and no surround. Sitting on the couch, regretting about every decision I have ever made, my phone buzzes, new email. Menards.com!!! My surround has arrived in Springfield, IL and it will be available to pick up soon! I will get an email when it is ready to go! So I wait, and I wait, and I wait some more. I call and they tell me I will get the email when it is ready to go.

So finally today after work I just loose it. Maybe it was one-to-many smelly customers who made me think "bathtub" or one to many of my coworkers going "Hey how's the bathroom going?" or "did you finish the bathroom yet?" or "Hey, how do you stay so clean without a shower?" (2 bath homes escape the minds of some people). Either way, I snap. I assemble my ratchet strap collection, throw my traction sandbags on the floor of the garage, and high-tail it over to Menards with paperwork in hand determined to either leave with a tub surround or in handcuffs. I walk in there, and bump right into one of my best friend's wives working the customer service counter and she is about the sweetest girl in the world, so I can't stay angry. Either way, she takes my paperwork, looks up my order and says "oh this was ready weeks ago. Those shitheads never emailed you!"

Yes...the shitheads never emailed me...

So NOW...NOW...I have my tub surround. Which I still managed to get home in one piece despite sudden and constant 35 mph headwinds.

I think at the rate i am going, I am going to make a few phone calls and get an estimate or two on just having the install done professionally. I'll still do the drywall, floor, and vanity myself, but I just want this evil thing done.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

 

Came home from work today and this way done. Yay! I am impressed that a 62 year old "retired" plumber did this by himself so quickly.

 

Ready for suggestions on drywall material. I've read mixed reviews about "greenboard." The stuff I cut out didn't look like anything special, but I'm learning that doesn't mean it's correct either. And nails vs. screws?

 

Greenboard or Blueboard, and use screws....

The only problem I have seen with these kind of setups is the steam moisture causing problems where the wallboard meets the fiberglass backer, sometimes it will mildew....also, when putting in the wallboard you want to make sure the wrapped edge (not an exposed cut) sits next to the fiberglass...

Go for it....

 

When I was tearing the old one out it looked like they had sealed around the edge of the fiberglass and drywall with silicone or something prior to painting it. Good idea or bad idea?

 

Are you just drywalling from the top of the surround to the ceiling ? Hard to tell in that pic

 

Ceiling to surround, then I have to do a little along the sides.

 

I would use mould resistant drywall and screws as mentioned earlier , and make sure when you prime and paint you use a product suitable for high moisture areas

 

Dually noted...

 

http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...isture-resistant-drywall/p-1934609-c-5656.htm

Perhaps?

 

Slowly but surely, moving forward. Two 4x8 sheets of greenboard successfully made it home along with some mold resistant tape and compound. That stuff is amazingly heavy...