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Need help with shower tile ideas for repairs

8 years ago

I have to have the floor and about 30" of 6x6 ceramic tile removed to repair the leaky shower that was clearly not built properly. I don't think I can match the original tile exactly, but don't want to have to re-tile the whole shower. Any creative ideas for the bottom 30" of the shower?

Featured Answer

User

8 years ago

An improperly built shower is only cured by ripping it ALL out and starting over. The cost difference is usually insignificant as the labor to bandaid something to an existing installation is higher than doing it all right from the beginning. Yes, it's a bit more in material costs, but material costs pale in comparison to the labor costs. Especially if you hire a knowledgeable tile technician in the first place. Only a hack would do the halfassedjob that you're wanting to do. Anyone worth their salt will flat out tell you what Cabot&Rowe did above.

Comments (10)

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
This is what we did in the master bathroom....you could probably do something similar with a slate color or earth color tile.
megleyb
Original Author
8 years ago
That looks great, thanks for the idea! One concern I have is that the rest of the bathroom is also with the same tile, so I wouldn't be able to tie in the flooring like you did with the black moving out to the rest of the bathroom. Do you think that would matter?
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"...I suggest you contact a local professional tile setter and get their evaluation...." - Creative Tile Eastern CT That is a step in the right direction. I would hire them for a day. Get them to remove the glass panel and the tile on top of the curb. Then we can check thigs out. You might be able to repair the curb and save the shower. It will take some skill to do so but if the only penatrations are from the glass install it might be saveable. I would demo the curb carefully and inspect how the curb was built. If you find that it was covered with Denshield or CBU and screwed through the liner then the chances are that was done from the side as well. If you find that the curb was done with diamond expand lath and mortar you might just save this after all. The drain shows that it is a typicall shower build using a liner and then mortar bed. This means you have hopefully between an inch and quarter to two inchs of mortar beteween the tile and the liner. So you can chisel out a little of the thinset residue and the reset the tile with new glass tile thin-set. Laticrete makes a good one.
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Well now you're freaking me out. I was already having some concerns about the shower pan install and flood test. Wonder what you or anyone thinks about the appearance here. To me the water was clearly well below the marked line (I took pic and then had to leave to drop kids off and when I got back he had arrived and already drained pan) but he insists there was no drop and my eyes are deceiving me. Unfortunately really hard to tell in picture, but I am 100% sure the water was at least a 1/2" below mark and honestly seemed more like an inch although I didn't measure bc was afraid to touch anything. First pic was this morning about 24 hrs after filling second pic was day before, sorry it's not great but I was really taking of the curb that I wanted fully covered but wonder about the actual pan as well
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jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
Well, just so you know, it was a coin toss between using the black tile on the floor or using the gray wall tile on the floor.

I would look for a tile that is darker for contrast but has some of the same brown undertones that your wall has.

Do you have any extra tiles from the ones that are currently on your wall?
PRO
Cabot & Rowe
8 years ago
Hate to burst your bubble, but tiling just the bottom 30 inches will mean only the bottom 30 inches is properly waterproofed. If this were my job, I would only be able to stand behind my work by re-doing the whole job.
megleyb
Original Author
8 years ago
The new contractor cut through the back wall in the hallway, and said the problem is that the original builders didn't properly place a membrane at the bottom. The water is seeping through at the bottom only. They didn't see anything wrong with the rest of the job. That's why they said they could repair the lower half. Should I get a second opinion? I saw the seepage, and didnt see any reason to question their assessment.
live_wire_oak
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
A waterproof membrane has to be behind 100% of the tile. Doing just the bottom transfers the symptoms. You need a different contractor. One that will do the job correctly.
PRO
Mint tile Minneapolis
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
the last thing you need is to hire another novice. Take your time get multiple quotes and verify their track record of shower pan building and do your due dilligence.....

the number 1 surefire thing for you to use as A tool in hiring?

Insist on a flood tested shower pan

dont gamble twice......
PRO
Avanti Tile & Stone / Stonetech
8 years ago
Full agreement with Cabot & Rowe. Virtually impossible to tie in the waterproofing on just the lower half effectively. The cost for a complete re-do is not substantially more than trying a band-aid fix. Not saying it can't be done...but the installer has to be able to guarantee the whole job, and I wouldn't. The last person to touch it, owns it.....
GreenDesigns
8 years ago
100% redo time.

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