reno 1

Reno 2

Reno 3

My Design

Should I change it to this?

I'm thinking of eliminating the knee wall facing front and keeping the one between the toilet and shower. That might be the easiest fix. Then I will have two tall glass panels in the front.

Move the pocket door over so you can have a much larger vanity. It can go wall to wall then and the space will seem much less choppy. The larger vanity will let you eliminate the tall linen tower that will vsually dominate the small space. I would also agree with eliminating the knee wall on the shower facing the room. Just leave the curb and do a full wall of glass.

The space isn't anywhere as bad as your description. That's good!

Agree with Hollysprings.

The killer right now is walking into the room and being confronted with the side of the vanity. If you can move the pocket door to where the linen cabinet is, it'll improve your storage and really open up the space.

A couple of comments on what I see. And these are nit-picks.

1) Toilet code: Code requires the toilet be a minimum of 15" from each sidewall. Your toilet space is spec'd out at 34", but the toilet flange looks off-center. Makes sure you have 15" from the center of the toilet flange to the shower wall next to it.

2) The shower walls & code: If that is "greenboard" or moisture-resistant drywall on the shower walls, code prohibits using MR gypsum board as a tile backer in wet areas like showers and tub surrounds. That restriction came into effect in 2006.

I know it's a work in progress, but none of the fastener heads in the shower have been mudded. So they might be applying a topical waterproofing membrane over the greenboard. But I'd ask.

What I'm saying is that you might not want them to tile directly on the greenboard in the shower.

3) The shower niche shelf. What is that? Hopefully it's not simply a piece of drywall that they are going to sandwich between two pieces of tile.

4) Glass walls: A full glass wall on the front of the shower would indeed brighten the area up. If that will blow your budget, you could consider making the shower/toilet partition a full-height wall instead of half-glass. I don't think making the shower/toilet wall a full-height partition wall will cramp the space.

5) Exterior door swing: Make sure provisions are made so the door can't swing into the shower glass wall.

6) The ceiling. I know it's a construction zone. But I'd want a smooth ceiling in the shower. A textured ceiling can become a condensation magnet.

That's it.

There are a few construction issues to look in to. Even if code does not apply in your area, it's a decent guide for basic standards of construction.

But design-wise, the one thing I'd do is move the pocket door over to where the linen cabinet is located.

Move the pocket door. And be SURE that they are actually going to waterproof that shower correctly. That's a BIG deal.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

1) I have eliminated the knee wall facing front and kept the knee wall separating the toilet from shower.

2) I have requested the use of backer board and requested a photo confirming it was installed.

3) The bathroom wall backs up to my kitchen wall cabinets so I can not move the pocket door.

4) I have requested confirmation that the toilet is centered in the 34" space.

5) I will be using a marble shelf between the tiles like the one below.

By the way, I removed all of my old marble window sills. Can I use these old sills for my shower shelves?

Post a layout of the surrounding space. Maybe the door can move elsewhere. It's really the fly in the ointment here.

Having the toilet centered in the space is a big deal change at this stage. I'd only insist on having that happen if it were less than 15" on center to that wall. That would be a code violation and be on them, not you.

The cement backer board is only a good choice if it goes over a vapor barrier. No point in removing what's there at this point. Just use a topical waterproofing membrane like Reguard. It will be cheaper than going back and paying labor to redo that plus all of the new materials. But, you have to have someone on the other end who can read and follow directions as to how to actually accomplish this.

Not RedGard, but Hydroban.

RedGard isn't rated to go over gypsum board. Hydroban is.

Regardless of choosing Hydroban over the gypsum board that you have or pulling the gypsum board and going with Hydroban over 1/2" cement board, I'd be concerned that they apply the Hydroban correctly.

It's not that it's difficult to apply. It simply requires a bit of care, and it requires two properly applied coats.

If these guys are the "jack of all trade" type, where they do everything okay but nothing well? I'd definitely have a conversation with them.

If they are just doing the prep work and a true tile person who is well versed in membranes and tile mechanics is going to do the tile work, then there you go.

Topical membranes are not difficult. You just need to be able to read the damn instructions, understand the damn instructions, and then prep the area and apply the material according to the damn instructions.

Easy peasy damn lemon squeezy!

Sorry for the "D" words. But sjhockeyfan's Sharks absolutely destroyed my Bruins last night. lol

Thank you to you all! We chose to apply Kerdi over the green board. The photo shows it only on the floor but we used it all over the surround and we took the front facing knee wall down.. Looks much better. Also, I'm applying T&G or beadboard planks over the ceiling.

1) Our vanity area will look like the link below. Other than that, I only will be adding one of those (lightless) Bluetooth exhaust fans. Will that be enough light for our space?

2) My ceiling is only 7' high. What height should my shower door be? DH and I are 5'3" and 5'9".

3) I realize he made the niche a bit high (I believe the top is at 6'). I don't feel like having him rip it out. Will it look strange at that height?

4) I am installing this fixture. How high should it be? Again, based on our height. http://www.wayfair.com/Pulse-Showerspas-Aqua-Rain-Diverter-Complete-Shower-System-1019-CH-ZZP1014.html

5) Can I get away with installing wood or mdf planks on the ceiling? Does it have to be PVC?

Here is a link that might be useful: Vanity and Sconces

Does that pan have any slope at all???

Kerdi over the gypsum board can work.

But like Hollysprings asked, the floor under the Kerdi needs to be sloped to the drain. Easiest way it to use a manufactured Kerdi Tray if it'll fit. If not, you can use deck mud. And you want to use a Kerdi Drain with the Kerdi, not a clamping drain.

