How far to HardieBoard up a 10 foot shower wall?

[spizzi]

Hi all,

First, I tried to do a search but it did not produce a result I was looking for.

I currently ripped out an old, crusty cultured marble stand up shower that was positioned in a 4 foot by 4 foot space with the cultured marble walls running up about 6 feet high. Overall, the walls go up 10 feet to the ceiling.

Given the height of the walls, how far up the wall would I be required to HardieBacker (or other cement board) with associated vapor barrier if I am going to tile the shower stall?

Also, do I need a special cement board with an additional membrane for the ceiling?

Thanks in advance!

[Brian in San Diego]

Spizzi, welcome to the forum!

Rule of thumb is that you have to waterproof to the height of the shower arm as no water really gets splashed above that height. You could put regular drywall back in and use Schluter kerdi to the height of the shower arm as your waterproofing membrane. Advantage: no difference in drywall to drywall profile. Hardieboard and 1/2 drywall are not exactly the same thickness.

What we need to know is what are your plans for waterproofing. Are you installing a conventional shower with PVC or CPE liner? Or are you going to use a surface applied liquid membrane? Or...?

[spizzi]

Thanks!! A few questions here. #1. My shower pan is already completed so is there just a Kerdi solution just for the walls where I want to tile? Because I do not fully understand Kerdi, I feel like it is an all in one solution (i.e., shower pan, walls, ceiling enclosure)?

Last question: is $400 for a new shower pan a decent price? It included a new adjustable drain, pan liner, floating material and labor. I feel like it is a little high in price.

[Lazarus]

If you have a proper pre-slope, liner and final slope, seems it would be possible to Kerdi the walls to the pan as any water should migrate to the floor and be directed to the weep holes via the rubber liner.

Having said that, it should also be possible to chip out the drain, install a Schluter drain and simply Kerdi the walls AND the floor. That's the direction I would probably take. Dealer's choice here...

$400 is not out of line for the time and materials involved. I would have charged the same or more.