With 21 counties, a population of just over 9.5 million, a landscape ranging from mountaintops to beachfronts, and the largest remaining Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem consisting of 14 million acres, the New Jersey peninsula is surrounded on its southern half by barrier islands. It’s about a three-hour drive from its northernmost to southernmost point, but an hour before you complete that journey you would pass a little corner of Southern Ocean County by Long Beach Island that I call home.
I specialize in custom tile and hard surface flooring. I am CTI #1392, CFI #13604, and I own Skyro Floors. Most of my clients are second and third homeowners who vacate their summer homes from the beginning of October until Memorial Day weekend, giving me the time I need to leave them with projects they’ll love for years to come.
Rapid Recess: Brackets and BPC
This particular project took place in a home where I had already completed all of the other tile work. These last two bathrooms completed the full renovation. Two curbless showers in a beach house that’s been renovated more times than I can count proved to be a bigger challenge than expected as substrate prep began. I turned to RTC Products for solutions that would make this project a success.
The guest bath consisted of a simple layout. However, due to obstacles below the subfloor, space was limited. I used Rapid Recess brackets to lower the subfloor. They are designed to provide the necessary depth to install a zero-entry curbless shower and are installed from above the joists, without the use of additional lumber or compromising the structural integrity of the existing framing.
Rapid Recess recently introduced an innovative pipe fitting for linear drains, which I used in the master bath on this project. In the past when I’ve used linear drains, I’ve had to install a Fernco fitting connecting the drain body to the straight pipe and then make the connection to the trap blindly. This gave me more anxiety than the rest of the project.
With the Rapid Recess Blind Pipe Connector (BPC), I can access the connection from above, and I can connect 2” linear drain pipes to 2” waste lines.
Gruen: waterproofing and quick pipe connection
A linear drain was originally planned for the guest bath, but a point drain was needed due to height issues. I used a mix of Gruen Shower System products with GoBoard® walls and Maxisil MaxiGrab to seal the seams and screws. The Gruen drain bodies come with fabric waterproofing, approximately 4’x6’ attached, right from the factory. The Gru-Connect patented compression fitting connects the Gruen flange to a standard 2” plumbing pipe with no glue needed. This allows the plumber to relocate the pipe and make an effortless connection after the tile installation is completed.
The prep in the guest bath was fairly straightforward. The master bath was where things got interesting. This space had been renovated several times and originally featured a sunken bathtub that was flush with the subfloor. It’s been framed over and patched to the point where it’s unrecognizable from the original layout.
The subfloor in the area for the new freestanding tub was about 1” out in a 5’ span. It got progressively worse as you got closer to the far wall. And since we generally like water to actually go down the drain, some additional prep was required.
From a total thickness of just under 2” down to a feather edge on the opposite side of the room, I used Bostik’s CMP LiquiTek™ to level the area and a combination of spray foam and sill seal to contain the pour. To maintain the same height as the existing hardwood and the rest of the house, I used Bostik UltraRamp™ to transition down from the 1”-high self leveler at this point of the bathroom. I was lucky enough to land a grout joint at the angle change.
After bringing the subfloor up to industry standards, I gave it a primer coat of Bostik GoldPlus™, diluted 3-to-1, and installed the uncoupling membrane.
The tile selection and layout in both showers were fairly simple: a 12”x24” floor, pebble shower pan, and subway tile wall. This clean and simple look will last for years to come.
Tile selections and setting materials will vary from project to project, but the most important element of any tile installation will always be what’s underneath—the parts that lie below all the pretty things, the parts that support the pretty things, the parts that build the foundation.
Thank you to all the companies that provided the parts that built the foundation on this project, especially RTC Products for supplying the Rapid Recess elements and Gruen Shower Systems. Much appreciation also for providing the support needed to make all those parts work together seamlessly.
