The pink bathroom got a shower and a new floor.

This is the cheapy external shower kit we installed. The best part of the whole thing was asking the guy at Home Depot if he had brass nipples. He did – and in lots of sizes.

We had to install a shorter nipple to attach the faucet and anchored the pipe to the wall. The whole project cost about $120 and took 4 hours. This external shower kit is a piece of crap. We had to take the whole thing apart to burrow out some holes and reinstall it about 4 or 5 times. It kind of works, but the shower head leaks when you just want the tub faucet on and when you turn the shower on it is SO LOUD. Painfully loud.

So we have yet to use the stupid thing, and continue to shower in the blue bathroom. Oh well…



But we did finish the VCT floor. I actually really like it, and love how durable it is. We had it sealed and waxed and now it looks great. Now that I finally bought a digital camera, there will be better pics to come!

The main pink bathroom has a tub – but no shower. I love the tile and want to keep the bathroom as authentically retro as possible, but we NEED to add a shower. I am not a bath taker. Sitting in a tub of tepid filthy water makes my stomach turn.

There is a closet located to the right, behind the faucet and plumbing. So hopefully we can access the plumbing from there – but that means we will have to tear the closet and drywall apart. The costs keep adding up…

So how to add a shower? I’m still not very sure but I found a few useful tips and links. The DIY network has a brief step by step instruction for adding a shower to a pink 50’s bathroom.

I wish the step by step was a little more in depth, as most of the terminology and equipment are pretty foreign to me – plus the list of materials is a bit overwhelming…

Materials:

pipe wrench
pipe cutter
safety glasses
blowtorch
solder
flux
screwdriver
shop vacuum
plumber’s putty
level
reciprocating saw
drill with a 1-1/2″ spade bit
utility knife
tile bit

I’m wondering if it may be more cost effective to buy on exterior shower unit. Yahoo answers had a similar question. One answer was the “Add-a-Shower”.

This one is made for built in tubs, and at only $92.28 plus $5.90 for the face bushing to customize with a different shower head, it may be the cost effective winner.

I hate to loose the old faucet and replace it with something so unattractive and utilitarian (I mean they can’t even post
a picture, just this dreary drawing?). I can always take it out later…(these will be my famous last words for every crappy compromise).

Does anyone have experience with these type of converters, or possibly a better solution?