Putting a thick bed of sloped mud on top of flat Kerdi defeats the purpose of a topical membrane, it can result in water ponding on the floor and perpetually wet floor tile and grout, mildew issues, bad odor, AND it results in a non-compliant shower installation.

For code compliance, the floor membrane itself needs to be sloped. Not just the tile that goes over the membrane.

For the curb? I'm not a fan at all of drywall being installed on a shower curb. It's not a "walkable" or load-bearing material.

And I'm only writing more "just in case":

1) the Kerdi that was put down in the shower. Was thinset used, or drywall joint compound?

2) The cement board on the floor outside of the shower: It should have been bedded in thinset. ie, spread thinset on the subfloor with a 1/4" notched trowel, then the cement board gets bedded in the thinset. Then you use fasteners to nail/screw the cement board to the subfloor.

I could be mistaken, but I presume they didn't use thinset, as I see nothing in the 1" gap to the right of the hammer.

The thinset fills any voids between the cement board and the subfloor. The fasteners hold the cement board in place. With no thinset under the cement board, walking on the tiled floor can result in miniscule up and down movement due to the micro-voids between the cement board and the subfloor. Eventually grout cracks, tiles could pop, etc.

You can use an unmodified thinset. It'll only cost a couple of bucks to do the entire floor.

And for grins, the cement board fasteners. Should be screwed every 8" on the edges and throughout the field of the panel. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

Sorry to be piling on. And I agree, some of my comments may not apply in your installation. It's just that showers are so easy to build correctly. I have no idea why some go to such great lengths to screw them up.

We remodeled a master bathroom a couple of years ago with pretty much the same layout as yours, only in a smaller space, 7 feet x 7 1/2 feet. Our layout was the same as yours except that we had only the exterior door into the bathroom, no pocket door, and the 7 foot wall was the wall with the vanity, but laid out as yours. Our shower was, by necessity, smaller than yours.

Because we didn't have the pocket door, the vanity was a full seven feet and it felt luxuriously large. That being said, I would think 5 feet would work fine.

And, the key was no knee wall on the front of the shower. We had a knee wall between the shower and the toilet as yours does. That provided some degree of privacy and the room felt less cluttered by blocking the view of the toilet. Because we used a clear glass shower enclosure in the front and above the knee wall, the very small space felt much larger.

If you are accustomed to a very large master bath, it may feel small. When we renovated, we removed a small linen closet and opened everything up. To us, it felt much larger because it was so open.

Does this bathroom also serve as a powder room for guests? If not, would you consider just removing the pocket door? We also didn't have a linen closet since there was adequate storage underneath the vanity since it was so large.

That flat pan is a big red flag for this project. Might be time to punt.

Looking on the brighter side:

"By the way, I removed all of my old marble window sills. Can I use these old sills for my shower shelves?"

Yes. Sometimes the bottom is not polished. If you can go with that, fine. If not, you can have it detailed, or I've even sandwiched two together. The top with the polished side up, the bottom with the polished side down. You can accentuate (small "V" groove, for example) or hide the seam. The irony is that sometimes accentuating it actually hides the seam.

Is this a permitted job with city inspections?

"1) Our vanity area will look like the link below. Other than that, I only will be adding one of those (lightless) Bluetooth exhaust fans. Will that be enough light for our space?

It might be nice to have a light in the ceiling, perhaps in the shower.

2) My ceiling is only 7' high. What height should my shower door be? DH and I are 5'3" and 5'9".

A general rule is for the glass to be at roughly the same height at the spray shower head. Most shower heads are at 72" to 76" above the floor.

3) I realize he made the niche a bit high (I believe the top is at 6'). I don't feel like having him rip it out. Will it look strange at that height?

Should be okay.

4) I am installing this fixture. How high should it be? Again, based on our height. http://www.wayfair.com/Pulse-Showerspas-Aqua-Rain-Diverter-Complete-Shower-System-1019-CH-ZZP1014.html

I'd recommend trying to get about 8" to 12" of space minimum between the bottom of the rain head and the head of the tallest bather.

As to the slide bar, you can figure a height that works for you and your husband. See how long the slide bar is and make sure you can get it as high and as low as you want.

Example, my wife takes occasional body-only showers. So she wants our handheld to slide low enough so her neck and head stay dry. She's 5'1", I'm 6'4". I have a very long bar for your handheld.

5) Can I get away with installing wood or mdf planks on the ceiling? Does it have to be PVC? "

Wood maybe if you prime and paint with a semi-gloss or gloss on all sides of each plank before installation. MDF? No to MDF. And I like MDF. But not on a shower ceiling.

Helloooooo???? How is he planning on installing the shower head and valves here? On top of the wall with visible plumbing?????

I just keep noticing details that make this even worse.

You need to worry about the stuff that is (supposed to be) under the pretty decorative choices. It's far more important. And it's being done incorrectly.

Whomever picked out the shower system failed to note that it is a retrofit to an existing installation of a pressure balancing or thermostatic valve . Which this installation does not have. And, if it were the same import brand, I would never seal it up behind the wall.

So many things are missing, and done incorrectly structurally here that the only way that this will ever work is to rip everything out and start over. That lets you fix the too tall niche, the door support, the improper pan, improper plumbing, incorrect wall material, and god knows what else that is hidden underneath.

Why are you so concerned with the trivial decorative issues, but not with the much more serious structural issues that will soon have those decorative elements destroyed? Why are you not screaming bloody murder for the hide of this hack?