Our December 2019 project took us to a 1980’s-era home in the Anderson Mill West neighborhood of Cedar Park. The homeowner had experienced repeated leaking from the dated shower, and the original cultured marble tub was unused and out of style.
The bathroom had a large window above the tub, which always remained covered by blinds since it was on the first floor. After we discussed all options with the owner, she decided to remove the window and replace the small shower/giant bathtub with one large double shower to fill the entire space.
Our first surprise during demo was finding rotten studs and insulation from old termite damage. You never know what you’ll find when you crack open a wall.
The second surprise was when we demo’d the shower. Notice that soap niche?
Upon removal, we found that a piece of the vent pipe that ran behind the soap niche had been cut out during the original construction of the home, in order to be able to fit the prefab shower in the space. And the cut out piece was just left laying there behind the wall — it’s probably a good way to hide the evidence. The bathroom gasses had been venting into the wall since 1987!
With the window removed, the rotten studs and insulation replaced, and the vent pipe repaired, it was time to finally get down to the business of building a beautiful new shower.
The drain was moved, a new fiberglass shower pan installed, and custom corner benches framed out. The two blue openings are for his & hers soap niches.
New sheet rock was hung, and then red-guard applied for a watertight shower.
The homeowner chose an economical 12×24 thick porcelain tile that mimics the look of stone. Complementary glass tiles were used for accents in the soap niches, the bench faces, and the transition step.
The owner is thrilled with her modern new shower, and so are we.
