Before I start...Want to get it right

14 years ago

We hired a highly recommended tile guy for our last bath remodel and after reading on this site, it seems he didn't do everything correctly. He installed hardibacker but no moisture barrier of any kind behind the tile or hardibacker. Hoping for the best since the shower is seldom used in there.

With our new remodel, another highly recommended tile guy put up greenboard around our tub/shower area. He was working under our terrific general contractor who made him remove it. One thing led to another and in the end, dh is finishing the room.

Now we want to make sure he gets it right. He has tiling experience but limited to non-wet areas. Anyway, the tile guy removed the greenboard before leaving. However there is one foot of regular drywall near the ceiling. It is above the showerhead. Dh purchased enough hardibacker to replace the greenboard. Should we replace the drywall area too? We are not planning on tiling all the way to the ceiling. We are stopping where the drywall starts anyway.

When installing the board, what kind of moisture barrier, etc should we use? Two of the walls are exterior walls. Does this go under the hardibacker? When installing the hardibacker and taping the seams, dh used modified thinset over the top of the seams, correct?

Oh, when installing the hardibacker, what do you do around the tub flange? Does the hardibacker go behind the flange, in front of it, setting on the tub? What about the barrier?

Once the hardibacker and barrier is done, then you tile as usual, correct? Anything else we should know? We will not have any niches but do have a couple of premade corner shower shelve inserts. Any tips on installing them?

Thanks so much for the help.

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Comments (4)

jayman7
14 years ago
I am actually doing the exact same remodeling job on my bathroom this very instant. I'll tell you what I'm planning on doing based on research on a bunch of forums and websites out there.

I'm going to put my kohler shower receptor within the next couple days. Then I'm going to attach furring strips (1/4" plywood) to the studs to "bump-out" the hardibacker 1/4" out due to the offset of the lip on the shower base. Then I'm going to run a bead of silicon on the lip of the base and screw on the hardibacker overlapping the lip, but also offset at least a 1/4" up from the base. You do not want it resting on the base or else it will wick up water. I have the hardibacker going up to the drywall at the top. There's no need to run hardi all the way to the ceiling as long as you use a nice quality paint to waterproof the drywall. Steam won't be enough to cause any damage unless you have a steam shower.

Then I'll use modified versabond to seal the joins with a mesh tape. for waterproofing, i'm going to apply redguard. directly on the hardi. then after that i'll start tiling with more of the modified thinset with porcelain tiles. I'm only tiling up to the hardi and let it overlap the drywall some so the joint doesn't show. you can even get away with using joint compound at the joint at the top and just apply redguard on it.

Again this is my first time doing this but I did as much research as I could before deciding on this.

I'm planning on putting on the shower corner shelves too with just the same thinset.

Looks like we have the same project going. :) I bet you'll finish before i do. I'm fighting the clock because I need to cut tile with a wet tile saw outside and it's quickly getting cold!!
stlouie
14 years ago
I'll leave it to the professionals here to answer, but I would highly recommend you check out the John Bridge Tile Forum because you'll get a wealth of information on how to properly construct your bathroom there as well. I got started there a few months ago and did as much research as I could before we selected contractors, etc. After MANY interviews with contractors and companies, I happened to find an individual through the website that lives locally and he is our tile contractor. Every single one of the other companies didn't know a thing about a shower mudbed, Kerdi, etc. Here is a great place to start........definitely do your homework.
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bill_vincent
14 years ago
We can answer you here, or at John's forum-- either way. You can leave the sheetrock, if you're just going to paint it.

When installing the board, what kind of moisture barrier, etc should we use? Two of the walls are exterior walls. Does this go under the hardibacker?

You can either use 15 pound tar paper or 6 mil polyethlene behind the CBU, or a roll on waterproofing over the top of it. Either way, you want to cut slits in the vapor barrier that's already on the exterior walls to avoid trapping moisture between the two vapor barriers.

When installing the hardibacker and taping the seams, dh used modified thinset over the top of the seams, correct?

That's fine, now that it's done, but it would've been easier to apply self adhesive mesh tape, and then thinset it in when spreading the thinset for the tile. That way you wouldn't end up with the "speedbumps" that you probably have now.

Oh, when installing the hardibacker, what do you do around the tub flange? Does the hardibacker go behind the flange, in front of it, setting on the tub? What about the barrier?

Set the edge of the CBU on TOP of the flange. In other words, you should see about a 5/8" gap between the top of the tubdeck and bottom of the CBU when installed. If you have a vapor barrier behind the CBU, bring it thru that gap, and cut it off flush with the face of the CBU. You can then fill that gap with stiff thinset so you don't have a weak spot behind the bottom of the tile.

Once the hardibacker and barrier is done, then you tile as usual, correct?

Yup.

We will not have any niches but do have a couple of premade corner shower shelve inserts. Any tips on installing them?

When installing them, the easiest way to do it is to set them on top of the edge of a full course of tile, and then cut in the next row to it. Even though you've spread the thinset on the wall, you still want to "gob" a little on the back of the shelf and push it in, making sure you've got a real good bond. Under normal circumstances, the edge of the tile should be MORE than enough to hold the shelf up. But God forbid anyone using the shower slips and grabs the shelf to keep from falling, you want that thing to be rock solid. This'll do that for you. And then clean the thinset out of the joints afterward.
elaine_taylor3_hotmail_com
14 years ago
Bill,
When you speak of making slits in the vapor barrier, this does include the paper backing on insulation, does it not? I want to make sure that DH does not get more frustrated than he already is.
Thanks greatly for your time.

Before I start...Want to get it right

Comments (4)

jayman7

stlouie

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