Campervan Shower Build with PVC Tiles (Recirculating Shower Part 3) | Transit Van Conversion E31

This is the next part in our campervan recirculating shower build where we're going to finish off the waterproofing with some hygienic PVC cladding and Altro Pisces wet room flooring.
We wanted our van shower to have a metro style feature wall too, and after a bit of searching we decided to use some PVC tiles from Reco surfaces, that look super realistic!
It was tricky to cut out large sheets of the PVC, particularly in the pouring rain but we got there in the end... We also found out that trying to use bathroom sealant for the very first time in a small van shower was not our favourite job 😅
All that was left was to install the taps and shower rail, and our campervan shower actually looks the part and we're really happy with how it turned out. Can't wait till we get it plumbed in, so we can actually use it! 😀
Thanks for watching! Any comments or questions? Let us know below!
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Products used in this video (includes affiliate links *):
↠ Concealed Shower Fixing Plate - geni.us/U6UKvNh (Amazon)
↠ Acegoo LED Lights - geni.us/dBVAvYP (Amazon)
↠ CT1 White Sealant - geni.us/3enOZkU (Amazon)
↠ Anti-mould Bathroom Sealant - geni.us/TL8FQfg (Amazon)
↠ Sealant Smoother Tool - geni.us/uf3z (Amazon)
↠ Loctite 55 - geni.us/RZ21 (Amazon)
↠ Makita Hole Saws - geni.us/Vz37a5 (Amazon)
↠ Bosch Cordless Drill - geni.us/jFvH (Amazon)
↠ Bosch Cordless Jigsaw - geni.us/4Lvq7 (Amazon)
↠ Altro Pisces Wet Room Flooring - ebay.us/8amBpK
↠ Reco PVC Tiles - www.recosurfac...
↠ 2mm PVC Hygeienic Wall Cladding - claddingmonkey...
↠ Shower Rail - www.toolstatio...
↠ Shower Drain - www.bes.co.uk/...
↠ Shower Taps (seems to have gone up in price!) - www.notjusttap...
* Disclaimer: Some of the links above may be affiliate links. If you choose to click on them we may earn a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
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Filmed with:
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↠ GoPro Hero 8 - geni.us/PsIIH9 (Amazon)
↠ Zhiyun Crane M2 - geni.us/WhUBT7I (Amazon)
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* Disclaimer: Some of the links above may be affiliate links. If you choose to click on them we may earn a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
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All our videos are for entertainment and show our process of converting our campervan. They're not intended to be tutorials and we may make mistakes along the way, so always do your own research and if in doubt about anything then make sure to get advice from a suitable professional
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#vanconversion #campervanconversion #vanlifeuk

[@carold8308]

For the ply walls, if you havent already used the ply lining, can use wpb ply which the trade use as its already waterproofed. Great work guys ❤.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah we would have considered using sheets of already treated waterproof/marine ply, but we wanted to keep costs down and use up all the scraps we had left. Cheers! 🙂

[@sigma6725]

TIM AND ABI YOU ARE DOING GENIUSLY WELL...👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, thank you! 🙂

[@user-zz9gl4ci8o]

First time I’ve ever watched a build video start to finish, brilliant, learnt a few bits for mine there and enjoyed watching it, thank you!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! Happy that we kept it interesting enough to watch all the way through 😁 Good luck with your build!

[@ythjkl2881]

Love, care, attention to details, patience, skills, safety, teamwork.... and the list goes on. Go on! You are amazing people. Can't wait to see you on the road!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying all the videos, and cannot wait to be on the road ourselves 🙂

[@WagnerGimenes]

Your animals are the stars here, but you two are an inspiration. Thanks for the great videos.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

They do love their air time 🙂 And you're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@Boatlife1964]

Love watching you work so well together. You’re attention to detail and the way you work out solutions to problems is so inspiring. Love you guys. ❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks very much, really glad you enjoy watching the videos 😊

[@normm.7265]

Your perfectionism is genuine and not stuffy. A tip on tube caulk: cut a very small hole at about 45 degrees. After applying a long bead, relieve the pressure in the tube to stop the flow from the tube tip. Then use a wet finger (repeatedly dipping it in water) as an excellent caulk tool for a professional finish. Thanks for sharing. BTW: lovely rings, Abi.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, thanks for watching 🙂 And thanks for the tip, we did work through pretty much every way of doing it by the end, wet fingers, dry fingers, soapy fingers, sealant tools, lolly sticks... It was our first time ever using bathroom sealant and not the easiest of shapes to start off with. The reco tiles in particular were tricky as our fingers were too big to run in and out of the bevel of each tile nicely 😛 But got there in the end!

[@1966cambo]

I was going to say that I found it easiest to apply tape on both sides of the crack being sealed then a glass of warm water and soap, dip finger, run down seam and just pull the tape when done. Leaves nice crisp lines !

