The Master Shower

When we purchased this house, the master shower was one of the great selling points (along with the wet bar). The shower extends out from the south side of the master bathroom, "outside."  Now this is not an outhouse, but is an alcove recessed in the floor and containing a shower nozzle at the west end, a towel bar at the east end and a roof of glass.  There is no view from adjacent properties, and it is quite nice. It is some 3 feet wide and at least 6 feet long.  That was in 1985.  In the intervening 22 years, nearly all of our neighbors with a similar Kingsport floor plan have replaced the shower at some stage in the life of the house.  Recently, we have noticed separation between the tiles, separation between the boards under the glass and a "sponginess" when leaning on the shower wall. We decided it was time to have the shower renovated.  We contacted our veteran and highly trusted artisan, Mark Jacobbi, to undertake the job and to supervise the subcontractors that would be needed.

Our artist and craftsman, Mark Jacobbi.

The Job to Date
Day ??: Tuesday, July 10: Mark and an associate closed the hole in the pool screen and the job is officially finished. Now we'll attack the mosquitoes inside the pool screen.
Day 23: Thursday, May 17: Stan has installed the plumbing fixtures and the shower is complete. We'll need to do some work with the shower curtains, but we will no longer be showering upstairs. The upper faucet controls the sunburst in the ceiling and the lower control is for the fixture on the wall. The screen enclosure is still open, but Mark has assured us he'll take care of it.

On April 17th, Mark bashed a hole in the wall and the project started. One month later, we have a new shower.
Day 22: Wednesday, May 16: the grouting is finished and needs to dry. Tomorrow, Stan will finish the plumbing. The only thing left is the restoration of the pool enclosure.
Day 21: Tuesday, May 15: Mark finished the bulk of the grouting, but a large part of the day was spent in the dining room. Lyd came home to find the dining room sealed in plastic as Mark sprayed the dining room ceiling.  All of the dining room furniture was moved into the living room.
Day 20: Monday, May 14: Stan did some plumbing work in the upstairs bathroom and installed fixtures in the master shower. Mark painted the skylights and tiled the shower floor. He has begun the grouting.
One valve runs the wall thing and the other the ceiling thing. The ceiling thing is 8" in diameter and is supposed to put out a lot of water. The shower floor is now tiled.
Day 19: Friday, May 11: Mark has done a lot more finishing today and expects to have the job finished next Wednesday
Day 18: Thursday, May 10: Today, Mark tiled most of the shower with 4" blocks. He hasn't grouted yet.
Mark has provided the towel bar Lyd ordered for my towel. This 4" tile has not yet been grouted Mark observes that he and his wife use two different bath soaps, so he has provided us with two soap dishes.
Day 17: Wednesday, May 9: The shower pan has been re-plumbed to code and is ready for tiling. The walls have been sealed and are also ready to receive tile.

Day 16: Tuesday, May 8: The inside of the shower has been dry-walled and is ready for sealing
Day 15: Monday, May 7: We are back on track. Stan has roughed in the plumbing and Mark will be back inside tomorrow. He estimates 1 more week.
In the ceiling will be the "sunflower" fixture We'll need some instruction on using the new controls Mark will be using even more insulation in the walls.
SNAG: Wednesday, May 2 through the weekend, Stan is on another job and can't get to us to rough in the plumbing. We continue to truck upstairs for our morning showers.
Day 11: Tuesday, May 1: OK (grumble) it got painted to match the house. It looks good (I guess). Insulation is ready to pack the inside walls
Day 10: Monday, April 30: The last day of April and two weeks into the project has the exterior finished in a nice cedar. It sort of looks like we have cabin attached to the house. It will be a shame to paint it; fresh cedar looks (and smells) so nice.
Day 9: Friday, April 27: To finish the week, Mark has installed the windows, providing a lot of light into the shower. Ever the conscientious professional, he removed all his equipment so we can get both cars in the garage for the weekend. He estimates 10 days more.

Day 8: Thursday, April 26: The skylights are in and the roof is secured. We are now climate controlled again.
The east skylight The west skylight
Day 7: Wednesday, April 25: Mark has covered the exterior in plywood and weather proofing.
The exterior plywood is up The skylights will go above, left and right The exterior has been covered.
Day 6: Tuesday, April 24, 2007: Lyd likes the glass blocks. The initial frame is up and looks good.
The framing has begun It seems quite sturdy This frame will hold translucent glass blocks to let in light
Day 5: Monday, April 23, 2007: Mark boarded up the inside of the bathroom to protect us from the elements. Outside, Lee & Cates took down the glass, Stan capped the pipes and Mark totally demolished the structure except for the shower floor. I'm parking outside as he has taken half of the garage for his stuff.
The inside is boarded up Outside, the shower pan stands alone Much debris is in the yard
Day 3: Thursday, April 19, 2007: Mark estimates that Lee and Cates will remove the old glass on Monday and Stan will cap off the pipes then, as well
Day 2: Wednesday, April 18, 2007: Mark left a detailed message with the sequence of events. The glass should be removed Friday and Stan will have to cap the pipes in the shower. Then the real demolition work can begin. Mark estimates 2-2.5 weeks.
Day 1:Tuesday, April 17, 2007: Mark tore open the south wall and discovered the worst case scenario. All of the wood supporting the wall, and the glass panels above, is either water-rotted or termite-devoured. It all has to go! Mark and I talked on the phone and Lyd and I approved his proposal of how the job will proceed with a new estimate of ~$8,500.
The towel bar is on the east end of the shower and normally holds Tom's Towel. The 1st penetration, in the south wall, shows the degree of rot and termite infestation. Overhead, windows look out onto the night sky. The 1st day's debris are in the pan of the shower. The shower nozzle was on the top of the west wall. The temperature and shower controls are on the bottom of the west wall. There is a soap dish affixed to the middle of the west wall.
On April 10th, Mark inspected the job and gave an outside estimate of $6,000. Not being blessed with X-Ray vision, he warned that an interior inspection of the south wall (the spongiest) could change the situation. He wants to start on Tuesday, 4/17/07 and we agreed. I think Lyd and I will be showering upstairs for a while.