47F and cloudy @ 17:30, appears that it did not rain today so things are drying up a bit. Should be even better tomorrow ... :thumbsup:
Got up about a few hours ago ... pulled another all-nighter last night doing research for the bathroom renovation and didn't get to bed until sometime around 08:00 this morning.
At some point during the day the slipcovers for the love seats, the Cambric fabric for the bottom of the sofa, and the Moultrie feeder were dropped off. Have to say I'm very disappointed in the fit and finish of Moultrie feeder ... the lid is seriously warped on both ends and the feeder itself seems bowed in around the opening at the top:
I mean I get that it's a relatively cheap item ($20) ... but other companies seem to be able to manage to injection mold plastic and not have it turn out seriously deformed ... :confused2:
Still waiting on the slipcover for the couch and digital to analog converter to the TV.
After considering it a bit, I had been kind of leaning towards replacing the shower base.
The base that is in there is a cast base - probably made from some sort of acrylic or cement-like material - that was probably common at the time the house was constructed (around 1970) A company called Swanstone makes a very similar product today ... and the surface is peebled (irregular), so that it is not entirely slick.
The shape of it is referred to as a "Neo Angle", which is basically a square with one corner cut off and is therefore 5-sided.
Although I really need to check it further, it appears that it either there is a steel pan under it that it's sitting in (or was cast into) - or that steel was actually cast into it, as an integral part of it - in order to form lip/dam/catchment on all five sides that protrudes above the casting itself.
The steel is very heavily rusted at this point and I'm not real sure that it would actually prevent water from escaping:
Mortar, grout, and even tile itself are not completely waterproof so I'm not inclined to trust them completely to avoid issues into the future.
Here's the problem I'm running into with replacing this shower floor/pan:
Today's designs of this Neo-Angle base are not intended to have walls on four sides - typically they have walls on two sides which the bases have a raised lip to accommodate, and the other three sides are enclosed with glass panels: two being fixed, and the third being the door.
I can't really do that because: 1. there's a 4" cast iron vent stack (that runs through the roof) in one of the short (length) walls and, 2. the other short wall contains the plumbing lines, valves, etc. The plumbing wouldn't be all that bad to relocate ... but there ain't no way I want to screw around relocating that cast vent stack even if I could ... and I'm not sure I can.
So if I want to replace the pan, I'd be looking at having a custom-built pan built ... which isn't cheap ($600 - $800 ... or more) There ain't no stock items out there that are made to work in this type of configuration (4 walls, one door)
While a custom-built pan would allow for tiling the floor - which would be a really nice thing to do, in terms of carrying through the overall look - it's more than I'd like to spend ... since there's plenty of other stuff I'd prefer to spend the $$$ on, on this project.
So what I'm faced with is refinishing the existing pan ... if I can come up with a solution to ensure that there is a watertight seal where the backer board meets the existing base.
I'll be using John Mansville GoBoard for the backer board, and Loctite PL S10 Polyurethane Concrete and Masonary Sealant on the joints and the screws on the GoBoard ... and assuming I can clean up the existing cast base, making the seal between the GoBoard and the base ... but I sure don't expect it to adhere to the rusty metal.
Additionally, there is a liquid rubber membrane waterproofing product these guys offer that I may use to coat the backer board on the walls and the ceiling before I start setting tile:
Shower Liquid Liner Waterproofing KBRS ShowerSeal(R) 1 Gal.
While one can see some evidence of black mold on the framing, it doesn't look to me as though it is all that bad. I'll treat it before I hang any backer board and start sealing things up. Doesn't appear that any of the framing lumber is rotted ... but I do have some concerns about the subfloor that I can see outside of the shower ... kinda makes me wonder what the subfloor under the shower pan looks like ...
Unfortunately, the area below the shower pan (in the basement) has a drywall ceiling ... so there's no easy way of inspecting the subfloor short of tearing it out.
Any thoughts or insights into this dilemma and my proposed plan of action would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hope everyone had a great day ... :thumbsup:
