DIY: Tub turnaround

VIRGINIA BEACH

Lucinda Fury knew she had a problem when the AquaTile walls surrounding her shower and tub began to bubble and stain

less than two years after the bathroom's renovation.

Her son, Chris Fury, who had helped Fury's boyfriend, Rich Knebel, with the original do-it-yourself makeover, rolled up his sleeves once again and tore down the tub's walls to see what was amiss.

"What showed up outside was only a tenth of what was going on inside," Fury said recently at her Bethune Drive rancher in Virginia Beach.

Mold and mildew took its toll on most everything behind the wall, including drywall and most of the two-by-fours. A leaky glass-block window, which had been installed by previous owners, was to blame, Fury said.

Chris Fury, a plumber, set out to make it right and redo the tub area correctly so that his mother could have her original bathroom makeover - a seaside theme with creamy, royal-blue walls and beach-inspired décor - back to normal.

After the damage was cleaned up, Chris Fury went to work making sure the area was abundantly insulated and water-tight.

He replaced two-by-fours with new lumber, drywall with cement-board and green-board for added protection and then used expanding foam in every crack and crevice. The window was blocked with a silicone sealant to prevent further leakage

.

"The window proved to be quite a challenge now that we were wise to the damage that a drip here and there... can do," Lucinda Fury said about the project. So, Chris Fury made sure he insulated beneath the tub and walls as well as applying the expanding foam and sealant in the gaps.

When he installed new AquaTile, son Chris made sure he filled around the window's inside frame with a tight-fitting plastic strip with clear sealant and finalized with white caulk.

Within a week, and $112 later for materials, the Furys had the bathtub/shower installed and sealed tighter than a proverbial drum.

Said Lucinda Fury, sure of her son's handiwork this time around, "I don't even think a termite could get in there."

Toni Guagenti,

tguagenti@cox.net