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@1966cambo Cool, thanks for sharing :)

[@Macktheknife11]

Looks absolutely first class guys. No surprise there, it's what I've come to expect from you over the course of this build 👏 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! Now we just have to make sure we don't mess up one of the next projects 😁😛

[@bengilkes7676]

Your attention to detail is second to none.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks, we do like to spend a bit of time to get it right 🙂

[@raphaelsutcliffe8682]

Per most of the previous comments, loving the attention to detail. Amazing work

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! 🙂

[@alanharness1960]

Top tip for applying sealant neatly. Run blue masking tape down both sides of the corner you want to seal. Wack a load of sealant in the corner, smooth it down with a lolly pop stick then carefully peel the tape off before the sealant sets and it’ll leave lovely neat edges. As ever, It’s a pain putting the tape on/off but worth the effort.👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah we used tape when we ran sealant along the vinyl floor but found it easier doing it freehand with just a lolly stick for the shower with all the curves and protruding tiles. We've tried a whole bunch of different methods but still never look forward to that job! We have a tendency to go back just that one time too many to smooth it out and then end up messing it up and having to start again 🤣

[@rosetta6285]

Your guys intention to detail is thoroughly impressive and appreciated for my ocd brain ha ha... :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha glad to hear it, cheers :)

[@andymiles6443]

Hello guys. I finally got to use the plastic you used for your shower. I asked what you used in a previous message, your right, not easy to use but the end result is fantastic. Thanks for the tip and loving your build. I would suggest anyone using this not to leave it rolled up in a warm garage for a while like I did before using it, it likes to stay curly !!! reverse role to make flat again. but great stuff. would recommend.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Awesome, glad to hear! Yeah that's a good tip, also be wary of direct heat sources against it as it will start to flex/warp (which we used to our advantage to bend it). Enjoy your shower! 🙂👍

[@stevenallen6606]

I really enjoyed watching that video. Lovely camera shots of the garden and the cat. Shower looks great, looking forward to see the rest of the build..

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊 Haha yeah both cats were curious and came to inspect this one! 🐱🐱🙂

[@geraldgooding7430]

Amazing work on your shower looks lovely, you obviously do your research before steaming into jobs keep up your brilliant work and video guys.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot, haha yeah the research is another project in itself! The tricky part is every project is completely different from the others pretty much, so lots to figure out 😛

[@emilia1382]

Got very excited when I saw a new video. You two are just g8! I love how u take your time & think things through together. Waiting for the next instalment 🎉

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, hope you enjoyed it! Next one will be starting the kitchen 😀

[@paiiininthebuttt2477]

Wow, HUGE job! Well done

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot! 🙂

[@greatescape7735]

You are both perfectionists!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We want it to look nice and homely inside 🙂

[@ninja2353]

Absolutely brilliant about to be doing mine . Got quite a few good tips off you 👍🏻

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Awesome, good luck with yours! 👍

[@simonshenry]

Wow, very well done guys, you both have done an awesome job, looked very technical - but you both smashed it - shower looks fantastic. Lovely build, keep up the great progress 👏👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot, we will try! Looking forward to seeing it all coming together 🙂

[@PresidentBust]

Just unbelievably helpful to me. Thanks so much.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, you're welcome! 🙂

[@craigmacdonald4987]

Oooh mitre edges too, very well done folks! 👏 👍🏻

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! Haha, we actually had to buy a different trim as the first one we bought was too chunky and didn't mitre very nicely at all. Wouldn't know how else to do it 😛

[@craigmacdonald4987]

@@SelfBuiltStories Lol

[@SelfBuiltStories]

😀

[@Jaujau933]

You guys are amazing - greets from Germany ❤️ 🇩🇪

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! 🙂

[@gonefilming2020]

Wow. You ARE putting a lot of effort in this and this will forever be remembered as the "Fort Knox of showers". 😁 We're now anxious to see, what door setup you'll be using... Stay safe. 🚐⛅🍀

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hopefully worth the effort now so we get years of trouble and leak free use out of it 🙂 We're installing a sliding door which we have but haven't got round to putting in yet. It's a self squeegee cleaning one so should make the whole area nice and practical to use hopefully!

