# princess bathroom remodel.



## mustanggarage

another in the ongoing saga of doing stuff in the house so I can do stuff in the garage.  
  if you guys don't think this kind of stuff belongs in a garage site I can delete it.  but if you do I like to blog what I am doing for my benefit as well as so others can see what I struggle with lol.

so anyway this project is for my teenage daughter.  My middle daughter is now in college so my youngest has asked me to redo the downstairs bathroom.  she has been complaining about it a lot recently and for a while refused to use it for lots of reasons.  personally I never thought it was bad.  in fact it is nicer than our master bathroom.  but in a moment of weakness I said I would remodel it.  now I am starting, and like everything I do it balloons from a simple renovation to a full on gut and re do job.  I think I am just stupid.  anyway here is the starting pictures.

this is the family room.  that first door in the hallway is the bathroom.





looking in from the hallway





tub and shower








the anemic ferguson


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## mustanggarage

ok.  so when I decided to do this I decided I had a few goals.  

1.  get rid of the tub and replace it with a walk in shower.  the tub drains above the slab and it has to go to far with too little slope so it drains very slow so I want to replace it with a shower.

2.  open it up a bit so that it is not so claustrophobic.  

3.  add more light.

4.  modernize and upgrade it so my daughter is happy.

5.  she wants a zen theme whatever the heck that is.

so like with everything I do, start with tearing stuff up.


the people who finished this basement were not professionals either and did some weird stuff like that wall was not under a joist, it was just floating under the drywall.  when I moved it I positioned it under a joist to help anchor it at the ceiling.  and I used a gun powder nailer to nail into the slab and into the foundation.  all the wood touching concrete is treated.










that was a few days work getting to that stage because it is just me, my wife and my daughter doing the work and they don't enjoy it much so I have a hard time motivating them.

we found the plumbing was seriously weird.  we basically cut it all out of the shower and will re do that later.  

all the tile has been busted up and we found the foundation juts out where the sink is so part of my plan already has to be modified.  also of course the slab is not level, neither is the ceiling, and of course they are not level in different planes lol.  so I had to cut each stud and put them in individually.  also I plan to mount my tv to the wall after I am done with this project so I bought a tv hanger and positioned the studs in my wall so I can hang my tv to it where I want it.  consequently my studs are positioned a little odd.  anyway it will all work out in the end.









now we have to have the wiring redone.  again I am not going to wire the house.  I will leave that to the professionals.

and I will have a plumber install the new shower valve and piping as well as modify the drain to work.  

and one of my wiring plates did not show up yet so I have to wait till all that is done to start dry walling.

so until next time.


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## mustanggarage

I ended up doing way more work than I needed to because I was trying to avoid work lol.  I tried to save as much of the drywall as I could so I was carefully tearing up only what I needed to, but I ended up damaging some of it anyway so I could have just tore it up to begin with and it would have been easier.  also I had planned on a 3 wall shower enclosure and leaving the wall between the shower and toilet but my wife and daughter wanted that removed and converted to a frameless 2 wall glass enclosure so that was more work.  and we found a bit of mold under the tub and my daughter is very allergic to mold so we had to tear that up as well.  again after being so careful to not wreck any of it.  anyway I think all the demolition is done now and we have the wall framed so hopefully now it will start going better.  well I can hope can't I?


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## havasu

Outstanding so far. I'm looking forward to seeing this transition!


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## Chris

Love the name. I'm sure I will be doing the same for my daughters at some point.


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## oldognewtrick

You do have room to get the shower through the door, don't you?

I know, back seat drivers.


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## mustanggarage

yes the shower pan is separate from the enclosure walls so it is only about 6 inches wide.


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## mustanggarage

not much to report.  I am doing everything by myself which makes it take a lot longer.  moving those 8 foot sheets of drywall and positioning them and screwing them to the wall is tough to do by yourself.  I am using construction adhesive on the studs to reduce the number of screws I need to use so hopefully a little less sanding in the long run. I did have an electrician run the new electrical connections so that I will meet code etc.  he installed the new can lights and then I ran the HDMI connectors for the tv so I can hide all the lines to the tv in the wall.

then I put up the sheetrock on the living room side of the wall.  tonight I started mudding and taping.  I hate doing that.  I normally hire that out, but this is being done on a much tighter budget than the kitchen was since it was just kind of a spur of the moment thing.  anyway I have some sheetrock up.  tomorrow I will start putting more up inside the bathroom.  the plumber hasn't come back to finish the shower plumbing yet so I still can't do that part.  but I can do the rest of it.  here are a couple pictures












I didn't take pictures of the mudding and taping for the same reason I don't take pictures of my welding lol  once I sand it down it will look better but I certainly don't have the skill a professional will have to make it look nicer so I will have to spend a lot more time sanding sadly.  oh well my time doesn't cost anything so I will just have to buck up and get it done.


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## oldognewtrick

I like the flooring you have, what is it and how's it holding up? I want to replace the squares we have in the basement and have been looking at options.


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## havasu

Have you considered insulation batts in the wall for soundproofing?


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## mustanggarage

oldognewtrick said:


> I like the flooring you have, what is it and how's it holding up? I want to replace the squares we have in the basement and have been looking at options.



