jilly's shower. part three.

But first....Did you hear about {Vintage Revivals Epic Room Makeover Giveaway}?

Mandi is at it again.  She must not need more than 20 minutes of sleep per night.  And as luck would have it, our paths are crossing again because a very lucky girl from Peoria, AZ won the contest this morning!  Mandi and Hailee are coming on down to the Valley of the Sun, and guess who will be their partners in crime design for a week?  That's right.  The two of us!  And we are beyond ecstatic to be helping with this massive project.  We are going to join up with them over at {Kelsey's} house and turn her dull master bedroom into the envy of the world!

And you know what else?  In the midst of the madness, we are going to take a break, throw a get-together and invite ALL OF YOU to come hang out with us one night!  We are super excited to meet as many Arizona bloggers and friends as possible.  We might ask you to help pick paint off our fingernails or give us a mini back rub.  However, let me assure you that if you're in the same vicinity as Mandi, it doesn't matter what you're doing, it will be FUN!  Details coming very soon.

Sooner than this stupid shower reveal.  See {Part One} and {Part Two} to catch up on this riveting tale.

A good night sleep was just what we needed, and we got up early to see what we could accomplish on Day 2.  When we bought the supplies, we had included the thick, plastic shower floor liner at Lowes.   The brand we used is Oatey, and you buy it by the foot.  I spent about $35.00 for the length I needed.  We trimmed off the excess width, and laid it in there all nice and neat.  Daddy cut a small hole where the drain was going, and we screwed the new drain piece right on.

It was right after this picture when we got the sinking feeling that something was wrong.  Very wrong.

The plastic liner is thick.  How were we going to run it up a few inches on all four sides and attach it to the Durock?  And if that wasn't a problem enough, it was going to make the tiling surface very uneven at the bottom.  Another huge issue.  And what to do in the corners?  There was so much excess that is was really bulky.  How to remedy that situation?

Back to the computer for some research.  That is when I came upon {this blog} with the most glorious {tutorial} ever.  I don't know how I didn't find this initially, but here it was with super helpful information, right in my moment of need.  I love technology.

We realized we should have put the Oatey liner down FIRST, before the tar paper or the Durock cement board.  Nice.

And my dad is ultra thorough, so not only did we use the roofing tar on the tar paper, we also used it on every seam when we put the Durock up.  We used two entire tubes!

Oh man.  It was decided that we would need to take the cement board down.  Jake to the rescue.  That kid loves to run a power tool, and this was the perfect job for him.  He took all the screws out, and I pried the boards off which was a task because of the extremely thick and gooey roofing tar.

Right about this time, my parents had to leave.  Our plans for the few precious hours we had left to work were dashed when we realized we weren't going to be able to get the concrete floor done inside the stall that day.

After I had a day (or 10) to think about it, I decided to call a professional in for the floor.  He didn't speak English, so I couldn't get his permission for a picture, but he did a really good job and spent about 3 hours here.  Since I had already taken the cement board off, he was able to remove the staples from the tar paper and roll it up about six inches so he could re-install the floor lining and run it up the studs a few inches on all four sides.  He folded the the tar paper back down over the liner, and hung all the cement board back up using the same screws we had taken out.

He mixed the cement up and poured the floor, slightly sloping it towards the drain.  There was a lot of trowel work to get it perfectly smooth, and also a lot of measuring to achieve the proper slope.  And that's why we pay the professionals.  They really know what they're doing!

I also decided that we really needed a light inside the shower.  The bathroom is in the basement, and although we have a window and get some decent light through it, the lights in the vanity area just don't cut it at night when you decide to hop in the shower.  I stood inside the shower at midnight, just to make sure.  Another time to call in the professionals.

Amadeo is my man.  I have been using him for about 5 years now and he is an absolute gem.  Everyone in my family uses him too, and I've referred him to so many people.  He is extremely good at what he does, and there is no job too big or small for him.  If you live in the Phoenix area and would like his number, please send me an email and I would be happy to give it to you.  Electricians don't come any better than him, I promise you!

If you are planning a shower remodel, I'm begging you not to refer to my instructions.  Please, oh PLEASE follow the perfect and professional tutorial by {DIY Diva}.  She won't steer you wrong.  My shower process is obviously for entertainment purposes only, and should be titled WHAT NOT TO DO.

Still, stick this one out with me.  Remember what my shower is going to look like when it's done, even if I die doing it?