[@gonefilming2020]

@@SelfBuiltStories Sliding door? Squeegee? Sounds like our Nautilus! 😊👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@gonefilming2020 Yep very similar! Ours is the ROLdour, which was easier to get hold of in the UK

[@timothybint4960]

What was the tanking system you used on your ply before the pvc board and do you really need it if your joints are sealed ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@timothybint4960 It's the Everbuild Aquaseal Wetroom Tanking Kit, we have a video on it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPGoppjmpZ-paM. And yeah good question, in theory the pvc and sealant layer is all waterproof, but with all the vibrations and movement of the van over time we expect the sealant to fail at some point in some places and we didn't want to find out the hard way when there's a leak. So having the tanking layer gives us peace of mind that the whole room is watertight. So maybe not strictly required if you can ensure the pvc layer is completely waterproof, but if we were doing the build again we would definitely do the same again 👍

[@smudgerart]

Recently watched six of your videos and I’m well impressed how you guys present thorough in depth tutorials. I’ve learnt loads about Solar fitting, even though I have a Coach built Motorhome and don’t intend to do a self build myself I’ll be subscribing for more of your progress. And hopefully see more of your adventures travelling around and hiking 🥾 and utilising the van 🚐

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy the future videos 🙂

[@RobbinWesterlund]

Im plannig to build a van next year and your channel is so good and give alot of tips! Thx you!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, good luck with your upcoming build 🙂👍

[@Bugs1953]

Love watching you two.Carry on,looking forward to the next one already.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, we will! 😊

[@grahamunderwood9353]

looking superb have had plumbers in to do jobs around the house and they were no where near the level of quality you put into that shower .

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! It did take a bit of time and we're really happy with how it turned out in the end 🙂

[@owenparker6651]

Another great instructional video by a grand team! Thanks for sharing!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@andym1908]

Shower looks amazing 👏 👌

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! 🙂

[@nigelburton7408]

Looks great and the level of attention to detail is admirable.😀 Personally not the way i would have done a shower but respect your choice the way you have gone about it. ☺️👋 It is coming together nicely now.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, yeah we're happy to see things taking shape 🙂 and cool, how do you think you would have done it? So many different approaches to these things

[@stevecope304]

Hi Abi, Tim Another great video, your giving me some great ideas for my daughters ford transit. Keep up the great work 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool, good luck with the project! And thanks :)

[@rodneylast2651]

Well Done.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 👍

[@robhilton716]

Looks fantastic, if I ever do a van conversion I know where to come!!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, looking forward to some time off from building after this one 😄

[@PlayMyMusicPlaylist]

Loving the detail explanation. U guys r neat

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 😊

[@mikestokes235]

You've both done an awesome job, well done!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! 🙂

[@celineloue6711]

Great video,thank you!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, you're welcome 👍🙂

[@stevenspiteri7988]

Another wonderful job, and your whole series has helped me so much planning our conversion. One little point though, the offset connectors you used the loctite for are only to be used if your pipe centres aren’t 150mm….i.e. from a previous mismeasurement. If you are using the mounting plate they are engineered to be exactly 150mm apart so you don’t need the offset connectors as you already have the right centres. Would have taken away the stress of getting the offsets 150mm apart and allow smaller holes to be drilled in the shower wall so less chance of a leak there.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot! And ah interesting, that makes sense. Those s-bend offset connectors came with the tap which was handy, but thinking about it now they're presumably just an extra in case they're needed. Suppose most residential installs probably don't need them but being the first time we've done any plumbing we didn't question using them as they were with it. We'd have needed something, as there are no rigid pipes of course, but guess there are straight connectors we could have sourced instead if we'd wanted to. Thanks for the comment! Always good to learn something new 🙂 Pretty confident it shouldn't leak there though, and if it does we also sealed all around the hole they're passing through so hopefully we'd see the drip marks on the kitchen cabinet on the other side of the wall and could sort it out 🙂

[@stevenspiteri7988]

Yes there’s straight extensions pieces if you need them, shouldn’t cause any issues hopefully, but just to let you know in case you ever do this again.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@stevenspiteri7988 Yep, thanks!

[@sB3rg]

Fiddly! Well done!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Particularly fiddly going around the box sections but there's always some awkward shape to work around in the van 😛

[@sB3rg]

@@SelfBuiltStories especially in the transit! I think the promasters have less curvy sides, but they have less convenient channels to run wite and such. Tradeoffs. If I ever do one again, I'll be sure to straighten out wall sections and square things up as much as possible, THEN build and mount to that. The customization of all the *fiddly* bits really eats up time

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@sB3rg Haha yeah, and the curvy roof...! Adds a lot of time, somehow every project seems to end up with some strange quirk you didn't think of at the beginning :P The old Transit is a bit boxier and has a much flatter roof too, but aside from the awkward shapes we really like the new MK8 style, even if it does make it awkward sometimes!

[@vicki9929]

Love your videos! And great job on the shower!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks Vicki! 😊👍

[@murtzia]

Great job guys! Really cool I've taken lots of notes

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂

[@mw0lge]

very nice !! i would double check that the nuts on the back of the tap are not bottoming out on the cone covers, before getting a good seal on the offset tap fittings. May need to cut the groove in the baton slightly deeper. I had a leak there when putting the same sort of fitting in my house because the tap nuts couldn't sit fully home. Lovely install :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Ah that sounds annoying, yeah we wouldn't want a leak there. We're fairly confident it's all seated nice and snugly so think we're ok, and have also added some CT1 around the holes the taps pass through too so it shouldn't be possible for any water to fall between the layers of the shower construction. So hopefully if it were to leak, it would be visible on the other side of the wall on the kitchen side.