I don't know what it is called.  it is a vinyl floor covering that just lays on the floor it is not glued down.  there was carpet down there when we moved in, but we had a problem a few years ago where we had water come in.  we found that water was running off our roof and into a crack between the sidewalk and the house.  I put up new seemless gutters and used driveway crack sealer to seal the gap and we have not had any water since, but since my daughter has such a mold allergy we needed something different than carpet.  we considered tile but since this was a living room area we wanted something different.  this is just held on the edges by the trim strips, just tucked under and if it gets wet we can just roll it back and let it dry.  thankfully we have not had to do that since putting up the gutters but that was the thinking when we bought it.


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> Have you considered insulation batts in the wall for soundproofing?




Actually I had not considered that.  there is insulation between the bathroom and the bedroom right next to it and I had wondered why?  I had not considered the sound deadening aspect.  I may have to however.  thanks for the suggestion.


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## zannej

Wow! That is a lot of work. I admit I actually liked the old vanity-- it was nice. But the step up to the tub seemed very awkward and I think it might have been a code violation, but I'm not sure. Do they sell shower pans that have "above the floor" drains? I know they have tubs with drains that can be installed above the floor.

Have you talked to your daughter about what she considers to be "zen"? Maybe ask her to provide you with some pictures of what she has in mind. She could use pinterest or houzz or something to flag images and show them to you.

If it wasn't concrete slab and moving the plumbing wouldn't be a pain, I would say you could have a long vanity across the new area that has the vinyl flooring under it and use the existing area for the vanity as a small closet for cleaning supplies or whatever. But if you are not moving plumbing, I think maybe you could have some counters/cabinets or something for storage where you extended the room-- or even have a closet or something (ask your daughter what she would prefer). She could have counter space for her stuff or she could have storage for things she likes to keep in there. I'm a big fan of storage, so when you are doing the vanity, have you considered a toekick storage drawer? A bathroom scale can be stored inside the drawer.






Maybe a makeup counter or something if your daughter likes makeup-- with maybe 2 GFCI outlets for her stuff to plug in-- electric toothbrush, shaver if she uses electric for her legs, blowdryer-- and whatever else it is girls like (I was never the typical teen so I never had all of the accessories and stuff-- just the toothbrush and dehumidifier -- it was nice to have a place to plug in the vacuum). Blow dryer might be nice to dry off bath mat or wet socks or something.

Will the new shower be raised off the floor like the old tub was?

For some reason when I think "zen" I think earthtones, bamboo, and stone. Not my favorite for bathrooms. LOL.

Has your daughter said whether she wants a tub or shower in there? (I'm guessing that you did talk to her about what she wants). She's very lucky to have you. 

The houserepairtalk and plumbingforum forums (sister sites to this one) would also be cool places to share this reno.

Thanks for sharing your project!


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## Admin

I like the flooring also.


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## mustanggarage

thanks for the ideas.  this is basically the layout I plan to use.

View attachment 2806


I am going to keep the plumbing the way it is.  basically I have to because of the layout for the septic tank etc.  so anyway the shower will still have a step up to get into it, but it will be lower than stepping over the side of a tub.  this is of course in the basement so nobody who can't walk down a steep flight of steps is going to be using it anyway so that is not really much of an issue.  The vanity is going in the same place.  I am replacing all the cabinets with a natural maple cabinet and the counter tops are going to be quartz.  She wants a vessel sink which my wife is not a fan of, but we will do it anyway. I am placing a drawer cabinet and a regular cabinet on either side of the knee space along the north wall. the counter top will extend across this for a "makeup area."  2 can lights placed in the ceiling above the counter top on either side and a 4 light fixture above the mirror should provide more light than necessary.  both will be placed on dimmers.  there will also be a 6 foot high 18 inch wide linen closet behind the door.  the shower will be bigger it will be 36 inches by 60 inches and there will be a glass frameless enclosure on the two walls so it will open the space up more.  it is going to be an onyx shower, similar to this one 

View attachment 2807


we are also going to have one shower head coming straight down from the ceiling, and a second hand held coming out about where the diverter will be.   I really want to put radiant heat beneath the tile like I did in the kitchen but unfortunately running the dedicated wiring needed to do that through a finished basement was more hassle and expense than I was willing to go through.  so no radiant heat.  we do have a radiant heat lamp in the ceiling that will help heat the tile.


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## odorf

I like your layout,   can i make a suggestion on the shower?

instead of a shower valve, use a tub and shower valve

mount the tub spout about 18'' above the floor. use it to rinse your feet, wash the dog or fill a bucket


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## havasu

Do you plan on getting the coating on the inside of the glass which prevents water spots? I just ordered this on my new shower glass and hear it is great. We'll see...


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## oldognewtrick

Be sure and Red Guard the walls before the tile goes up. Ounce of protection thing.....


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## havasu

oldognewtrick said:


> Be sure and Red Guard the walls before the tile goes up. Ounce of protection thing.....



I agree. That stuff is real expensive but you will assure never to have leaks if done right. It also has elastic in it so your tile will be less apt to crack down the road in the event they settle.


