If you’ve read part one of this post then you know we finished the framing of our basement bathroom project. We boxed in the air duct and allowed for room to have an exhaust fan. We now needed to run electric and plumbing to everything and get the drywall hung.
Let’s Start With Electric
Ok, we needed to figure out how many plugs and switches we needed and also what kind and how many lights would be installed. After some discussion we decided we only needed one wall receptacle and wanted it near the sink location. The sink would be to the right of the toilet when going into the bathroom, this made picking the spot for the plug easy, near the back wall about the same height as a typical light switch. A GFCI plug was used because it was going to be near a water source and it needed to be safe! We know it’s not the ideal location because it’s difficult to hide but we also wanted it to be easy to use when needed. We nailed an outlet box to a stud in the location we picked.
Next the light switches. A double switch was needed so we could control the lights and fan on separate switches. This location was also easy, first stud on the left when you walk in the bathroom and standard height. Nailed a switch box and then we could decide on the lights.
Deciding On The Lights
Picking the lights for the bathroom was a bit tougher decision. We bounced around on what kinds of lights to install, we tossed around the idea of using just a vanity light over the sink or even some typical dome type fixtures but eventually decided on some modern recessed lights. They are a less expensive option and we really like the look and simplicity of them. We chose to use 3 of these so that we had good lighting. We chose to center one of the lights over the shower location and then tried to stagger the other 2 evenly across the ceiling which we think turned out perfect. We installed the lights and could now get the exhaust fan started.
We didn’t need anything fancy for the exhaust fan so we went with a standard fan. This is where we found our first mistake! When we boxed in the air duct we didn’t quite allow enough room for the fans mounting bracket, we measured for the fans housing box only. Now we had to figure out a quick solution, we only needed about 1/4 of an inch extra for it to fit so we decided to use the multi-tool to cut out just over 1/4 of an inch out from the front 2×4 the length of the fans housing. Easy peasy, we could now mount the bracket.
The Receptacles and housings Were Installed
Now we had our plug location done, our switch box installed, our lights installed and fan housing mounted. Next we needed power. To add power to the bathroom we wanted to run a new breaker so that it was not directly tied into the rest of the basement, the rest of the basement still isn’t finished (more to come on this) so it was fairly easy to add the breaker and run the power lines over near the bathroom. We installed a junction box just outside the bathroom so that we could splice the wires and run them to the 3 places we needed. One wire would go to the outlet and the other 2 to the switches. The outlet was simple, run the power to it, hook up the outlet and put the cover on it. The fan was also simple, we ran the power line to the switch box and hooked it up then ran power from it and directly into the fan housing.
The lights were a little more complicated. We did the first step the same as the other 2, ran the power line to the switch box and wired up the switch. Then we ran the power to the closest light that was installed on the ceiling. From that point we had to daisy chain the power from the first light to the second, and the second to the third so that all 3 lights would come on when the switch was flipped.
On To The Plumbing
I will be the first to admit that I’m no plumber. I can change faucets and repair broken lines, but when it comes to new pipes and knowing drain pitches and things of that nature it’s just not my thing. So we had someone who knows what they are doing come take care of all that for us. I’ll go through what was done.
First they fit the shower assembly, the valve, pipes, shut offs, and shower head connections.
Next they tied into the hot and cold lines coming from the water heater and installed shut off valves so that we could isolate the water in the new bathroom. They ran those pipes in the gap behind the wall and had both a hot and cold run to the shower and the sink location. They tied into the shower assembly and secured the pipes the the wall studs for the sink, then capped the pipes since we were not ready to put our sink in yet. They had to run one more cold water line for the toilet, secured it as well and capped it. We now had hot and cold water.
The few things left to do was installing the drains. We asked them to go ahead and put the whole shower base in as well so that the drain and shower would be complete and we wouldn’t have to set it in ourselves. The sink drain pipe had to have a certain amount of pitch in it so that it would drain correctly. The last thing they had to do was set the toilet flange, they cut the pipe and installed the flange and our plumbing to that point was complete. We would still have to hook up the sink and toilet water supplies ourselves once we got to that stage.
Now For The Drywall
Before we begin here it’s important to note that originally we were going to tile the shower. We planned to drywall everywhere except for the shower and use tile backer board and tile it but decided to use a shower surround instead, we’ll get into that more later.
The drywall was pretty straight forward, we started with the ceiling so we had to cut out holes for the recessed lights. We cut each piece to size but had to cut holes for the lights, we had some cardboard left from the shower base so we used it to make templates for the light locations, marked our already cut drywall and used a handheld drywall saw to make the holes.
After the ceiling was done we used as much “scrap” that we had to cover the boxes in air duct. The only special cuts we had to make here was for the exhaust fan.
Drywall The Walls
Now we could begin on the walls. We started even with the edge of the shower since we originally planned for tile on the shower walls. We cut down our sheets and had to make a few hole cuts to let the plumbing come through for the toilet and sink. We made some templates from the cardboard we still had to help with lining up and cutting these holes. We worked our way around the room making sure all the drywall fit as level and as tightly as possible, cutting out for the plug and light switches as we went.
Once the drywall was all hung we had to finish it. If I’m being honest, I don’t mind hanging drywall but I would rather have teeth pulled than finish it. It’s not that it’s too difficult (I’m no professional) but it’s definitely one of those jobs that I have tons of respect to for the people who are good at it. I can do the basics though.
Moving on, so we went over all of the screws with our first coat of mud. After applying a thin layer to the seams and inside corners we used drywall tape and then a heavier layer of mud on top of the tape with a wider putty knife. By the way, we did one seam or corner at a time. The last thing we had to do for this first coat was to add corner bead to the box in area before also mudding it. (Tip: keep the mud thinned down with water so it’s easier to work with)
We had to wait for the first coat of mud to dry before going on to the next step which was sanding everything and making a huge dusty mess that we would have to clean up later. Sounds fun right? Maybe this is why I’m not the biggest fan of finishing drywall? Anywho, it had to be done, or did it? At this point we were thinking of ways to add our own touch of uniqueness to the project. I mean, what’s the point of doing Home-Edits if not to add a touch of style to it?
Check out Part 3 to see what we decided to use instead of paint!
This was a long project and I want to cover a lot of important details so I am breaking this blog into 3 parts. Here is a link to part 1 and 3 if you missed them!
Thanks for reading our blog! We hope you got some great information and your project goes well. Feel free to reach out if we can help with anything and we hope to see you again! Good luck with all your future Home-Edits!