[@mw0lge]

@@SelfBuiltStories good stuff :) I would make sure that there is at least one or two threads visible between the tap nuts and the offset fitting they go onto, then you know you have enough compression on the tap washer. I am sure it will be fine though as you have done a real nice job of the waterproofing/install :) Have a good weekend. Cheers !

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@mw0lge Cheers, will take a look next time we're out there. Have a good weekend too!

[@peterjones3806]

You guys doing awesome

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks 😊

[@sabby1802]

Beautiful!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 🙂

[@tommotomlinson3370]

Absolutely superb work guys 👌🚿🚿

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks so much 🙂

[@chrisladd6305]

Looking great guys!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks Chris! 🙂

[@WildNomadicFilms]

Wow, insane attention to detail, thanks for the video. Surely the shower tap dome covers leak? Unless they are silicone backed or something? It seemed like it was just metal on the PVC and access to the cavity behind?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And we added some bathroom sealant around them here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqDHdauQf5x-hrssi=oBlprsVZ_2pSRCU_&t=1530 . Happy to say we've had no leaks 🙂👍

[@WildNomadicFilms]

@@SelfBuiltStories Durrrrrrr! Must of missed that part! Sorry haha. Looks great and glad to hear about no leaks 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@WildNomadicFilms Haha no worries, cheers 🙂

[@chrisb5839]

A better product to use for the tanking is Speedtex. It's a sprayable 2-part polymer that can be rollered or brushed on. Once cured, it's scratchproof, extremely tough yet flexible so it will never chip or crack long-term. It's also anti-baterial so very easy to clean. It's actually used to repair cracked shower trays in caravans under the name of Speedcoat by trained technicians, but Speedtex is their DIY product 👍🏼

[@chrisb5839]

It also removes the need for the pvc layer which cuts down on overall costs.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@chrisb5839 That does look like an interesting product, yeah looks like quite a few people have had good success repairing shower trays with it. Good to have more options! We like having the pvc layer on top though to give a smooth white finish not textured so it feels more like a shower to us. Cheers 🙂👍

[@Seqhael]

This is great, good job

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers!

[@glennclark762]

Fantastic job.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers!

[@whativebeenupto]

Looks so good! 😊😊😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! We're pretty happy with it 😀

[@user-fs4fd3gv3r]

That hard 90 degree corner looks lethal, hope you consider softening the edge or shape to avoid potential foot or shin injury in case you slip or accidentally hit the corner or hard edge.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah we'd have rather not had that square bit in there but it's where the wheel arch is so couldn't avoid it. The flooring we put in is quite grippy wet room flooring though so chance of slippage should be minimal, much less than in a bath or shower at home

[@olliebrom13]

fantastic great work

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂

[@CalebShaw-fk7xm]

The wheels will fall off that van long before your shower ever leaks. Top job but perhaps a bit overkill.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha thanks, water leaks are an absolute pain so being extra careful was what we wanted for peace of mind 😛

[@fagerlivegen9]

Knights of all trades :-) Really nice to see how you work together and spot the great result. Any plans for a trip to Norway by the way? Greeting

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks :) And yep we're definitely planning to visit Norway, one of the places we're most looking forward to. Possibly end of Decemember/early January but haven't quite decided yet 😀

[@alessandrotaurasi5879]

Hi guys, first of all congratulations. I've watched hundreds of hours of camper videos and I have to say that yours are the most complete and exhaustive. However, I wanted to ask you a question about the shower: if in the end you put a thick layer of white PVC panels, sealed at the edges with silicone, wasn't that enough? instead you first gave quite a few layers of liquid rubber as well as tape, and these seem superfluous to me. isnt'it ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And sure no problem. While the PVC sheet is waterproof the gaps between them are only as good as the silicone joins, and with all the vibration over time we expect that to fail at some point and come away, needing to be redone. There are places where we've already seen that a little bit too. So having the flexible rubber layer underneath gives us peace of mind that even if the silicone fails a little in places the entire room is still watertight, and we won't have any leaks going unnoticed causing for potentially a long time causing us a lot more problems. Putting it on was fairly simple just took some time waiting for the different coats to dry, whereas if we had a leak after the shower was built it would be a lot more time and effort to rectify. Happy to say it's all working out great so far, HTH! 👍

[@newvannoplan756]

Hi guys, great job, reminds me of doing mine a few months ago, what a pain lol. But looks quality and really well done. :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, yeah there were definitely some moments it was dragging on a bit, we're not a fan of bathroom sealant (or rain! 😂) Thank you!