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## mustanggarage

I am not sure what red guard is I will have to look into it.  but I think you may misunderstand what I am doing.  the shower enclosure comes in 2 big sheets of solid surface material like corian or swanstone.  and it sits down in a backed groove  on the pan so there is only one seam that can leak.  probably still a good idea to seal the greenboard behind the enclosure but it may not be as bad as you were thinking.  that picture looks like tile but it isn't and what I am going to be using is going to be solid color.  

http://www.onyxcollection.com/

I never heard of the coating to prevent water spots I will have to look into that.


the shower has two heads  one will have a hand held shower with a hose so you can use it anywhere, it comes out just beside the handle so it is in easy reach.  the second comes straight down from the ceiling.


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## zannej

Wow! That bathroom is huge! Its larger than my brother's bedroom!

I'm not a fan of vessel sinks either, but its very sweet of you to do that for your daughter. I hope she realizes and appreciates how lucky she is.

Dumb question: What is the T in your picture? Have you marked where you plan to put the electrical outlets? I know there needs to be one near the vanity. Probably should be another at the "makeup station".

I got some free samples from the Onyx collection before. Nice sturdy stuff. Also very thick and I'm certain its very heavy. Looks like they've updated their website since I last visited.

RedGuard is for waterproofing and crack prevention. If I remember correctly, it goes on pinkish and turns red when it dries. 

I've heard of other products that do the same thing-- such as UGL masonry waterproofing, Thoroseal, and Hydraflex.

Even if there will only be one seam, I don't think it would hurt to have some sort of waterproofing underneath and maybe a few inches up the wall. But I'm no expert on that, so I will have to defer to the pros.

I'd love to see more pictures of the process as well as of the pieces you plan to incorporate in the room.

I hope everything goes smoothly for you!


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## mustanggarage

zannej said:


> Wow! That bathroom is huge! Its larger than my brother's bedroom!
> 
> I'm not a fan of vessel sinks either, but its very sweet of you to do that for your daughter. I hope she realizes and appreciates how lucky she is.
> 
> Dumb question: What is the T in your picture? Have you marked where you plan to put the electrical outlets? I know there needs to be one near the vanity. Probably should be another at the "makeup station".
> 
> I got some free samples from the Onyx collection before. Nice sturdy stuff. Also very thick and I'm certain its very heavy. Looks like they've updated their website since I last visited.
> 
> RedGuard is for waterproofing and crack prevention. If I remember correctly, it goes on pinkish and turns red when it dries.
> 
> I've heard of other products that do the same thing-- such as UGL masonry waterproofing, Thoroseal, and Hydraflex.
> 
> Even if there will only be one seam, I don't think it would hurt to have some sort of waterproofing underneath and maybe a few inches up the wall. But I'm no expert on that, so I will have to defer to the pros.
> 
> I'd love to see more pictures of the process as well as of the pieces you plan to incorporate in the room.
> 
> I hope everything goes smoothly for you!




It sure doesn't seem that large to me.  I don't know I guess.  adding that 2 feet to it will make it seem a lot bigger I am sure.
as far as realizing how lucky she is,  I can be a bit of a grouch some times so I guess she puts up with me so that is good.  she seems more interested in her school activities and friends right now than helping me so tonight I was a bit more aggravated than I should have been.  but she is a good girl and deserves whatever I can do to make her happy.

the t in the picture is the thermostat for the under tile heating.  I was planning to do that initially and I used their room design tool to make the layout.  I am no longer going to do the radiant heating do to the difficulties with supplying the dedicated circuit required.  but the tool is useful for showing how the room will be set up.

I will look into the red guard. It is not supposed to be necessary with the onyx shower because it is solid surface with only the one seam which is sealed with silicone and then a corner piece fits on top of that to seal it even better.  but on the outside around the front. there it would be useful.

right now I am doing drywall.  My wife and I hung two of the 3 pieces that go on the ceiling tonight.  the ceiling is very unlevel just like the floor.  anyway I am very slow at drywall because I can only get my wife to help me for an hour two a night.  she hates it worse than I do.  tomorrow I will do the last ceiling piece and the shower base should be in at the lumber yard.  I need it before I can finish the part behind the shower because the drywall has to be at least a 1/4 inch above the base and I have to verify the position of the drain before I can finish the step area.  anyway I am making slow progress.  this part is not going to go fast I am afraid. 

I also have to stop on the 16th of october and do nothing for a week.  I promised my daughter I would not do anything for a week before her all state vocal try-outs.  she made it last year and very much wants to make it again this year.  so I hope to have all the drywall done and the mudding and taping and sanding done by then.  then on to tile.  something else I have never done before.  I have watched it done on tv and computer so I am sure I can do it, but there always has to be a first time.

anyway thanks for the encouragement.  I am sure I am going to need it.


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## mustanggarage

also as far as electrical outlets  there is one by the sink which was there before and I added 2 over the new countertop.  one on each side of the knee space.  I also added a new outlet to the other side of the wall for the tv.  you can see the layout kind of in the pictures before the drywall went up.  of course none of the outlets or switches are in the boxes yet.  that will happen after I finish the drywall.


