Renovation Stall. Need real good solid advice.

[cathyka]

We are renovating a bathroom in our attic. I'm stuck on so many levels. Its an attic and the tub will be tucked into an alcove. There must be a tub. For me. A big soaker. It will be the only tub in the house. But I also want a shower for visiting guests. I am thinking my only option will be a hand held one, regardless.... I am stuck keeping the water off the floor. Is it possible to put a floor drain to catch the splash? The house is 100 years old. The floor will be tiled.

[jadnashua]

Even with a soaker, you can install either a shower curtain or glass doors. A floor drain could be used if you wanted to make the whole room a wet room, but it needs to also have a trap primer to keep it full, otherwise it will start to smell.

A soaker would need to either come with (preferable) or an add-on tiling flange to keep the shower water out of the walls.

You can use a conventional shower valve or you could use a handheld. With the handheld, you could use a wall-mounted bar to hold it. As opposed to a fixed shower head, the handheld can make cleaning the tub easier, too.

[jimbo]

Is it really an "attic"?? Will the ceiling joists support the weight of a tub? How about the drain? A lot of folks assume you can use the vent stack coming up from lower floors as your waste. That is not allowed.

[johnfrwhipple]

I can't tell you if the floor is strong enough or how to vent your new tub but as far as making the floor tile ready and waterproof that is easy. Barrier free bathrooms are not new but what is new is the fact that many designers are specify a tub in the shower zone. This means no curtain and any splashing in the tub is not going to flood out your lower floors.

Here is a barrier free shower and tub we just did a few months back. It was in North Vancouver and features a curved glass block wall.

JW



You can see I used the tub filler to fill the entire section of the bathroom with water. Flood testing a barrier free bathroom is much easier than you think. We use Mapeband here in Vancouver to build temporary dams.



At about 9 O'Clock in the picture above you can see a 2" Fernco (no-hub) fitting which I tied into the waterproofing system. This is a raised collar of sorts that the tub's waste connection slips through.



Good Luck.

JW

[cathyka]

Thanks you all for reply. Sorry it took so long to respond.

Jimbo

yes it is really an "attic"?
yes. Will the ceiling joists support the weight of a tub?
a new vent stack has been installed for the attic.

It's just just that the space is small. A tub would sit in an alcove with window on the back side and there is little room and limited height for the shower.

[johnfrwhipple]

Thanks you all for reply. Sorry it took so long to respond.

Jimbo

yes it is really an "attic"?
yes. Will the ceiling joists support the weight of a tub?
a new vent stack has been installed for the attic.

It's just just that the space is small. A tub would sit in an alcove with window on the back side and there is little room and limited height for the shower.

Treat the entire area as a shower pan and ensure that the penetrations for the toilet, tub filler, tub waste and vanity are waterproofed. This is easily done with products from Mapei, Laticrete, Schluter, Noble Company, Wedi and Custom Building Products.

There is no magic "Stuff" and proper floor prep is needed to pull of this look. I would consider getting an engineer to sign off on a little floor modification so you can get a drain lowered in the bathroom. This procedure of building a wet room is not one for the average weekend warrior - if your planning on doing this all yourself I would think your in for a whole lot of self education.

Meeting we have with clients on this type of build usually last two hours. Up charges on rooms like this are over $2,000.00. You can do it but you need a team that knows how.

Good Luck.

JW