Almost there

[SILVERGUN]

About a year ago I purchased a fixer upper which came with a nice sized basement. The old owner had these built in shelves in place and a shower that was draining into the sump pump 
I had never seen that trick before.

So, as part of the fixer-upping I committed to putting a full bath and a new work bench station in it's place. The toughest part was cutting out the concrete to get the pipes under ground and installing a pit to pump it above grade and out of the house. This was also a first for me. Before this it was listed as a full bath and a half. Now I have 2 full baths and won't have to climb the steps when nature calls and I'm trying to wire up filaments.
Still lots to be done but I'm getting excited about having a new shop at home. I used the old kitchen cabinets (painted them white) and bought a 10' countertop from Home Depot stock. Doing the work as money comes in and trying not to get too far in debt.
Here's some before and current pics:

[Ritchie200]

You have been a busy beaver!  No wonder your so crabby!  This a called a character building excercise...  Glad to see your moved in and getting comfy. 


Jim

[shooter]

Doing the work as money comes in

been there, done that 

My wife asked when I showed her the plans "have you EVER built a house????", I smiled, said nope, but I have all the tools 
took 8yrs but she now has a "rock star bathroom" 15ft X 17ft, walkin closet, large Jacuzzi tube, 5ft X 7ft walk in  shower and and and 

I got the old farmhouse, she got the new build, we meet in the kitchen 

You will have stories for years, enjoy the experience,  DON'T volunteer to "help a buddy" you'll never get yours done 

[jjasilli]

 

[sluckey]

Few things rate as high as having your own workshop, a place to call your own. Stand your ground. Don't let the pack rats in!   

[2deaf]

You probably already know this.

If that's a fiberglass tub and you haven't set it yet, mix up a pile of somewhat wet mortar and squish the tub down into it.  Don't step into the bottom of the tub to squish it down.  After the mortar sets up, pack insulation all around the tub.

Put shims on the studs all of the way to the ceiling so that the board doesn't take a nasty bend as it transitions from stud to tub flange.  Put thinner and thinner shims on the studs as they get further away from the tub.

Go overkill on the backing and make a map so you can hit it first time when hanging towel racks and such.  Might even put in backing for handicap bars.  Never know when someone might mow you down on your Harley and you spend six to eight weeks in the basement.

[SILVERGUN]

You probably already know this.

If that's a fiberglass tub and you haven't set it yet, mix up a pile of somewhat wet mortar and squish the tub down into it.  Don't step into the bottom of the tub to squish it down.  After the mortar sets up, pack insulation all around the tub.

Put shims on the studs all of the way to the ceiling so that the board doesn't take a nasty bend as it transitions from stud to tub flange.  Put thinner and thinner shims on the studs as they get further away from the tub.

Go overkill on the backing and make a map so you can hit it first time when hanging towel racks and such.  Might even put in backing for handicap bars.  Never know when someone might mow you down on your Harley and you spend six to eight weeks in the basement.

I didn't know that but my plumber did. He had me pickup a bag of StructoLite, which he swears by for this application. It's softer than mortar but performs a similar function in this application. We put a big bed of it under the tub and then packed it out with insulation.
I did the rough framing and he was laughing at me because I followed the exact directions for the tub surround and he looked at it and said "nobody does that".....meaning "nobody pays attention to the mfg. instructions". I just shrugged it off, but it sure was nice to have the studs right where they needed to be for the nailing fins on the panels. And, yes, plenty of shims to take up the slop between the panels and the drywall.

He was the rock star of the show. Here's a pic of him roughing in the drains where we had dug out the concrete and dirt.
He said something about being in a band at some point in his life, but he was such an asshole I just ignored him most of the time. He kinda looked familiar...

[Ed_Chambley]

Going nicely.  Really nice to see things taking shape for you.

[SILVERGUN]

Going nicely.  Really nice to see things taking shape for you.

Thank you Sir!
Sometimes you have to MAKE things take shape for you.

Here's a couple before/during/after shots. We took the wall down to the left in the first pic and had to replace some of the subfloor where the window had been leaking around that lovely old AC unit..

[SILVERGUN]

DON'T volunteer to "help a buddy" you'll never get yours done 

shooter, the guy in the middle pic did exactly that.

He currently has 2 sliding doors to nowhere and I've enlisted to pay him back by helping with his deck...just as soon as I finish my work bench, create an egress, replace my roof (which I will probably rope him into), etc., etc., etc.
He is a way better friend than I am. 

[shooter]

Ha

I did ALOT of volunteering in the '90s, as my house began to take shape friends would stop by ask dumb questions, drink a beer, smoke my......, then when I offered a hammer and suddenly they "had to ......" 

I did get help when I was really struggling, but it cost me dearly 
you do learn which one's are the real thing though