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## zannej

It's a lot of work to do, for certain. At least your wife will help for even that long. I don't have anyone in my household that will help for more than 5 minutes-- and that is if I can even get them to help at all.

I don't know much about drywall, but I've seen where people use lumber that forms a T to hold things in place on ceilings. I don't know if that would help in your situation though.

I hope your daughter's vocal try-outs go well!


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## mustanggarage

yeah I used the t braces to finish the ceiling.  I like using a drywall jack normally, but fitting the jack into the room would have been difficult so I just used the t-braces.  but I had to cut out for the lights, the furnace vents, and the blower fan as well as for the shower head so getting all those holes to line up and held in place until I could brace it with the t braces was about all my poor little wife could do.  anyway I had a friend come over yesterday to help me seat the shower base and finish hanging the drywall so now I am just mudding and taping.  I am going to have to cut a bit of the drywall out that I just hung because I just read the instructions for the shower bench this morning and it looks like I have to have it but up next to the studs with no dry wall also just like the base.  so I have to get some more 2x4's monday and frame the bench then cut out the drywall and install the seat top.  anyway I will take some more pictures later today.  but we are moving along slowly but surely


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## mustanggarage

ok.  here are a few pictures.  ignore the mud and tape job.  yes I suck at it, but it will get better, I just have to sand a lot more than someone who knows what they are doing.


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## havasu

You aren't the only one who sucks at drywall. I think it is looking great!


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## odorf

havasu said:


> You aren't the only one who sucks at drywall. I think it is looking great!




I suck at it worse than you, 

your doing a bang up job !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## havasu

I recently changed to the 20 minute set up mud, and use a slightly wet sponge to knock down the high spots before it is completely set. No sanding at all, and once you put on a few coats, a nice orange peel or knock down texture make it look great.


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## zannej

Your drywall looks fine. A lot better than the drywall my friend put up in his house-- well, my friend's father did most of it but I think the dude was high most of the time he was working because it came out terrible. LOL. 

Its coming along nicely!

Is the shower on a platform that has to be stepped down from? Or is that entire platform going to be the size of the shower? 

Havasu, thanks for that tip on the drywall mudding.


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## mustanggarage

I may have to rename this thread.  My daughter was just crowned homecoming queen.  but I suppose her mother would complain if I named it queen bathroom remodel lol.


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## oldognewtrick

Congratulations, Father Of The Queen...!


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## havasu

Congrats. That is a real honor!


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## zannej

Congratulations! She looks pretty happy. 
Hopefully she'll be even happier with the new bathroom when its done.


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## mustanggarage

we decided that we needed to repaint the whole basement.  the paint was ugly and scarred, and they both really liked how the taupe on the tv wall looked.  so we started painting.  we finished one side.  we will have to move everything to the other side of the room and paint it once we put another coat on it.  but it looks much better already.


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## Chris

I really like basements. I always wonder how the whole country has them except California.


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## mustanggarage

we are right in tornado alley so a basement is even more important than just having the extra space.


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## mustanggarage

no pictures but we finished painting the rest of the basement yesterday.  today I put the baseboard back on and hung the tv on the wall.  everything works.  and it looks pretty good.  the whole basement is going to need a major deep cleaning when this is done.  but at least now the living room is back together.  My oldest daughter is coming back from college this weekend so it will be nice to have that at least looking relatively normal.  I am finding I have a lot less time than I thought I would on this project and this drywall stuff is taking a lot of time.  so I am thinking I might talk to the guy who did the tile on my kitchen.  apparently he is working for himself now, and is looking for more business so if the price is right I might see if I can get him to do the tile for me.  I would like to do it myself for the experience.  but I also really want to get this done, so depending on what the estimate is I may bail on the tile.


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## havasu

That is reasonable. Tiling is pretty straight forward but is very time consuming if you want it done correctly.


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## mustanggarage

not much new.  I did get the trim put back on and hung the tv.  the living rooom is nearly done now,  I am going to change all the outlets from the bone color to white.  I just do not like that bone color on outlets it always looks dirty to me lol.  anyway the living room is functional again.  I also textured the ceiling in the bathroom. I did a skip trowel texture.  first time I have done that.  I got called out about a quarter of the way into it and had to go to work for a couple hours, the guy on the video I watched stressed to always keep a wet edge so I was figuring it would be messed up.  I don't know it looks pretty good to me.  it still needs to dry a bit and I may sand it lightly to reduce the texture a bit but overall I am pleased.  here is a picture of the living room now,


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## havasu

Looking great.


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## mustanggarage

in case anyone is wondering why no progress this week, I promised my daughter I would not work on it this week.  she has an audition for the all state vocal choir on saturday.  she made it last year, and she really wants to make it again this year.  approximately 6,000 students audition for 300 spots so it is a very competitive group, and since she has such bad allergies I said I would not stir up a lot of dust for a week before the audition.  I had hoped to be further along than I am, but a promise is a promise.  but saturday I am going to get started again.


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## mustanggarage

heres a few more pictures.  I primered the ceiling and walls.  red guard around the shower.  I have the bench made and ready to install.  tomorrow I need to paint the ceiling and possibly the walls.  I have a friend coming over wednesday to help me install the back wall of the shower.  it is going to take some careful cutting and manipulation so I need some help to lift it into place.