[@mpjkea2000]

Must say ,excellent work ,way more quality than most . Ps go into business.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha thanks, one van is enough for now though 😛

[@richardvirchow2757]

I'm going to give you a sugestion put another drains in shower to give you at any ageless it insurance to drain all water from shower room. Sincerely! R.S.V.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers yeah we did contemplate that actually but there are limited spaces we could actually drill through the floor and avoid everything underneath. We have a cheap squeegee though and have found it's pretty quick to just pull any leftover water down the drain at the end of a shower if we're on a slight slope 👍

[@RafLow91]

Hey ;) Love your videos guys! A lot of inspirations and ideas to steal 😂 I have a question though. What is this paper-like material you are using to take a shapes of youe shower walls parts?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, thanks glad you like them 🙂 And it is just this cheap lining paper, worked really well! www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856 👍

[@StephenandAndie]

Hoping you still check comments on this video... we couldn't get through our van build without you, so thank you so much for all the info on your channel! How did you end up securing your sub floor once you added the insulation? Is it floating or did you screw or glue it down?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome 🙂 And to secure the battens to the van metal we used sikaflex, and then we screwed the 12mm birch plywood base down onto those, and then finally the vinyl on top 👍

[@bparker6442]

just love your attention to detail - cracking van you are building. are you guys fitting a lpg tank as i am and would like to see how you do it hahhaha enjoy

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! And yes planning to, we think we're going to go with a small underslung tank for our oven, will be nice to get that one in! 😀

[@LincolnMcCann]

Nice job! I love your attitude and the way you learn and share the jobs together. One tip for next time you are sealing up like that, run a line of masking tape either side of the join, then you run your bead of sealer in, use you tool (or a finger) to shape the bead, then pull off the masking tape and you have nice straight edges. Also, a question because I am genuinely perplexed, why use taps in the shower instead of a shower mixer? Are shower mixers not a thing in the UK? I can't stand having to try and find the right hot/cold balance in a shower with taps, give me a mixer any day, especially when I am trying to save water.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂 And that is a great question, yes mixer taps are definitely a thing here! (it was actually quite hard to find some that _arent_ mixers). It's a quirk of it being a recirculating shower and the way we're heating the water. We wanted to keep them separate because the hot water will be set to a predefined temperature of around 40C via our diesel heater, and will be part of the recirculating loop using a dedicated small hot water tank. Using the cold tap draws from a different source (the fresh tank at the back of the van), so turning on the cold tap in the shower would actually add more water into the closed loop, and cool down the hot when it's recirculating. So in practice we will only use the hot tap normally, but it will probably take a bit of experimentation to get the temperature balance right. The cold tap will be mostly for rinsing things, or if it's a particularly hot day and we just want a cold shower, as we're going to have an option to bypass the recirculating part of the loop and have it drain straight into the grey tank. That's the plan anyway, hopefully it'll all work out as we're imagining! And thanks for the tip, we have used tape before when we did the floor and it worked pretty well, but with all the tight corners, strange shapes and bevelled tiles in the shower we thought it'd be a bit a bit tricky to mask it all up 😛

[@LincolnMcCann]

@@SelfBuiltStories Yeah OK I understand on the shower shower mixer. I am planning to build my recirculating shower with a mixer and the hot line coming through a heat exchanger and the cold line bypassing it so the mixer will function like a normal mixer. Both lines will have their source in the closed loop. As for the masking, in my experience the tricker the sealing job the more worth it the masking is. For simple sealing jobs I don't usually bother as it is easy enough to get a good finish without. My finishing tool of choice is usually my finger and, depending on the sealer, I dip it in a bit of soapy water then run my finger along the bead. As you are finding, there are many ways to achieve a result and we each must choose the method that works for us and gets us the result we are after. Thanks for your reply. The build is coming along really nicely.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@LincolnMcCann Yeah that's the way we would have done it if we were using a traditional heat exchanger too, but it wouldn't work so well with our setup as our hot water is not on-demand, instead it's heated up as a separate tank. Tradeoffs to every approach and that's our one with this. We reckon though as we rarely adjust the temperature in the shower when we're in it, that once we've played around with what temperature works best and set it there it should work quite nice. We quite liked the idea of using a hydronic heater for the water and having it on demand that way, with the hot air as an added second with an air matrix, but decided to do it the other way in the end and use a regular air heater with a heat exchanger on that for the hot water. And yeah many ways to achieve the same thing for sure! We used all combination of fingers, soapy water, sealant tools and lolly sticks by the end. Hopefully not something we'll need to do again anytime soon😅

[@hunglikeadonkeybutnotassmelly]

Again. Brilliant job and very well done. I would be interested to see a cost and supplier list for when I steal your ideas. ;-)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! We've added most of the main things we've bought for each project in the video description. At the end when it's all finished we'll probably make an uber list of everything we've used

[@pentax2551]

Lolly stick applicator? That sounds like a fab idea!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hahaha... ice one! 😄 It works so well too! We tried pretty much everything and the lolly stick was unbeatable 😛

[@faithokafor5356]

