Tub and Shower

 On the 2nd Hal and I went to work on the shower pan in the master bathroom. First I painted the floor with 2 coats of a waterproofing membrane called red guard. I also painted the floor under the tub.

red guard 

Then we dry fit and leveled the pan. Next we mixed some mortar according to directions (and finding the right mortar is nigh unto impossible, so we made do) and placed it in strategic locations around the legs of the shower pan

After we put the pan back down, we squeezed it onto the mortar bed and then stuffed more underneath into any void spaces we could reach. After 24 hours Hal installed the drain.

Last week we opened the box with the Kohler tub I bought back in April and discovered it had a crack in it. 

On first glance it looked fine

We should have opened the box and checked it immediately, but we were busy and never got around to it. Fortunately, it turned out that Home Depot extended the return window because of the pandemic so we returned it the day after Labor Day and replaced it with the only right hand drain curved soaker tub in stock, which happened to be an American Standard. I had considered that one originally but the Kohler had gotten slightly better reviews. Also for a tub nearly 4 times more expensive you would think the Kohler company would have better quality control. But look at the bottom of the right front corner, this cardboard honeycomb was supposed to be coated in fiberglass for structural support, yet here we are.

a crappy undercarriage

The crack had to have been there when they packaged the tub, there was no damage whatsoever to the box to have caused this hairline crack.

hard to see but it starts at the upper left and curves down the center

I called Kohler on Friday and they offered to send out someone to repair the damage, not replace the tub. We were fortunate we could return it and that the new tub was in pristine condition. 

Yesterday we dry fitted the tub and installed it similarly to the shower pan. This tub was 2 inches narrower so we furred out the back wall rather than move the plumbing. Annoying, but easier.

Now we cross our fingers that we can pass the rough plumbing inspection next Tuesday.