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## oldognewtrick

Red Guards a lil pricey, but oh so worth it in the long run.


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## havasu

I'm also curious what Red Guard cost ya? I bought a gallon 5 years ago and it cost me darn near $90. What's it up to now?


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## mustanggarage

Actually I bought a gallon of it which was way more than I needed and it was 52.00. Probably should have done the whole room lol.


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## Chris

What does Red Guard do?


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## havasu

It's a rubber membrane which allows the tiles to move slightly without cracking. I added about 5 coats, when I installed the ceramic floor tiles at Cindy's house, for the expansion joints and cracks in the concrete floor. 

View attachment 1318550005164.jpg


View attachment 1318636879687.jpg


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## mustanggarage

oh by the way.  My daughter made all state vocal.  so she is really pumped.  that is like winning the state wrestling tournament for vocalists.  anyway this has been a good month for her.  tonight we all painted the room.  got the ceiling and walls both painted.  tomorrow the plan is to get the shower walls up.  a friend of mine from work said he would come over and help me.  so here's keeping my fingers crossed.  My wife picked up the tile today and the guy who tiled my kitchen said he would do this room.  so hopefully soon the tile will be in as well.


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## havasu

Congratulations!


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## oldognewtrick

Congratulations to your daughter!


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## mustanggarage

thanks Havasu and old dog

ok.  we got a fair amount done tonight.  My friend Jason came over tonight and helped me get the shower walls up.  I still have to caulk the seams once the silicone sets up.  then I need to put the corner trim pieces, the soap shelf and the crown molding in place.  here are some pictures.


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## havasu

Man, that is purty stuff. Are you referring to the color match soap/crap holder? I put that in at my house and it really was useful and broke up the massive slab....made it look real nice.


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## zannej

Chris said:


> I really like basements. I always wonder how the whole country has them except California.



No basements in my area either. I miss having a basement.

mustang, that looks awesome! Mind if I ask how much it cost for the wall pieces? How heavy are they?

Congratulations to your daughter! She sounds like a good kid.


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## mustanggarage

zannej said:


> No basements in my area either. I miss having a basement.
> 
> mustang, that looks awesome! Mind if I ask how much it cost for the wall pieces? How heavy are they?
> 
> Congratulations to your daughter! She sounds like a good kid.




all together for the wall pieces and the corner trim and the shower seat it was 1100.  that back piece was heavy.  I bought some glass moving suction cup handles that really helped to move the pieces into position, but my wife could not lift her end at all so I had to get my friend Jason from work to give me a hand.  

I did not want to post a picture of the seat install last night because I messed up.  I glued the seat down and held it in place with some quick clamps while we marked cut and positioned the back piece.  then I did the other big side piece.  finally I went back and permanently screwed the bench to the floor and put the shower side piece on the bench.  then the drywall on the outside of the bench.  that was when I realized that the top had slipped about a quarter of an inch.  it was angled and did not cover the back piece of onyx.  I was really ticked about it because by that point the silicone had setup and it was stuck.  anyway I finished up the bench and figured I would just have to cover that booboo up with some of the color match silicone and call it good enough.  but I had a brainstorm today at work.  I kept trying to think how I could get that piece loose without breaking it or the little lip that fits behind the back wall off.  I got a gigli saw blade that was going to expire from work and that was thin enough to slip in there and with a little patience I was able to cut the silicone and then reapply it and position the bench the way I want it.  it is not perfect but it is a lot better.  We also got the grout ordered and put up the shower caddy.  I chipped all the old thinset off the floor.  there is an old drain cleanout that I need to fill with a bit of self leveling concrete tomorrow and then I think we are ready for the tile guy.  he is coming over saturday.  I hope he can get it all done and come back on monday to grout it.  I need to get the cabinets in so I can order the countertop.  that is going to take a few weeks because they have to come over from omaha and measure it then put it on a cad program.  then they email it to me and I have to approve it before they make the countertops and bring it over.  I want to get it done by thanksgiving if at all possible.

anyway here are a couple more pics from today.


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> I recently changed to the 20 minute set up mud, and use a slightly wet sponge to knock down the high spots before it is completely set. No sanding at all, and once you put on a few coats, a nice orange peel or knock down texture make it look great.




by the way havasu thanks for that sponge tip.  I tried that towards the end of my drywall journey and it really did help a lot to reduce the sanding needed.


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## havasu

What is the third hole, just to the right of the shower valve? A dedicated handheld shower port? If so, extra slick!


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> What is the third hole, just to the right of the shower valve? A dedicated handheld shower port? If so, extra slick!



yes it is the hole for the handheld shower head.  there is only two holes in the onyx though.  what looks like a third hole for the regular shower head is just a reflection of a bare lightbulb hanging from the can light fixture.  the actual shower head will come straight out of the ceiling.


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## havasu

No kidding. Seems that you were at the exact angle to give the reflection the look of a hole. That idea with the ceiling shower is over the top! Outstanding!