Instead of the PVC, I am thinking of using vinyl sheets for weight sake. Would this adhere firmly to the tanking membrane?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, I think you'd be able to find an adhesive to bond it to the membrane okay, but you might notice the undulations through the vinyl a bit unless you can get a really smooth finish with the tanking, as when ours dried if you ran your hand along I wouldn't describe it as smooth. Personally I'd prefer PVC as it's rigid and a solid piece, but I've seen some people use vinyl as well and there's a lot more choice for styles and patterns. Good luck 👍

[@Tom111060]

Great Job - two questions: Ventilation? --- second drain (when Car is not leveled)?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) For ventilation we have a sliding door which has an airgap at the top and the maxxfan outside the shower room pulling the air out, and the diesel heater blowing warm dry in in at the bottom. There's also a fan in our toilet vent pipe will double up as another mini extractor fan when the shower is in use. Draining obviously works best on level ground, but even we have the van parked at the moment (which is pretty sloped!) it doesn't take too long after turning the shower off to sweep the water back down the drain. Maybe 30s or so, so we're pretty happy with how it all drains

[@JD-mm3df]

Hey guys, great video! Just wanted to get your opinions on something. We have purchased a van with a shower much like yours, unfortunately the water seems to pool on the floor even when the van is level due to the drain not being flush and slightly risen (about 3mm). Obviously, this isn't ideal and I was wondering if you had any tips/ ideas to remedy it?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, cheers 😀 Hmm yeah drainage in the van can be tricky as you're not always parked on the right level ground. We recessed our drain into the floor but ours still works best if we park on a slightly right and back leaning slope so we tend to do that, and we use a squeegee to push the last of the water into the drain after we've finished. If you want to improve it you'd have to recess the drain further into the floor, how easy that is depends on how your shower was built. Ideally the floor would be slightly sloping into the drain but that still relies on the van being parked optimally for drainage. We've seen people add a second drain in an opposite corner to the other one to improve it and cater for different parking slopes as well. We did consider that at one point but while ours doesn't drain as freely as it would with a perfectly flat shower and tray in a house, it works well enough for us now that we're used to it. Good luck! 👍

[@carlbailey1016]

Excellent effort and a great finish. What did you use as templating material?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And it's just this cheap lining paper, worked great: www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856 👍🙂

[@carlbailey1016]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@carlbailey1016 No problem 👍

[@minininjaclan2558]

Hey, Loved the tiles but its so hard to tell the difference in grout colours on their site, can you remember if yours is the light grey or dark grey? - cheers :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, yeah they're great, we got the white metro tiles with light grey grout in the end. There's quite a lot of choice so we phoned up and they sent us a free sample pack 🙂👍

[@VanDiddly]

Hi, thanks for sharing your van building knowledge with us 😊 may I ask- what spray adhesive did you use for the Altro flooring and over time have you found it to be sufficient? May you be well 😌

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hi! No problem :) And we used Trim Fix which is the same stuff in quite a few places like for the van carpet. We haven't had any issues with it so far so hopefully it'll stay that way as it gets more battle tested on the road 🙂

[@VanDiddly]

@@SelfBuiltStories thanks for that! Hope you enjoy your travels in your lovely van :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@VanDiddly Thank you, we will!

[@kevingriffin55]

Can I ask what paper did you use for your templates, and where did you get it from?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Sure, it's just lining paper that we picked up from Toolstation: www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856 👍

[@josephchan7040]

Great video. how was the flooring finished up? Is that some type of grip tape?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) If you mean how we fixed the altro flooring down, we just used some trim fix spray adhesive at stuck it down with that at the start of the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqDHdauQf5x-hrssi=Hz9sH078gQpXQ87U&t=73 👍

[@drmvh]

What are you going to use for the recirculating shower pump, heater etc please? Presumably you are going to have a holding tank under the van? Thanks :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We're using the Bobil heat exchanger kit that will use the diesel heater to bring up an 18L shower tank to a nice 40C. That tank is going to be inside the van, in our kitchen cabinet just to the left of the shower. As part of the loop the water will go down the drain, through the floor of the van, and then be sucked back up into the van by a pump before passing back through all the filters and into the tank again to start the next loop. We're using the Trail King 7 pumps for it. 👍

[@drmvh]

@@SelfBuiltStories ah cool, I've just become aware of Bobil. Thanks :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@drmvh Yeah they're pretty cool bits of kit :)

[@RooMonroe]

Good video

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂

[@alanmoore2197]

Where are you located that you have all this "interesting" weather? Nice work here - and as always great quality results from both of you working well as a team - And it looks really good too!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot! And not so sunny Devon, think we had pretty much every weather you can get during the build 😅

[@paulmoriarty9148]

Great video guys! Your series has helped answer a fair few questions for me as i've been converting my van, appreciated :) Quick question, what connection did you use to go from your shower drain to your waste tank? Are you using the normal 28.5mm waste water pipe? Thanks

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Glad you're enjoyed the videos :) And no we actually use 40mm domestic push fit waste plumbing under the van as we wanted a really nice fast flow into the waste tank. Our shower drain is a standard 1.5" domestic one too. We have a video on the waste setup coming at some point... when we get round to editing it 😛

[@bergmichel5348]

looks great! but ventilation?! greetings from germany :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! We mentioned a bit about the ventilation as a reply to another comment, highlighted here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKGcYZWMntGFmpY&lc=Ugx4jCRDQ5qLaPPZDUJ4AaABAg.

