This week started with Mike at work and me at home finding plenty of work to do on my own. Below you can see that I taped and mudded Mike’s side of the bathroom. I forgot to do it before I added shiplap. C’est la vie. Well, it’s done now.

Mike commented that texturing is in my blood. I guess he liked my tape job?
When Mike came home he helped me set his vanity in place
You can see how his drain and receptacle line up just right in the drawer I built
I also built all the door/drawer fronts. See my bondo above?

I used mortise and tenons for the rails and stiles; dado joints for the center panels. I used my router/router table to make my joints. It was a little tedious to set up but once going went really fast. When I do the linen cabinet I’m going to make those joints on the table saw and see which was easier.

Everything got glued and clamped together
Then filled and sanded.
Lots of coffee. See my cup?

My favorite filler lately has been Bondo for wood. I know people have used the car filler with mixed results. I use the Bondo that is made for wood and I love it. It doesn’t shrink or crack, it’s just the right amount of flexibility for wood’s normal movement with moisture changes. It sands smooth easily, fills easily, it’s stainable, dries quickly and here’s the best part: it stays good in the can for a long time. It is a two part epoxy – so the Bondo stays smooth until you activate it with the hardener. If you saw the Bondo in the picture above you can see how I lay it out on a board. I put a nice sized scoop of Bondo on one side of my palette and a small dollop of the hardener on the other. Then, I use a flat razor to grab a little Bondo and move it to the center of the palette. Then I use the razor and grab a tiny grain sized amount of hardener and mix it into the Bondo in the middle of the board. This way I mix up just what I need – it starts to set in a minute or less – so it’s important not to mix up too much while filling joints. But when kept separate on my board I can use that all day without it getting dried out and just mix the two together in the center of the board as I need it.

Door fronts fitted on Mike’s vanity.
When Mike came home he finished the Kerdi-board and moved the drain.
New drain in place and he’s lined up the Kerdi linear drain.
This is a dry pack mix, it allows the pipes to flex but packs them in place. You set it by spraying water on it with a spray bottle.
This is our shower pan. Kerdi has different size shower pans, you can customize them to fit your shower on site. Mike is cutting it to fit in our shower. He already cut the spot for the drain and now he is cutting the sides. Kerdi shower pans have to be cut evenly so the slope stays the same. So both sides had to be cut the same amount and centered in the shower.
Mike testing it’s fit. First times a charm.
A quick break and testing our shower benches out. Mike deciding he didn’t like how he taped/mudded the Kerdi and thinks I should do it.
Perfect height shelf. Messy hair, no make up. And electrical tape on my cut finger.
Then we used the measuring tape to find the pipes behind the Kerdi for our rain heads and shower wands. Luckily we took pictures and I made a note with the measurements.
Then I spent the rest of the day waterproofing the Kerdi. It was a lot of mixing thinset and smearing it. I think I did a good job. Mike helped by bringing me stuff I needed and giving positive re-enforcement so he wouldn’t have to do it.
Another view of our handi-work. We make a great team.
While I was waterproofing the shower Mike wired the sconces for his vanity. He also left me a Valentine surprise behind the wall and posted about it the next day on Instagram. Gotta keep the fire alive people and Mike knows what I like.

In week four we buy and install our tile and I can’t wait to tell you all about it, including my five favorite tiles that look like natural marble but are affordable and durable porcelain.

Similar Posts

One Comment

  1. Pingback: Week Two of our Master Bath Remodel | Hambel’s Get Real

I promise to reply if you do!