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> No kidding. Seems that you were at the exact angle to give the reflection the look of a hole. That idea with the ceiling shower is over the top! Outstanding!



yeah that was the plumbers suggestion.  I think it will be cool.  so we got a large rain shower type shower head.  my daughter liked the square shape better than round.  it fit the theme she had in mind better.

so these are the shower heads we are using.  again the square one will be coming straight down out of the ceiling.  but it has a swivel so it can be directed a bit.  the hand held is setup to save water so it works on fairly low volumes of water and has a valve in it so you can shut it off if you want to. 

View attachment e34d4b1a-abfd-4933-871b-d6af82f6477a_400.jpg


View attachment fda41358-0ee7-46db-b2eb-d2d300c95973_400.jpg


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## Chris

Looks great!


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## mustanggarage

apparently my wife is a better photographer than I am.  here are a couple pics she took.


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## mustanggarage

the tile is down.  it still needs to be grouted yet.  that will happen sometime this week.  I think I will wait to post pics until the grout is finished.


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## havasu

I'm sure it looks great. I can't wait to see it.


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## mustanggarage

the tile is in.  tomorrow i am going to try and get the cabinets installed.









after grout.










there is still a bit of grout haze on there so we will have to go back and clean it better tomorrow but it looks pretty good to me.


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## havasu

Really nice job. I like the dual small cuts on top of the shower shelf. That is an expert who took the time to get that right.


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## mustanggarage

yes he did a really nice job from what I can see from the door lol  He charged me 500.00 in labor and I bought all the materials.  that was well worth it to me.  I had the guy from the lumber yard come over and measure for the shower door and walls.  I guess that comes from the same company as the onyx stuff, so I guess I get to install that as well, I thought it was going to be installed like the counter tops. oh well.   anyway we are coming into the final stretch but it takes quite a while to get the counter tops and they can't measure for them until I get the cabinets in so that is my next priority


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## havasu

Are you installing framed or frameless glass?


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## mustanggarage

Frameless. So we will see how that goes


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## havasu

I was told by a few installers that those frameless clips can only be compressed once, and if not positioned correctly, you would need to toss it and get a new one. Have you heard this?


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## mustanggarage

well hopefully they have really good instructions.


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## mustanggarage

cabinets installed.  hopefully they will measure for countertops on friday.  I will plan to get the base trim tomorrow.  then paint and install.  anyway here are a few pictures.











I ripped a piece of filler board and backed it with a piece of 2x2 to span the knee space and give it a more finished look.  it also keeps the cabinets more securely anchored.


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## oldognewtrick

I see the end in sight, time to start planning the next project.   67 Shelby GT maybe?


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## havasu

You mean right after you come over and help me with my bathroom?


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## mustanggarage

oldognewtrick said:


> I see the end in sight, time to start planning the next project.   67 Shelby GT maybe?



given the choice of any project I think I would really like an old 60's era bronco.  I would like to build one up with modern fuel injection and set it up as a nice rig I could drive anywhere and take on light trails.  not a hard core off road rig but a dual purpose vehicle.  if I ever find one when I have a bit of money that is not already spoken for  (unlikely I know lol)  that is what I want.  

but I am already starting to fix my Dad's 94 mustang that he hit a deer with last year.  I bought some parts for it and I am going to try to rebuild it as soon as I finish this project.


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## havasu

My next door neighbor restored his "first year" Bronco. The week he finished it, he was driving it when it quit running. He walked back home to get help and then heard fire trucks. He went back to the truck and it was burnt to the ground. It was pretty sad to see. (obviously an electrical short)


Sorry for the thread diversion. Now, back to your bathroom remodel....


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> My next door neighbor restored his "first year" Bronco. The week he finished it, he was driving it when it quit running. He walked back home to get help and then heard fire trucks. He went back to the truck and it was burnt to the ground. It was pretty sad to see. (obviously an electrical short)
> 
> 
> Sorry for the thread diversion. Now, back to your bathroom remodel....



man that sucks.  I love those old  broncos.  I have been looking at bronco II's a bit lately.  you know they actually look pretty similar to the old broncos.  I wonder if a good body guy could modify a set of fenders and a grill and make a bronco ii look like an original.  maybe make the back removable.  it would be an interesting project.  the old ones run anywhere from 10,000 for a rust bucket to over 50,000 for a finished example so a bronco II converted to look like a classic has some appeal.  I may have to think about that a bit more.


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## MarkWood

lookin good!


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## zannej

Wow! This looks fantastic!

I bet your daughter is excited about it. I think the bench looks fine.

$1100 isn't so bad all things considered.


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## mustanggarage

I put the mop board on and the crown molding on the shower.  we also put up the light over where the mirror will be.  can't do much more until the shower walls show up and the counter top is in.  I do have to buy one more light fixture for over the vanity.  the one we bought won't fit.  anyway.  here are a couple more pictures just to show a bit of progress.  oh and I started cleaning up my mess.  I hauled a lot of the construction debris out and cleaned up the living room.  took the plastic off the furniture.  so things are winding down.

here is the shower.  I still need to install the valve and the overhead shower head.  btw.  I have not done this before.  are you supposed to silicone all the way around those escutcheons or how is that supposed to work?


