Before the tub can go in, I have to put the insulation back, and the cement board underlayment on the floor.
But before I put the insulation back, I have to put a couple of new studs into the wall. I have to put those in because the Hardibacker I'm installing comes in 3 X 5 foot sheets, and the studs are 2 feet apart. So I need to put three more studs in one wall.
They make 4 X 8 foot sheets of Hardibacker, which would save me a lot of hassle, but NOBODY stocks it. I even called the manufacturer, and they told me I'd be better off with the 3 x 5. Evidently, the 4X8 weighs like 90 pounds, and costs twice as much per square foot. Ok, I'll put up some studs.
At the moment, I just need to put the new studs in where the insulation and bathtub will wind up going, 36.5 inches out from the back wall.
Here's the stud I put in on the left wall. An intelligent person would have knocked out
that horizontal stringer, put the stud in, then reinstall two smaller stringers. I am
not that intelligent person, so I cut a notch into it, and inserted it behind the
stringer.
The right wall was problematic. 36.5 inches is right on that 2X4, directly over the
water supply for the toilet. Fortunately, the way I'm going to lay the backerboard
is to install it in two runs. The first run will be horizontal, and will cover the
first three feet of the wall. The final run will be vertical, and will cover the
remaining five feet of wall. So I only need to get something in the upper five feet of
wall.
Install some 2X4s to fill in the gaps, then some half-inch plywood, then a six-foot
2X4. That'll work.
Remember this shaft full of ductwork? It opens to the attic, and the garage. I'd like
to make some sort of attempt at sealing it up before I put the insulation back.
I stapled some 6-mil plastic sheet. It's what I'll be using for the moisture barrier, but
I had enough extra for this.
And here's the final insulated walls. This actually went up a lot easier than I was expecting,
but (as has happened every other time I've played with fiberglass insulation) I now have
itchy arms, and probably an incipient case of silicosis.