Ceramic Tile Shower
DEAR TIM: My ceramic-tile shower has severe water damage. I was cleaning the ceramic tile in the shower and it caved in creating a hole in the wall. How can I install ceramic tile in the shower so this will never happen again? Do you think ceramic tile shower installation is a job I can really do by myself? What are some of the most important steps I must do to get long-lasting results? Diana C., Norcross, GA
DEAR DIANA: Wow, your situation reminds me of a nightmare I had many years ago. Water-resistant drywall was just coming into the marketplace, and it was being touted as the miracle product. You could easily install it, and apply ceramic tile right over it. The core of the drywall was treated with silicone, so it wouldn't fall apart.
Six years later while cleaning my own shower, I pushed my ceramic tile into the wall cavity. Other tiles near the hole fell off the wall like paint chips on an old house. It was a mess.
If you were to visit an old home in your area that was built prior to the 1940's, my guess is you would discover the ceramic-tile showers would be in really good shape. The primary reason is the ceramic tile was installed directly on top of concrete. The master craftsman tile setters used to apply cement plaster on wire mesh that was nailed to the wall studs. They would then install the ceramic tile the next day using a pure Portland cement paste. This putty bonded to the uncured concrete mixture on the wall making a permanent bond.
If you want to repair your shower just one time, you need to strip all the ceramic tile down as well as the rotten drywall. If there is any wood rot, you may have to install new wood wall studs. Take the time to install the wall studs perfectly plumb. This will make the ceramic tile installation go that much quicker. This is also a great time to make sure the tub or shower base is level front to back and side to side. Use galvanized metal shims cut from metal ductwork for this task. Wood shims can rot over time or compress from the weight of the tub.
I prefer to install a one-piece vapor barrier on the wall studs before installing the ceramic tile backer board. It is important for this plastic to lap over the tub or shower-base flange. This membrane protects the wood wall studs from getting wet in the event of a catastrophic leak. Be sure you tuck the vapor barrier membrane into the corners tightly as you install it.
The wall studs are then covered with a cementitious or totally waterproof gypsum-based backerboard. These products are often the exact same thickness as regular drywall. They are often easy to handle and cut. Simply follow the written instructions that come with them as to the proper fasteners to use. Some allow you to use hot-dipped galvanized nails and others require screws.
I prefer to hold these backerboards up from the tub or shower deck about three-sixteenths of an inch. I do the same at corners and horizontal seams. After the backerboard is installed, I then vacuum up any dust and caulk the gaps with pure silicone caulk. Some written instructions will also tell you to tape the joints with a special tape and thinset mortar. If you do this, you need to be really careful about not creating a hump at any of the corners or horizontal seams. If there is a hump in the wall, you will discover the ceramic tile will rock back and forth at these high spots on the wall.
The first row of tile must be perfectly level. I achieve this by installing the second row of tile first. I nail a straight board to the wall that acts as a ledge for the tile to rest on as subsequent rows of tile are added. Once the mastic or thinset is firm, I remove the boards and install the missing row of tile just above the tub or shower.
The tools required to install a ceramic tile shower are minimal. You can purchase a tile cutter, a rod saw, mastic or thinset trowel and grout float for very little money. The key is to take your time making sure the wall studs are plumb and in the same plane. With the walls straight and plumb, the ceramic tile installs very easily with minimal effort.
The joint between the first row of tile and the tub or shower should not be grouted. That joint should be filled with a high-quality caulk. As you grout, you will get grout into this joint. Don't fret as you can scrape this grout out of the joint with a toothpick as you go or with a putty knife as soon as you sponge the grout lines. Wait a day for the grout to cure before you caulk the joint.
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Lin 05 Oct 2008, 00:32
We were 'victims' of our contractor believing the manufacturer's claims
that the new backer board was waterproof. We were having mold problems
within 4 years of the new shower install! Water was actually travelling
through the wall into the adjoining closet where clothes were mildewing! We
were accused of not maintaining the tile grout properly to keep water from
getting behind the tile! In digging into the wall, it was obvious that
water was wicking into the plywood behind the backerboard & travelling
through gaps between the pan and the wall. I then spent many hours
researching how to correctly construct a tiled shower...using some of Tim's
ATB past articles in the archives - and kept pushing our contractor. We had
the shower rebuilt (with cementitious backerboard & a membrane) by a bona
fide tile guy, at our contractor's expense, who said the misunderstanding
was not excusable - and just plain WRONG.
Julius Kiss 08 Oct 2008, 14:04
Thank you for this artical... we ..the Grand.. in-laws.live in an old farm
house..over 70 years old.. which has the same problems as this shower
artical.. only with the bathtub!! They are aged and do not want to spend a
pile of dough fixing it.. your solution for the walls is something we can
look at !!
.. however.. before the walls can get addressed... the bathtub!!.. it is listing badly into the inside corner!!! .. they do not want the walls ripped out to address the lip around the tub !! ..I can get underneath the tub through the crawl space..its a dug out 'basement..to see what is what from underneath..would wedging a '2x4' under the tub corner to try to level out the tub be a good solution?? how secure would that be ?? ..is there way is somehow 'pulling up' the tub from above and how th secure it?? ..quite a dilemma !!! awaiting a reaction.. Julius
van 08 Oct 2008, 15:02
how to take out a brick fire place
Chad Mccluskey 20 Dec 2008, 01:49
My name is Chad and I have started my own tile business and doing quiet
well so far with it. I would like to know if anyone could share with me
their way of nailing hardwood down when you get to the wall and neither one
of your guns will shoot into the toungue, where or what would you do? I
have tried several different ways but would like a little more advise on
the proper fastening solution to it. thanks you can email me at
aacflooring@google.com
John Tillamn 09 Jan 2009, 19:35
I am in the process of installing 4" ceramic tile around the bath tub all
the way to the ceiling.
How do I support the towel bar, soap dish and tray until the cement sets up? It appears as though part of these attachments fit over the the tile. Is the a spaces just calked or grouted? Thank you for your advice. I read your column in the Toledo Blade every Sunday. I don't recall this situation was mentioned.
kim R 25 Oct 2009, 09:04
I read your advice on tile for a shower. Its nice to hear someone actually
puts up the vapor barrier behind the board. But, there is another problem
you need to deal with. In a shower with a sloped cement pan, the water that
is held by the mortar bed will "wick" up the backerboard walls and create
mold. I would recommend using Schluter Systems Kerdi shower membrane kit.
It puts the waterproofing membrane on top of any wallboard even standared
sheetrock, and its uses a new style drain that doesn't rely on weep holes.
I have done about 50 now and they are leak proof and completely mold and
mildew proof. No gimmicks lick Mold protectere add to the board etc... It
is by far the best systems on the market. Thanks for your work. Kim.. Tile
Installer Dallas TX.
juan C. Gutierrez 18 Dec 2009, 00:32
hi
Well my shower walls are tile. they were put two days ago. my concern is that no water barrier was put any were. So, is there a way i could put a transperant water barrier on the tile and grout. please help thank you
Artie 10 Jan 2010, 18:53
What is the best way to kill this black mold that appears in the walls of a
water damaged shower? And is a respirator enough protection for someone who
is severely allergic to it?
glenn gibson 04 Sep 2010, 10:36
Need help doing a ceramic cieling...no videos on that...anywhere why?
Is it really that tricky? View all comments |