[@oliviac9997]

Apologies if you've already said this but where did you get the plastic sheeting and tiles from? We're about to waterproof our shower and we're still trying to decide how to cover the walls and ceiling, just so many different ways of doing things!!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, yeah lots of options for sure. We went with 2mm hygienic pvc from claddingmonkey.co.uk/product/2mm-thick-white-hygienic-wall-cladding-sheets-premium-grade/, and the tiles are from the metro tiles (also pvc) from Reco: www.recosurfaces.com/shop/. HTH 👍

[@BillTangy]

Hey guys great videos. Have you any content on how you going to heat your water?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! And not yet but it will be the next video 😉

[@BillTangy]

@@SelfBuiltStories I'll look out 👀 thanks 😁

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@BillTangy 😃

[@897aa33]

What was the reason to use altro flooring instead of another piece of plastic sheet, please? Great build.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We figured we'd use the altro as it's designed specifically for wet room flooring, so non-slip, won't crack walking over it, and easy to mould around the edges and down the drain etc 👍

[@darrynbird8111]

Love your build, great quality and amazing research, one observation is your prefilterd the correct way up?😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And yeah ideally it would point down but where we have it is where the thread naturally wants to stop. The wingnut version is better as you can orient it any way and still tighten it up but we already bought this one before we realised about those. It's not a big deal though, just means when we're emptying it we'll put a small bowl under it so water doesn't go everywhere 🙂

[@xanaharmsen4014]

Wauw thats just amazing. Curious what you did with the floor, did you just paint it over?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) And do you mean the floor of the shower? If so we used Altro Pisces wet room flooring, which is similar to vinyl in how you install it. We just cut it out and stuck it down with some Trim Fix contact adhesive, has worked great. It's right at the beginning of the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqDHdauQf5x-hrssi=gHIJo-drLBU1TxCx&t=66 👍

[@xanaharmsen4014]

@@SelfBuiltStories Can't believe I have missed that! Sorry for the question, thanks for answer!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@xanaharmsen4014 haha, no worries 😁

[@ammcknockiter]

I did my shower that same way but what are you guys doing to cover the framing on the outside

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool! And we're leaving some of the areas open to use as small storage for books and things, but the majority of it we'll likely be covering in painted 3mm ply 👍

[@ammcknockiter]

@@SelfBuiltStoriescool

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@ammcknockiter 🙂👍

[@ryantaylor95]

Did you guys go for the satin or gloss pvc please ? 🙏🏼

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We went for the 2mm white satin 👍

[@johan-zs8nc]

nice work, have you considered a small 12v extractor fan to mount on the side wall to route the steam from the hot shower towards your main extractor fan ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And yeah we have considered it and have a space for it if necessary, but will see how well it copies without first. The sliding door we're putting it has a small air gap at the top only, which is right near the Maxxfan. There's also technically a small fan that will be in there too as the pipe for our toilet has one embedded inline. Will see how it all works out when we test it and fine tune if necessary 🙂

[@paulwoods7857]

Excellent shower build guys, but how are you planning to vent the steam/moisture? Could end up a mould trap!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks 🙂 What we're planning to do is use the maxxfan that's right outside the shower to pull out the moisture air. We're putting in a sliding door with a small airgap at the top, and then we'll have the heater blowing warm dry air in to the bottom of the shower. So hopefully it will create good airflow to remove the moisture and then dry out the shower room afterwards. There is technically a fan in there too as our composting toilet has one embedded in the pipe that will stay permanently in the wall. So we think it should be covered but will be a bit of experimentation and tweaks when we come to test it out, and if necessary we've left space on the shower wall where we could put in an additional fan to pull it out towards the maxxfan too, but at the moment we don't think we'll need it

[@kevinbeckwith7740]

If that leaks I think you guys will be pretty upset. Looks great and won’t leak.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah we're pretty hopeful it should stay watertight. Water leaks are not fun to try and find and fix 😛

[@gavincooke8808]

Hi there, did you choose the lighter or darker grey grout for the Reco tiles? It's hard to tell the shade from their website!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, we went for the light grey grout option. We liked it from the sample we had, and also it was the one with the quickest lead time 😛

[@gavincooke8808]

@@SelfBuiltStories thank you

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem 👍

[@lucasn2535]

