The day started with an early morning trip to Home Depot for insulation. I was planning on leaving this step until last, but Jennifer convinced me that it would be nice to have the closet in the master bedroom back. Once I get the insulation done I can close it up and reinstall all of the closet organizers and get rid of the piles of clothes on the floor.
I was quite confused when I got to Home Depot, because the only insulation they had for ceilings was 24 inches on center or larger. The very large stuff is for laying over top of the joists, but I wanted batts that would fit between my joists which are 18 inches on center. I ended up getting 24 inch width and trimming them down. It was pretty simple, given that the size of the area I was covering was 5 feet by 7 feet. I used on e package of R20 batts, and got one layer in between the joists and one layer laid crosswise over top. R40 is far better than anything else in the rest of the ceiling, so I’m okay with that.
I also picked up a trouble/work light to work up in the attic because I was tired of having to use a flashlight while working. Much nicer. It ended up being quite useful in plumbing the tub as well.
I got the outer wall insulated and vapour barriered:
Half done
The window and the rest of the wall
It was time to get the tub. Yet again my young helpers came in handy, and we hauled it from the back yard into the bathroom.
In place.
It wasn’t that heavy, because we have decided to go with an enamelled stainless steel tub. We have heard many conflicting reports about acrylic tubs and how they deal with scratches. We use the tub for things like washing the furnace filters and washing the dog, so we wanted durable material. The tub that we removed was enamelled stainless steel and it was in beautiful shape (except for being fleshy peachy pink), so we decided to stick with that. This tub is a bit wider, but also a bit shallower. It will be easier to use for cleaning because the sides aren’t so high, but it is definitely not a soaker tub.
The tub needs a 2×4 across the back wall for the long edge to sit on, and it needs to be level. There is a conflict here, because the tub also has a large styrofoam block on the bottom that needs to sit flat on the floor. If the back ledge was level, then one end was at least one inch further off the floor than the other, but if it was to sit flat on the foam block, it wasn’t level. I managed to lower the 2×4 enough that the low corner was supported enough to be level and the block was flat on the floor, but it took at least 4 tries. I had to squeeze the tub into place (it fits by about a quarter inch, and the door frame sticks out more than a quarter inch, so getting it in and out is difficult) and then remove it to relocate the 2×4 at least 4 times. It was getting frustrating, but it finally happened.
It looks like I made a small error in preparing the drain piping, because the drain hole was a bit offset from the tub hole.
Close, but not quite.
Luckily, the piping was all ABS, so the entire piece was flexible enough to fit into place with a little pressure. I watched a number of youtube videos on installing drain fittings, so it was straightforward.
Tub Drain Installed
Lesson: The drain tool I bought was an incredible help. I can not imagine tightening the drain properly without it. It’s totally worth the 8 bucks. Get one. It paid for itself in just the installation, it would have been even better to have had it for the demolition too.
And so, the tub got installed.
Old taps, new tub.
I don’t have the taps in yet, so I can’t test it for leaks. We’ll see when the taps get delivered…
Cost for this Post:
1 trip to McDiarmid Lumber
1 trip to Home Depot
– $7.38 – 2 tubes of acoustic caulk
– &7.99 – 1 roll of Tuck Tape
$17.22 subtotal with taxes
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– $63.64 – R20 insulation (20 batts)
– $16.98 – Work light
– $3.09 – 50 watt “Rough Duty” bulbs
$93.76 subtotal with taxes
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$110.98 total
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