Shower Remodel, Weekend 4

This weekend was the most work so far, as we spent most of the day Saturday and Sunday afternoon working.  

 Here we have all the cement hardi-backer up on the walls.  You can't tell from the picture, but the wall niches stick out from the backer board about 1/4 inch.  We smoothed this out by using lots of thinset to make a smooth transition in the depths.  I think the preformed niches weren't worth the cost.  Given the work to support them and then even out the front face, it would have been just as much work to make our own and save the money.

Here you can see all the thinset on the walls.  All the joints and corners have fiberglass mesh tape to prevent cracking and the screw heads are covered.  The dark sections are still wet in the picture and will turn light gray once they dry.  The bricks in the front are the "curb". This is the water barrier for the sides which will have glass on them.  The tile will cover the bricks when it's finished.  The next step is installing the drain and making the shower pan out of dry pack mortar.  All of the hours of watching YouTube videos and reading DIY forums is finally paying off!