swanstone shower base with ceramic tile walls?

13 years ago

Has anyone installed tile shower walls with a swanstone base?

I removed an acrylic shower liner and old base from our corner shower, and replaced rotted drywall behind with new greenboard. To make the wall surface for tile flush with the flange of the new shower base, we must install 1/4 inch cement board onto the walls, but only where the tile will be installed.

Question: how to finish the seam where the cement board is attached to the greenboard and the surface of the tile is 1/4 higher than the greenboard walls of the rest of the bathroom(which will be painted). I was going to buy inexpensive white subway tile for the walls from home store (menards or lowes), but have not yet looked for tile trims to finish these edges and will probably now have to get all the tile form the tile store so it will match. does nayone have experience with this or ideas on how to trim it.

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Comments (3)

detroit_burb
13 years ago
we did this three years ago when we made a basement bath in our current house. it is used daily as this was a newly built basement suite for my teenager. it was a budget job, and has held up really well, still looks new today.

the base was installed first, then purple wall board over new framing. there is a lip that comes up from the base and the cement board was applied to the purple water resistant wallboard with the cement board over the lip. classic glazed 4x4 white 16 cent per tile big box store stock was applied to the cement board, the ceiling of the shower was done on the diagonal. we bought the edge pieces from the same white tile line from the big box store that covered most of the 1/4" of cement board edge and with a thin strip of caulk, met the purple wall board. sandless grout was used with some additive for showers. white calk was applied afterwards to all the inside corners.

the swanstone base got a rustish stain on it during the install, as well as grout and tile adhesive. i was able to scrub off the grout and adhesive over time with repeated washing using a nylon brush, but the rust stain persisted. i was able to fade it, but it never disappeared, so i would recommend keeping the base covered when you are doing the install because the swanstone surface is rough/nonslip and seems to be a little bit porous, it didn't give up the construction mess easily.

will try and post pictures of the install if i can find them, but this was done two laptops ago, and i'll have to see if i still have them on a hardrive somewhere.
julabug
13 years ago
In our basement bath, corner shower: We did the pre-fab swanstone base with large, glazed (cheap ones at HD) ceramic tiles set horizontally to create an oversized subway tile look on two walls. Designed a decorative panel at eye height with glass marbles, strips of the tile cut down, fancy squares on bias, all bordered with honed marble bullnose and set with sanded grout. Gives it a real high end, artistic look. I wanted a mix of materials and textures, but was on a budget. I also suggest keeping the color palette similar so it all coordinates. The other two walls are made of the glass shower door on bias. Key is to have a meticulous contractor doing the cement board and tile installation. We use the shower every day and it has held up well for about 3 years, but we do have to wipe down the walls after shower or spray with a " no work " product to keep the hard water from building up stains. The area where the swanstone and tile meet at the bottom needs some new grout or something to fill the gap.
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He provides a labor warranty on any product that he purchases and installs, regardless if he installs them correctly or not. (In this case, I think the lack of correct support is the major reason it's got an issue.). The warranty of parts is why products that you buy from contractors are marked up, as well as any project has a contractor "contingency fee" built into his pricing as well. It's part of his overall overhead and operating expenses. If a toilet that he installed has a flaw in the porcelain trapway that traps dirt, he gets to replace it with one that isn't flawed. And then deal with the supplier to get a credit from the manufacturer. That's SOP for any legit contractor. For those unlicensed and insured type of fellas, nothing is standard or expected, and none of that may apply at all. All bets are off when using someone unlicensed.
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I am doing the walls in 12 x 12 tile. The bathroom setup before was quite interesting - there was actually a tub in the master bedroom! I got it taken out and expanded the smallish master bath. I had the exact same problem as you. A small (25 inch) vanity. I decided, for budget reasons, to leave it and the toilet in place so as not to move that plumbing/septic line. I am replacing the vanity top and the toilet itself. I figure the extra space I created by expanding, I can put in a cabinet in between the shower and toilet if extra storage is needed. This is a bank owned property I purchased and the list of things to fix is long, the reason I did not completely move everything in the master bath. If that was not an issue, I would definitely have moved the toilet to have a larger vanity. I linked to the before photos. Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom Pictures
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You can use anything you like to fill the gap behind the tile. Its only function is to back up the bottom of the tile so it can't be kicked and broken. Thinset is my usual "go to, but I've also used grout and sand mix on occasion. I thought the idea was that the tile did not touch the pan, No, the idea is that the pan flange comes up behind the tile, while a vapor barrier comes from behind the cement board, and in front of the lip (or the cement board gets a waterproofing membrane) so that all water stays in the pan. The caulk joint between the tile and the pan is what takes up the movement. When I read about this on the John Bridges forum, it seems to say that the backer board should overhang the flange by a 1/4 inch - that is, the backer board is not level with the flange The backerboard should NOT overlap the flange, but rather come down right TO it. Otherwise, the flange will tend to push the bottom of the cement board out, rather than having the wall come straight down to the pan. Once the cement board is in place, before the tile goes in, fill that joint between the cement board and pan with whatever you like, so that the tile has some kind of backing behind it. Once that's done, install your tile. After the tile's installed, grout everything, including that last inch or so, as normal. I don't know who's telling you to overlap the flange by a 1/4". You want to give me the url to your thread?
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A diamond hole saw bit will be your best friend for this. They are a little expensive but the best way to avoid cracking the tile. I would recommend have a second pair of hands available with a spray bottle of some sort of liquid to spray the tile and keep everything cool, also to help avoid breaking the tile (alluding to Geoffrey's post about making a pool or bath).
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Mitchy
11 years ago
I am yet to get installed ceramic tiles on walls. Thanks for the information. It might be useful for me.
ceramic tile shower installation

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swanstone shower base with ceramic tile walls?

Comments (3)

detroit_burb

julabug

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