Ruxandra Remodeling Projects

The original shower. My mom's biggest concern was that I will not be able to
remodel the bathroom on my own. For starters, she couldn't see how I'd be able
to remove the old shower and take it outside by myself.

But God pours in mind a solution for every scenario. I first cut carefully in the fiberglass around
the drain, faucet, and all around the tub. The grinder has the tendency to suddenly slide but with
extreme caution and concentration it can be done.

I then cut off and removed a first panel.

I then cut off and removed a first panel.

Travertine also installed on the left wall. The cement blocks I found in the yard. I used them to make a border to keep
the water from flowing outside the shower.

The niche finished and travertine installed on two walls.

Since I converted from a tub set up to a shower set up, I had to also raise the water pipes.
After getting two leaks and re-doing the connections, I finally got all the connections leak
free at the highest water pressure. I left the wall opened for two additional days to make
sure there was not one drop of water at any of the connections. There were none. Big relief!

Since the wall on the other side was open and the travertine on the opposite wall installed, the timing was great to
replace the old valves for a new faucet. There is nothing I dislike more than doing plumbing.

Once I removed the shower, I began tearing down the drywall. I had to replace
the old drywal with fiber rock sheets because I wanted to install travertine tiles.
I also wanted to frame a niche with a shelf in the middle.

All the wall 'panels' removed. With an utility bar I started to move the tub from its place, careful
not to damage the drain pipe.

I then cut and removed a first panel.

BEFORE

On top of the shower I built an arch, I installed crown moulding and finally;
the finished shower.

I tinted some grout with latex paint slightly darker than the stone decorative border and I applied a thick coat with
the brush for a stone texture look. I then blow dried it to make sure the color was similar.

I cut leftover electric wire from a chandelier and I stapled it around the plywood blocks, then I glued the rosettes.

Unfortunately I was short of half decorative tile border and also out of money. Since I had some leftover rosettes, I decided to
make two decorative blocks on each side of the border. I cut two square pieces of plywood the same height as the border.

AFTER