8 months to build a bathroom.... but it's done!

[thefed]

I decided to build a bathroom under my basement steps in August 08. I just now put on the final touches. Needless to say I didnt work on it very regularly...but a few challenges reared their heads and held things up while I investigated my options!

When you goto the album, the first pic is actually a video of my son breaking up the slab that used to house a washer/dryer. You can follow all of the progess thru to the end where you can see the final product. I'm pretty happy with the outcome

Bathroom pictures by thefed17 - Photobucket

 

[bssc]

Now I don't feel bad that we are on our fourth month. Looks very nice.

 

[KB]

Very nice, I like the shower.

 

[ls99]

Hey, you can't rush these things. Really nice work, congratulations.

 

[Westernskies]

Nice job! Just think- if it wasn't for all the helpful advice from the forum, it might have been done months ago!

 

[Bestwifeever]

You are cordially invited to my house for eight months, at your convenience.

Gorgeous! And smart idea to add to the value of your home.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Nice job!! Looks much larger than being built under the steps. Looks like the duct work was an interesting project in itself. Of course nothing to the plumbing. Like they say, only two things to know to be a plumber; s**t don't flow uphill and payday's Friday.

 

[ratface]

So how did you do it so fast? I'm into my ninth year of redoing mine. To be fair it's a total rehab of a vacation home that has only had a toilet in it the whole time. I put in my last wall tile on Sunday. Almost the same color as yours. Also our listilos are almost identical. You have very good taste.

 

[thefed]

Nice job!! Looks much larger than being built under the steps. Looks like the duct work was an interesting project in itself. Of course nothing to the plumbing. Like they say, only two things to know to be a plumber; s**t don't flow uphill and payday's Friday.

funny you mention that..the ductwork WAS harder than the plumbing. for supply lines, i used PEX... a very simple, effective way to plumb....I'm PRO- PEX!!!

AQnd in my house, sh!t DOES roll up hill, at a speed of approximately 8 feet per second! notice the toilet has no water tank? It's an upflush macerating unit...so it grinds the 'effluent' and discharges it uphill thru a 1 1/4" pipe...

yes, it empties the WHOLE bowl thru a 1 1/4" pipe. I didnt think it'd work either

 

[thefed]

So how did you do it so fast? I'm into my ninth year of redoing mine. To be fair it's a total rehab of a vacation home that has only had a toilet in it the whole time. I put in my last wall tile on Sunday. Almost the same color as yours. Also our listilos are almost identical. You have very good taste.

i had to google listilos...listellos is a new word to me! learn something new every day

 

[ratface]

"Listilos" is a very cool sounding word is it not. I just learned it this year also. I think they can charge more because of the name. I have stayed away from pex because of the special tools needed for the connections, did you buy them and if so are they affordable for home use only?

 

[Moemg]

Very nice job ! You must be proud !

 

[Dreamer]

Great job. It looks great!

 

[riskaverse]

One of the ways I convinced my wife that I could retire, was the savings we could make on remodeling our 3 bathrooms. Based on a bid we got on one bathroom, I figured I could save as high as 40K by doing it myself. 40K savings was as good as working an additional year. Unfortunately, the first bath took one and a half years, the second a year, and the third a little over six months. So . . . it wasn't exactly 40K / year, but it was the correct decision!

 

[JOHNNIE36]

funny you mention that..the ductwork WAS harder than the plumbing. for supply lines, i used PEX... a very simple, effective way to plumb....I'm PRO- PEX!!!

AQnd in my house, sh!t DOES roll up hill, at a speed of approximately 8 feet per second! notice the toilet has no water tank? It's an upflush macerating unit...so it grinds the 'effluent' and discharges it uphill thru a 1 1/4" pipe...

yes, it empties the WHOLE bowl thru a 1 1/4" pipe. I didnt think it'd work either

Very interesting! Noticed that the toilet had a different configuration. Looked at the photos again and noticed the electrical plug off to the side of the toilet and I guess that's for the grinder and the pump. Correct?

 

[CCdaCE]

<snip>
Like they say, only two things to know to be a plumber; s**t don't flow uphill and payday's Friday.

Three things. The third is "don't chew your fingernails".

-CC

 

[thefed]

"Listilos" is a very cool sounding word is it not. I just learned it this year also. I think they can charge more because of the name. I have stayed away from pex because of the special tools needed for the connections, did you buy them and if so are they affordable for home use only?

Oh no! dont be afraid. You can buy the crimper for about 75 bucks on ebay OR rent one for $7/day from a tool rental place. The time/aggrevation you save is PRICELESS. Or, you can use NO tools and just get sharkbites for each connection...they are plastic fittings which allow you to simply slide your pipe of choice (cpvc, pex, copper) into the fitting firmly and...well...that's it. They are about $3-5 per fitting....it can be costly, but remember that you will have virtually NO fittings with PEX...it's flexible so you avoid 90's and the like. I REALLY REALLY am impressed with PEX now that I've used it. Try it out...you'll love it! it's been around for 40+ years in Europe. It's in a lot of the new construction here...even higher end homes. it resists freezing moreso than copper. It's CHEAPER than copper. It resists corrosion and mineral deposits moreso than copper. The only thing copper does better is line the pockets of plumbers. GO PEX!!!!

JOHNNIE36: You got it..the grinder plugs in. You also see a plug for my heated toilet seat...I opted for that instead of heating mats below the tile...much cheaper.

 

[samclem]

That looks really nice. How's the heated toilet seat working out?

I'll be redoing a basement bathroom eventually in our house. Because there are a lot of overhead pipes to which I'll want to have access later, I'll probably go with the (institutional, ugly) 2'x2' pop-out ceiling tiles in that room. We also have a shower in the corner, but I don't know if I'll go with a pre-made unit or with backer-board and ceramic tiles. The lower 4' of the wall is below grade, and there's no insulation in the wall, so the place gets plenty cool in the winter.

Question: How did you plumb the shower drain? Does it go to your grinder/ejector?

 

[thefed]

That looks really nice. How's the heated toilet seat working out?

I'll be redoing a basement bathroom eventually in our house. Because there are a lot of overhead pipes to which I'll want to have access later, I'll probably go with the (institutional, ugly) 2'x2' pop-out ceiling tiles in that room. We also have a shower in the corner, but I don't know if I'll go with a pre-made unit or with backer-board and ceramic tiles. The lower 4' of the wall is below grade, and there's no insulation in the wall, so the place gets plenty cool in the winter.

Question: How did you plumb the shower drain? Does it go to your grinder/ejector?

I could've plumbed the shower right to the grinder...but would rather not run it so much. So, I ran it into a crock that my washing machine empties into and then is pumped out with a sump pump. Probably not 'code' but fine for the occasional use it will see.

I'd recommend going with tile...it's only a bit more $$ and soooo much more appealing.