# Bathroom Shower Help - PLEASE :)



## OTEJUNK (May 8, 2007)

Hey Everyone - long time reader first time Post - I hope I get HALF as much help as most of the people up here - I would greatly Appreciate it :thumbup: 

I have a very small basement Bathroom (6'x4') and down the road, I would like to make it bigger but right now with Baby on the way and just completing the upstairs bathroom remodeling, I need to wait for a little while - however I would like to do a little bit to get the shower back into working order

When we bought the house we realized it was a fixer upper which is what we always wanted - but some of the items we knew would be a REALLY big job.... Currently I have a Steel (yeah thats right) steel shower stall that is rusted to the point that with a little nudge, it will crumble to the ground  We can not use the shower - the Base of the shower is a solid concrete with no chips or cracks - so with the limited room and the fact that I need to rip the steel down, what can I do to get the shower back to working order for as little amount of $$$ as possible - I was thinking some sort of Acrylic walls, but how to I attach them to the cement Base? :huh: - 

The wall situation is Standing Facing the Faucet - North Wall Concrete Basement Foundation, and the South Wall Back wall of a Closet (which someday will allow me to increase the Shower Size - West wall is connected to my Study - East wall is the Shower Curtain.

Is there anything that anyone could suggest or any DIY instructions that anyone has - I would LOVE it - 

Thanks in Advance for the advice - 

OUTJUNK (Jerry Zachmeier):whistling2:


----------



## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

Where are you located? I know a source in South PA for really cheap one piece showers.

Anyway - You have a few options. you could go with a one piece unit. The plumbing below may be a little tricky, maybe not. cant see it from here.

If you are OK with the existing concrete base you could just build up walls and tile them. Your construction details, flashing and caulking will be critical to get correct but you will have something nice. Another advantage if tile is you are not constrained by the existing size. Tile can be had for $1, or less, per sq ft if you do not get fancy. Durock behind it, thinset and grout and caulk, maybe some wall studs and drywall. Yea, maybe a couple of weekends but it wouldn't be that expensive if you did it yourself.


----------



## OTEJUNK (May 8, 2007)

Thanks for the Reply Brik - many MANY thanks - I am in North Dakota  A ways from PA ...

I guess right now I am looking for something to just get it back into working order.... because in the future (say 3 to 5 years) I would like to completly redo the bathroom top to bottom, but living with my Wife and Future Baby and two 10 year old daughters - Shower time is getting to be a hot commodity :whistling2: 

I guess rather than a perm fixture with Tile (which is what I am thinking about in the future) I am looking for something to get the shower into working order until I start the complete reconstruction project - 

I guess I am more curious on what (if anything) I can use to attach and seal a shower wall to the concrete base - 

thanks again Brik, Many MANY thanks... 

OTEJUNK (Jerry Z.)


----------



## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

Well, it depends on your existing drain and what the drain configuration is on the new once piece unit.

A picture of the old drain would help. It would be ideal if you could just connect to the old drain as it sits. Worst case you would need to bust op the concrete to put in a proper pipe to connect to the new base.

lat time I did a pre-made base it fit around a 2" pipe coming up through the floor. It was sealed with a gasket that force fit between the drain molded into the base and the pipe. A strainer attached over that. If you can get such a pipe attached into your existing drain then you would be golden with that type of setup. 

Take some pictures of what you have. Note if the existing drain is copper, pvc, lead or cast iron and the size.


----------



## Zel1 (Mar 21, 2007)

If cheap and simple is all you desire for a TEMPORARY fix, go to HD or Lowes and buy a couple of 4x8 sheets of that FRP (fire retardant plastic) that they use in restaurants, butcher shops, etc. They also sell corner beads and joint pieces. Cut to fit over the steel, glue with construction adhesive, caulk all corners and seems, reinstall the faucet trim and take a "better" shower then you could before, lol.


----------



## OTEJUNK (May 8, 2007)

I will get the pics up soon and then you can see what I am dealing with - We have actually never used this shower because the steel is just to badly rusted - And although the Plastic kind of made me stop for a second and go "hmmmmm" - I do want something that is at least presentable enough so I dont lose the usage of the bathroom because I am embarresed how the shower looks after I get the shower working - I mean yeah rust isnt the best, but right now I can always pass it off on "thats how it looked when we moved in" -  ROFL 

I do want to say thank you for all the answers so far, but I guess the question that I am asking still has not been answered - 

If I remove the Steel shower walls and leave the Cement Base in place. Is there something I Can use to connect and Seal some type of walls to the Cement Base - Something along the lines of an Acrylic wall style that is a temp yet ok looking fix - plane jane white is fine - 

Tile in the future is great, completly putting a cover over the base or even removing the cement base some day sounds like a great idea - but for right now, what would I use to seal some type of shower wall to a cement base - 

Thanks Again


----------

