are you asking about the grouted floor already or what you should do on the glazed wall tile?

looks like the floor is already grouted in the grey, you could use the same color in the wall tile, it will contrast enough with the tile and accentuate the hand made look of the edges. (if you match the tile the shapes almost disappear)

"I’m not sure what to do."

Correction:

You are not ready for grout. Not yet. This curb is 100% failure, handyman should be fired and your hard earned money refunded.

"The curb needs to have cement board and or herdi mat over thinset to cover the curb. "

More innacurate wrong advice

This picture is proof it is simply to late to correctly achieve A tcna/ansi/upc/irc/iampo or any MFG approved industry compliant waterproof shower receptor. Must be torn out to fix.

Corrector is correct. Redo.

Carole use caution as this forum does not have moderators. I can only guess Memes provides bad advise intentionally to spark reaction. Simply can't imagine someone being that clueless with every comment. Wake up Houzz. You are doing a great disservice to your subscribers.

Sorry but the curb is a complete failure as stated above. Proper waterproofing can not be achieved at the stage shown. I suggest since Schluter Kerdi was used as the waterproofing system you send the photo to their tech dept. They will provide you with a professional response that you can show to the installer. The manufacturers instructions supersede all others. That includes TCNA guidelines as the manufacturer holds the warranty.

Memes is dangerously incorrect on just about every post. Anyone who says that they deliberately ignore industry standards should be ignored. Houzz should pay attention to this behavior.

Carole LaSorsa,

I am a remodeling professional. The reason why we are saying the contractor did not build the shower properly is based on the photo you attached in your original post asking about grout. look at the photo showing the board (yellow 2x4) nailed or screwed down on top of the finished tile). this is absolutely no the correct way to build a threshold or shower. This means the curb is NOT water proof. (btw tile and grout are also not water proof and neither is cement board)

I think when you posted the pro's saw this flaw and immediately offered you the advice we see as a HUGE problem you will definitely face in the next few years. If you use the shower water will penetrate the curb and go elsewhere in your house. The fact we saw this lead us all to believe the rest of the shower was probably not constructed properly either.

the forum is great for design advice, but it also helps get professionals FREE advice, and we are only trying to help.

Send the pictures to the Schluter company that makes Kerdi. That expensive waterproofing does no good if the shower isn’t built correctly. If it does not properly overlap, and get sealed with KerdiBand, it will leak. That is your situation. He didn’t overlap or seal properly. That mistake defeats the entire system. Especially in the location where the error occurred. It is a major error. In the worst place possible.

The first symptom that you will notice is the curb lifting and cracking. Then the face tile will want to pop off. You’ll be able to see the black mold at that point if it hasn’t migrated through the adjacent floor tiles because of no capillary break against the curb.

You still have a remedy at this point. Schluter can confirm the incorrect installation. They would be happy to work with your contractor to get his methods correct.

You can choose to ignore this. But it won’t change the fact that water damage and that tear out is in your future if you don’t address this now. That future will not have the contractor available to come back and fix the error that will cost much more in additional damage than it will now.

I know that it is painful to hear that someone in whom you have placed your trust just isn’t knowledgeable enough to receive that trust. But think of other projects in the future where you will have saved someone the pain you are feeling right now. Your contractor needs educating.

Having him redo your job is exactly the education that he needs. Schluter, or any other manufacturer, is always happy to assist contractors in gaining that education. It’s always best done on the front end. But it is more memorable and makes a bigger impression when it costs a great deal of money and time to fix mistakes after the fact. He won’t make that mistake again on someone else’s job! If you hold him accountable now.

It’s not just the 2x4 wood curb (which has no place here even if correctly waterproofed) screwed down with drywall screws and no tie in. It’s the niche? or whatever it is with the exposed lumber on the other wall. There are issues reflected in the photo of the mirror as well.

There are multiple issues with this shower build. A complete tear out and redo is required.

The key words are

"As LONG As they got the correct overlap"

which was exactly why we are all trying to help you. as pictured thats impossible to meet 2" laps at the stage in which the photo was taken. Much to late.

I put in A call to Joe @ schluter waiting for him to call back.

Just an FYI you do not have A kerdi shower, nor A kerdi drain as well theres multiple waterproof materials being used incorrectly. Ill help you more and have Joe call you back after I speak to him.

Its your money being wasted if you care.

@Cooks that piece of exposed lumber you refer to is simply a temporary ledger board supporting the above tile.

Thanks Creative! I think the perspective is skewed which is why it appeared to be the bottom of a niche on my phone. I just hope the screw penetrations were properly sealed afterwards. I appreciate your weighing in on this. I’d appreciate any further help or critique that you offer.

I just received a nasty voice mail from the original contractor on this job stating that he’s been doing it for 30 years. I realize that this is a public forum, but I’m feeling a little stalked, and potentially threatened by that message. His argument is with Schluter, not me.

I’m wondering if any of the other Pros received similar nastygrams.

Carole,

here is what we are all trying to show or explain.

your photo shower the curb being constructed on TOP of the tile already installed. (i understand the photo of the wall where they were using a cleat to support drying tile, however that is normally not done either)

the next photo shows you how a simple water proof liner wraps OVER the curb before mortar bed is poured or tile install.

The curb should Absolutely not be built and tiles on top of finished tile. water will seep through.

Right this second 2600 square feet of my own personal home is being completely torn out due to a "contractor" remodeling the showers before I purchased the home. They tiled and did not use a liner. The water over a years time slowly seeped through into the walls and wood flooring. to the tune $100k worth of damage and mold building inside the walls.

Plus the fact each year I help design, order, and supervise approximately 180 bathroom remodels per year. We are a state licensed contractor who pulls permits. Did your contractor pull a permit on your bath? If so did the inspector come out before the curb, after the curb, etc?

there should be a permit pulled when redoing a shower ALWAYS.

Of course your contractor is defending himself and has done this for 30y. Which is completely fine. Honestly it looks like they forgot to build the curb and tried to go back and add it.

What has happened over the past 30 years is codes and the way we build things has changed over time.

see photos. Only trying to help, but if you are happy that's good. We are now saying "don't be surprised if there are future issues"

I know you started seeking advice on grout, but we were all trying to do the right thing when we see something done wrong. That's all.

Moving on to the next topics

Proper Schluter Kerdi installation. Wallboard used instead of membrane with 2" overlap as required. Old photo's. I no longer use this board / system.

Carole please have Jerry comment on how the 2" required membrane lap was achieved after the tile was installed. Perhaps there is something in the photo we are not seeing. I'm always open to the technical explanation. As you should be also. Did your shower look like this prior to tile installation? If a liner was used it would continue over the curb to the floor on the outside. (See S&W Kitchens photo.) There would be wire mesh embedded in shower floor mud bed and folded completely over the curb. All options require being done prior to tile.

I lean toward white grout. The tile has a wavy surface. Creating a grid would detract from that characteristic.