# Possible botched shower enclosure installation. Help!



## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

**please note** the photo is sideways. It uploaded that way for some reason. 

Folks....I'm a first time poster. This isn't exactly do it myself but I'm looking for advice from people who know this stuff and I have been lurking in the forum and see a bunch of folks who hopefully can advise me here.

I hired a local contractor with a very good reputation to gut and remodel my bathroom. Everything looks fine except for one major thing that is really bothering me. They are using swanstone for the shower enclosure. Ceiling and three walls. Everything looks good except for the bottom left portion near the floor of the wall where the shower controls will be. 

They glued the swanstone to a plywood sheet. The bottom of the swanstone is not making contact with the wood because the lip of the shower pan is there. That tells me they measured something wrong. Why didn't they just add a thicker piece of plywood? 

I am attaching a photo of what I am describing. I had a guy over the other day who is going to install frameless glass doors. He wasn't too thrilled about the problem but said he could get a door in to work fine. 

The main contractor said, "this is very common" and "it happens all the time" and it's "not a problem". Somehow I don't believe it happens all the time.

What do you folks think of it?


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## nealtw (Jan 20, 2015)

Welcome to the site., The door guy may be able to work with it, but you will have to look at what ever he comes up with. The backer should have come out past the flange and drywall should have been spaced out to match. That line should be plumb and straight.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

nealtw said:


> Welcome to the site., The door guy may be able to work with it, but you will have to look at what ever he comes up with. The backer should have come out past the flange and drywall should have been spaced out to match. That line should be plumb and straight.



Should I insist they rip it out and place a thicker backer board in there? Is that worth the trouble?


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## CallMeVilla (Jan 20, 2015)

Pleasehelpme said:


> They glued the swanstone to a plywood sheet. The bottom of the swanstone is not making contact with the wood because the lip of the shower pan is there. That tells me they measured something wrong. Why didn't they just add a thicker piece of plywood? QUOTE]
> 
> Well ...  I flipped your pic so I could stop hurting my neck ...  If there is a lip on the tub, the wall should be faced with tile backer (Wonderboard).  This pushes the swanstone away from the wall enough so the swanstone section would not be sitting ON the tub, it would be just past the lip. (see pic)  This would prevent the kick out.  It would allow caulking the line of the connection between stone and tub.  The gap along the side of the wall is filled with a bullnose treatment.
> 
> These guys are BS-ing you  ...


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

This is very upsetting. Your diagram tells me a lot. Is this fixable? The plumbing is already roughed in. The room is tiled. Vanity is in. I am not sure what I should do here. If this is not ripped out and fixed...and.....as the glass door installer said, he can in fact install a door even with it screwed up like this.....what will the long term consequences of this be?

I'm thankful for your quick, sensible response.


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## nealtw (Jan 20, 2015)

I am sure he can make it water tight. But you hired a pro so would didn't have to deal with stuff like this. I don't think it will ever look right. I would push him for a repair or large discount.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

nealtw said:


> I am sure he can make it water tight. But you hired a pro so would didn't have to deal with stuff like this. I don't think it will ever look right. I would push him for a repair or large discount.



Thank you very much. 

What would a repair entail?


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## nealtw (Jan 20, 2015)

Ripping it off but you can understand why he won't want to do that. I doubt if it would come off in one peice. If this happens all the time, can he show you pictures of what it will look like when done.
Have a look what this guy does before he puts up backer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=5tl1-4FaxUU&v=OODB_RyxJm4


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## beachguy005 (Jan 20, 2015)

It looks to me like they probably measured and cut it from the base to the ceiling.  When they installed it, they installed the ceiling panel first which made the wall panel too long by the thickness of the ceiling panel.
I don't know what you're using for a door but I doubt that wall is even close to plumb so anything, short of just a curtain, is going to be off.
They should pull it off, trim it to fit and reinstall.  Telling you it happens all the time is just BS.


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## mako1 (Jan 20, 2015)

A picture from farther back would help.To me that is very sloppy work and I would not be able to sleep at night.They may be able to make it "watertight" for a while but it won't last long and then you will have a major repair because you'll have water in the walls.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

mako1 said:


> A picture from farther back would help.To me that is very sloppy work and I would not be able to sleep at night.They may be able to make it "watertight" for a while but it won't last long and then you will have a major repair because you'll have water in the walls.



This is as far back as I have at the moment. Sorry. It's sideways again.


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## bud16415 (Jan 20, 2015)

That is totally unacceptable as is. They either have to rip it out and redo it correctly or if it was mine I might work with them if there was a way of making it look like it was gone. The door guy is going to need something plumb to work from and that isnt it.

If there was a way to make another trim piece to round the corner that could me milled out on the back side to closely fit the screw up I might allow that. It might actually look better from the outside anyway as it would make that corner look finished. 

The door guy would then have to make his glass to fit a slightly smaller width.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

I just called the installer. He said he would rip it out and fix it. When I first mentioned it he made like he didn't know what I was talking about. Once I told him I had some professional builders look at it and that they told me it was a "rookie" mistake he said, "OK, we'll fix it". He didn't sound happy. 

I'm paying good money for this. Why should I accept anything but perfect work?


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

I took some wider shots of it. Note the wall on the left is perfect.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

The wall installed correctly is here.


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## Pleasehelpme (Jan 20, 2015)

Another wide shot.


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## beachguy005 (Jan 20, 2015)

Don't feel guilty about having them fix it.  Frankly, you're doing right for yourself, future customers and, in the long run, the contractor.


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## bud16415 (Jan 20, 2015)

Is it normal for the shower walls to stick past the end of the pan that far? Something looks unfinished. On both ends.


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## nealtw (Jan 20, 2015)

bud16415 said:


> Is it normal for the shower walls to stick past the end of the pan that far? Something looks unfinished. On both ends.



In my world they would have be cut tio fit to the floor. But that depends on the sample or picture the OP approved in the beginning.


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## beachguy005 (Jan 20, 2015)

They show how to install what the manufacturer calls apron strips on page 13 of these install directions.

http://www.swanstone.com/images/link_installation/Form196_crystal_series_wall_kits.pdf


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## bud16415 (Jan 20, 2015)

beachguy005 said:


> They show how to install what the manufacturer calls apron strips on page 13 of these install directions.
> 
> http://www.swanstone.com/images/link_installation/Form196_crystal_series_wall_kits.pdf




 That would make it look a bit more finished I guess. It just looks like tile attached to tile in the OPs case to my eye. If that wall was flat drywall and with glass doors that are frameless the look would work. If the doors have some kind of an end frame I would think you would want one tile to end under the frame and the other start. 

  Thanks for posting the install link.


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## nealtw (Jan 20, 2015)

They don't address the spacing out past the flange but anyone doing this work should know better.


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