Carol and V went on a week-long mission trip. Time to break some stuff…

Using a cold steel chisel and hammer, one stone at a time pops free of the grout and thinset. Several of the first stones chipped, making it not looking likely that I would be able to salvage enough for the shower floor but once I got going at it, most came up whole.

Grout and epoxy from the mesh backing the stones were glued to will still need to be removed later. I’ll need about 1000 clean ones for the new shower.

This project is all about recycling… Actually, it’s about me being cheap as well as trying to be neat while making a mess;

• the stones will be saved and cleaned to use as the tile for the new shower
• the old screws from the drywall and tile backer board are saved (screws add up; I spent about $100 on screws in the upstairs bathroom when I redid it a few years ago)
• Nails are removed from the studs (I’m NOT saving the nails… I prefer to use screws for everything. But the studs will find new life)