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## havasu

Yes, use clean silicone (just a bead) around the entire escutcheon. Once you secure, wipe away the excess.


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> Yes, use clean silicone (just a bead) around the entire escutcheon. Once you secure, wipe away the excess.



alrighty then.  I will do that.  I have to get a short pipe nipple tonight so I can put the ceiling shower head on.  I want just about a 1 inch nipple to get the shower head as high as I can.  one other bit of good news.  a friend from work is moving out of there house and downsizing to a condo.  anyway she had an older toilet that they had swapped out for some reason.  it is a nice piece and looks nicer than the one I took out.  best of all it is an older model not a water conserving toilet so It will have the volume necessary to flush down there where we don't have gravity to help as much.  anyway hopefully it will work better than the old one.  at least it will look nicer.


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## havasu

If you have the need, we also have a family forum called http://www.plumbingforums.com/.

Come on by and visit with us there as well.


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## mustanggarage

well not to much to report.  I did get the crown molding and corner trim put on the shower.  I caulked all the gaps.  installed the faucet.  I ordered a brushed nickel nipple for the overhead shower but apparently I wasn't paying attention when I ordered it because it was a 3/8 instead of a 1/2 inch.  anyway I re-ordered that and as soon as it gets here I will finish the shower install.  I am still waiting on the glass walls.  the countertop guys measured last week and hopefully they will get the countertop done and installed before thanksgiving.  they would not promise but seemed optimistic.  I finished installing the light fixtures.  the wife and daughter just went shopping and bought a whole mess of stuff, new towels, rugs, the mirrors and a stool for the knee space.  anyway here are a few filler pics until I can get the walls and countertop.


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## mustanggarage

well crud.  I got the glass walls in today and I was excited to get it put together.  I was thinking I would at least be able to have the shower and toilet working for thanksgiving.  but they did not make it correctly.  the cutout for the shower bench is too short.  I have to go talk to the lumber yard guy tomorrow and have them send it back and remake it.  this puts a major crimp in my plans.


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## havasu

That's too bad. I had ordered two panels for my own glass shower, which was brokered by my unlicensed helper. He let my two panels sit at the glass company for 5 months, and when he finally went to pick them up, the company had lost one of my panels. He advised me to completely cancel the order instead of having them make another piece because all glass is matched and it would never look completely the same. I myself am still using only a shower curtain because I got pissed at my helper and got my money back because he took too long. 

Long story short, be aware that a new glass panel will look different....maybe!


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## mustanggarage

the lumber yard guy who ordered it is coming over to look at it and remeasure it tomorrow so I will see what he says about that.


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## mustanggarage

well as usual, more unintended fun.  when we moved into this house 8 years ago we had a second water heater put in because we kept running out of hot water.  well both of them have crapped out now, and we have been without hot water since wednesday.  I have talked with the plumbers and they have said that the old one is shot and the new one needs a new thermocoupler and burner assembly.  but with the way they put that second heater in it would be better just to get rid of both of them and put in a new powervent 75 gallon heater and of course it did not get in today so it will not be here until friday.  I have been showering in the garage for the last few days.  at least I have that option.  but anyway another unforseen expense.


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## havasu

That is tough. At least you have an alternative.


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## oldognewtrick

mustanggarage said:


> but anyway another unforseen expense.



Welcome to my world.....


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## mustanggarage

Well the wife had to shower in the garage today. Fortunately I cleaned it pretty good yesterday lol. If the new water heater is not in tomorrow someone is going to be hurt. Most likely me


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## oldognewtrick

Well, anybody get hurt?


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## havasu

I have bandaids!


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## oldognewtrick

If MG doesn't get that water heater in, he may need tourniquets...


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## mustanggarage

fortunately we got the water heater in on friday.  so no injuries were necessary.  man that thing is a monster.  it takes up as much room as both the others.  anyway we now have plenty of hot water and I don't have to shower in the garage any more.  we also got the toilet installed in the new bathroom and if the snow is not to bad tomorrow they are supposed to install the countertop.  we will have to keep our fingers crossed.  

I also decided to use a little of the leftover onxy to go on the box that covers the shower drain pipe behind the toilet, I coped it with a jig saw to fit the mop board.  I spent some time sanding the boards that cover the access to the toilet shut off valve and I ripped a 2x4 down to make some narrow strips to put on the outside edge sanded it smooth.  then painted it with some vht black paint I had in the garage now sarah is going to get some smooth river rocks to put in there to complete the zen toilet area lol.  I put a new seat on there that has an LED light that has a 7 hour cycle so it stays on for seven hours then shuts off till the next day at the same time. 
and I installed the other shower head.  fixed the broken drain pipe and tested everything for leaks.  so once I get the shower walls it is ready for use.


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## havasu

Really nice work. I'm thinking about a lighted toilet seat as well. Is it also a soft close? Having had the soft close lid, I will never have anything else.


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> Really nice work. I'm thinking about a lighted toilet seat as well. Is it also a soft close? Having had the soft close lid, I will never have anything else.



yes it is and I agree with you.  now all our toilets are soft close even the one in the garage


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## havasu

Problem with being use to the soft close seats, when you go to a hotel, you will forget that they do not have the soft close feature, and will end up slamming the damn seat all night.