Hey! Great videos, so helpful for my own van build! I have a question about waterproofing the bathroom.. do you know how much weight all that added to your van? I'm thinking about following your process in creating a wet room rather than having a shower pan.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, and glad they've been helpful 🙂 And hmm interesting question, so the tanking kit is 1l primer, tape and 5l membrane. We used about 1/3 of the primer and maybe 1/2 of the membrane which did 3 layers, so maybe up to 3l of 'liquid'. If you consider it to be comparable to water then that would be around 3kg of weight for all the waterproofing. And then the tape, PVC sheets and reco tiles on top of that. The PVC panels (or equivalent) you would need whether you have a wetroom or more traditional shower though. And would say the altro wetroom flooring we have is no heavier than the shower tray we were going to use, probably lighter if anything. HTH!

[@psvialli]

Amazing work very impressed ! - a quick Q how are you getting Hot water , how / what are you using to heat it ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) And we're using the bobil heat exchanger which will use the hot air from our diesel heater to heat up an 18l tank. The outlet from that will also vent into the bottom of the shower to help dry it out after use as well

[@philipvousden4469]

I think you should have put a mushroom vent in the shower

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah we did think about putting another vent in the shower but have the maxxfan directly outside which even on lower speeds is is really effective at clearing water vapour. We have a sliding door which has a small air gap at the top so the moisture air is forced to travel upwards to right where the fan is outside. We also have hot air blown in from the bottom and will have a separate fan in the toilet vent pipe so for now at least we think the ventilation should work pretty well

[@darrensmith403]

Hey guys. Your videos are amazing. What did you use as template paper for pvc walls?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot, glad you're enjoying them! And we used lining paper which works really well as it's a bit more rugged than paper but still easy to crease unlike cardboard 👍

[@darrensmith403]

@@SelfBuiltStories as in the wallpaper stuff? I’ve seen proper template paper online but it’s quite expensive

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yep! This is the exact one we used, worked a treat :) www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856

[@darrensmith403]

@@SelfBuiltStories thank you for taking the time to share the link. I an loving your videos. I’ve just started my build on a 2002 VW LT35. I was about to buy a plastic shower tray when a few utubers said theirs have cracked. I then watched your shower build and knew instantly that this was the direction I want to travel. Thank you so so much

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@darrensmith403 You're welcome 🙂Yeah we heard a few say the same, pretty happy we don't have a plastic tray to worry about! We originally bought one and started researching other ways of doing it when we realised how restricted we were going to be with the shape and size if we went with the tray. Then discovered the wetroom approach and it made perfect sense for us with the very non-standard shape we had for the shower. Very happy with how it turned out, good luck with your build!

[@duncanwilson5170]

Guys, do you have the dimensions of the shower cubicle? I purchased a conversion that is based on a 15 seat high top transit (2015 model) so very interested in modifying with a shower cubicle.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Sure, so the rectangle part inside the shower is roughly 76x60cm, and then there's the angled part which gets around the van pillar, and the box part which gets around the wheel arch so a bit smaller in those areas. HTH!

[@md2320]

Are you going to live in this permanently?? If not I will. High end job being done looking very smart. Ever thought of becoming van builders (transformers).

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, thanks! That is the plan, for an extended trip 🙂 And we haven't really thought about it, it's enough work to finish this one at the moment! 😛

[@dirtwonthurt1949]

What is that blue stuff on the walls before applying white pvc ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It's the wet room tanking layer, we put it on in the previous video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPGoppjmpZ-paM 👍

[@paulhulley5969]

Hi, love your vids on this build, looking really good and your both perfectionist. Can I ask what you used to do the templates with?, cheers and looking forward to the next one

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you :) And sure, we used some lining paper (www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856) which is nice because it's fairly thick so stays reasonably straight but is still easy to crease. Then for each wall we just got a section that was roughly the right size but a bit bigger all round, blue tacked it onto the wall, then ran our fingers down all the creases to trace it onto the paper. Then just cut out the template, marked on it on the pvc (allowing a small 1-2mm gap around the edge for temperature expansion) and cut out with a jigsaw. HTH 👍🙂

[@JackFalltrades]

A little off topic. I watched your 12v install yesterday. Where did you install the inverter? I couldn't find the video covering it...

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We haven't made a video on that yet actually, it will come at some point, but not sure when! 😛

[@JackFalltrades]

@@SelfBuiltStories Ah! That explains why I couldn't find it! 😀

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@JackFalltrades Yep! We have had it wired in temporarily for some of our trips but didn't fix it in permanently as we wanted to figure out what layout we wanted for the garage area first :)

[@michaelpersson68]

try soap and water and spray silicon

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah we ended up trying that and pretty much everything else by the end 😛

[@TheHiveOffGride]

where did you get the paper for doing your templates please

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, it's just this cheap lining paper, worked great: www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856 👍