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## Chris

I love my soft close, except when I am in a hurry and have to jump on it to close.


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## oldognewtrick

Chris said:


> I love my soft close, except when I am in a hurry and have to jump on it to close.



That's a visual I'll try to drink away tonite...


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## mustanggarage

oldognewtrick said:


> That's a visual I'll try to drink away tonite...



I may have to take up drinking just for that.


ok.  today we got the countertops in.  I also installed the sink and faucet but I did not have all the fittings I needed to hook up the stupid drain so another day before that is working.  the glass for the shower is supposed to be in this week.  so hopefully I will be able to finish this thing up this week.  then it is just the details.  putting on the drawer hardware.  Sarah picked that stuff up last week so now once she finds them and shows me which ones she wants for which door I can get that done too.  here are a few picks for progress.





yes she is already moving stuff in and I don't have the handles on yet.









and a panoramic just for fun.





I also need to hang the other mirror above the sink but I want to wait until I finish the sink install in case I have to re do something.


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## havasu

Damn, that bathroom sure has come a long way!


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## Chris

When can you start on mine?


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## mustanggarage

Sorry Chris after this job it is time to get back in the garage lol.  I have a bunch of parts for the 94 and I am trying to work a deal to get my yj jeep back.  My son sold it to my daughters boyfriend and he has been driving my old truck down to college this year so I am thinking of trading that 99 f150 for the jeep, mostly because jeeps are fun to modify and I have no real use for the 99.  anyway it will give him a more reliable vehicle for a while until he is able to afford a newer vehicle.  and I will get my jeep back.  hopefully he will go for it because it looks unlikely I will be getting my tj back from my daughter lol.  

on the bathroom I got the sink drain finished and checked for leaks.  I also installed the other mirror over the sink, the toilet paper holder and some of the door handles.  naturally they got the order wrong and we are short two anyway slowly making progress.  I also heard that I am supposed to get the glass panel in on thursday so if it is right hopefully the shower will be finished this weekend.  fingers crossed.


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## mustanggarage

Ok  some good news today.  first of all I am basically finished with the princess bathroom remodel.  We got the shower walls installed.  the other mirror, shelf above the toilet.  the door and door stopper and all but one cabinet has the handles on.  those are on order yet.  

My daughter has moved her stuff in and I have tested the shower and no leaks that I can see.  my drain repair also has no leaks.  so overall I guess I am good to go on that front.  I hauled all the garbage out of the basement and now just need to haul my tools back to the garage.

so first we position the metal frame and once we are satisfied with the placement you screw it down and it has waterproof tape underneath it as well.





monroe Is not to sure about the whole thing.






then you dry position the walls and put in shims in the frame till it sits square.  I did not do as good a job on that as I should have.  now that I know how to do it I could do it a lot better next time, but some things you just have to learn by doing.  anyway.  I had my neighbor Jim come over and he helped me get the rest of it up.  it kind of has to go together all at once so I did not get any in progress pics but here is the finished product.  before we cleaned the glass.  I had to adjust the door a bit more after this picture.





here is a shot from the hall





the massive door hardware Sarah wanted.













zen scentsy thing.





Sarah getting organized.





and here it is pretty much completed and "zenned" out.









So Sarah is happy.  I think this is a mission accomplished.

the other good news is it looks like I am getting my yj back so I will have more projects to do on that in the near future I hope.


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## havasu

Beautiful work. I hope you got a hug and a kiss for it?


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## mustanggarage

havasu said:


> Beautiful work. I hope you got a hug and a kiss for it?



Yes I have been adequately paid.


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## oldognewtrick

Dang MG, that turned out REALLY NICE! Sure hope she appreciates all your hard work. Once again, job well done!!!


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## Admin

That's very nice.


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## zannej

Wow! That turned out great! The cabinets actually looked good even without hardware. The hardware she picked reminds me of the handles for those custom panel kitchen appliances. Looks like what they put on the fridges, but at least they should open well.

I know you said you are done, but one more touch I might suggest: A shattaf. If the water doesn't get too cold it can be used like a bidet. It can be mounted to the wall or hidden away. You just hook it to the same line as the toilet and have a switch to turn it on. It can also be used for cleaning the toilet. I think even a kitchen side-sprayer might work.

The little cover at the back is a nice touch.

It really looks fantastic!

Chris, I have a softclose seat but I always end up giving it a little extra shove with my hand to speed it up. It's a Kohler one with quick-release so I can take the seat off to clean it without having to remove the bolts.


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## mustanggarage

I considered a bidet seat down there but decided against it.  we have one upstairs.  but for down there I just went with this one.  it will have to do because I am done.  I got the last three door pulls on and put the rocks in the zen rock garden and then I hauled most of my tools back to the shop.  






everything is buttoned up and this project is complete now time to get to work on the 94 mustang.


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## oldognewtrick

mustanggarage said:


> everything is buttoned up and this project is complete now time to get to work on the 94 mustang.



Alright! On to things that really matter in life, gasoline, motor oil and busted knuckles.


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## zannej

Ooh, the little rock garden looks nice! 

Hope your next project goes well! I'd love to see pics!


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