Evaluating new house tile

[cx]

They would not have attempted to put the slope in that recess while pouring the concrete, Bob. Well, I suppose they could have attempted it, but it's unlikely the result would be adequate. Customarily we use deck mud (5:1 sand/cement mortar) to create the slope. They'll obviously hafta do something to accommodate a drain of some kind.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[bob-dog]

I visited the house under construction again today. The walls of the shower are currently a gray colored drywall. From what I read on the internet (scary thought), conventional drywall is approved as a shower tile backer although Hardie backer and other proprietary products are preferred. Is that correct?

When they tile over shower drywall, is it required that they do something special for the drywall screw dimples? I'm not asking about best practice, just expectation per code.

I also saw another house in the development that is under construction, but further along. The shower in that house (photo below) has a base with 2" square tile and a gradual slope towards a drain. I don't know if it was 1/4" per foot, but to my untrained eye, it seemed like a "reasonable slope".

One thing looked curious to me. On some edges where tile meets tile, they installed what appeared to be a 3/8" square of stainless steel. You can see a dark line at the edge of the shower seat. There is a similar edging on the vertical pony wall. Perhaps that's more durable than exposed tile edge.

On the other topic (hump in concrete), the hump is still there and a crew was installing flooring tile today but they haven't gotten near that area yet. There are three possibilities:

1) They are planning to address the hump in concrete later,
2) They assessed the hump and concluded that it is insignificant, or
3) They are ignoring my concern and will blindly tile over it.

I'm hoping for #1 but expecting #3. That's the joy of being separated from the installer by a developer.

Bob

[cx]

No, Bob, "conventional" gypsum drywall is not an acceptable backing material for use in wet areas such as your shower, except in cases where a direct bonded waterproofing membrane that has been approved for use over such drywall is to be applied. To my knowledge, only Schluter and Laticrete have such approvals for one of their membranes. There could be more.

If what you're seeing is gray in color, chances are it's not a standard gypsum drywall, but some other proprietary product approved for that application. I'd want to know just what it is and just what the waterproofing plan might be.

Those edges you see are a specific profile made for the application of either a plastic or metal. They are a method of treatment of ceramic tile edges when no ceramic tile trim is available and the designer or planner opts to use them. If you like that look, it's fine. If you don't particularly favor what I consider a more commercial or industrial look, they're perhaps not for you. This is the sort of thing that should be decided in advance during discussion with the person writing the checks.

I expect it will be #3.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[bob-dog]

cx, Thank you again.

I'll try to walk into other houses under construction and see what I can learn from the drywall they have staged.

As to their waterproofing plan, getting that will be like pulling teeth, but I'll try.

[cx]

The waterproofing is a whole lot more important in a shower than the tile installation, Bob.

[bob-dog]

I'm not aware of what they are using for waterproofing. I'm still digging.

I know that they are using these products, because they are stockpiled in the house:
TEC PermaFlex 300 035 Thinset Mortar
NAC TAC II Primer
TEC 650 AccuColor Sanded Grout
Custom MultiSet LFT Large Tile Mortar

Of course, I have no clue whether they are using these products correctly.

I'll keep looking.

[bob-dog]

I also found

A leftover half-sheet of purple drywall,
TEC 850 Sanded Siliconized Acrylic Caulk matching the grout color,
60 pound bags of sand, and
EasyMask heavy white paper rolls.

I think the paper is to protect the floor after tiling.

If this is the total consumables set, do they even have a specific waterproofing plan?

[cx]

Don't see any waterproofing materials listed.

Don't see any appropriate tile backer for a shower, listed.

Hope the masking paper is not all that's to be used for protecting floor tile. Pretty minimal. Useless, actually, unless in conjunction with some serious protection material.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[bob-dog]

They completed tile in my new house. As expected, they used thinset to "level" the floor imperfections and it doesn't look bad. There's no obvious lip or visible rise. Also as expected, they simply put tile over thinset over gray drywall for the shower. Sigh.

I read about cases where old tile jobs failed because mold developed behind the tile. The wall tile is 12x12, so I don't think that there will be obvious soft spots until it is really bad.

Without removing tile, how will I know that it is becoming a problem?

I read that grout sealer is not going to completely stop water penetration, but still good practice, so I'll do that in a month or so, when I move in.

Thank you.

[e3]

if your excepting the work they are doing, it might be cheaper to tell them not to do it and hire it out yourself, that way you only have to pay for it once and save on the demo cost!

[bob-dog]

e3, You're right, that would be a great solution. But in my case, I can't go that way. The builder owns the lot until the house is done. They can't transfer the house to me until they get a certificate of occupancy, and that requires having the house 100% completed.

[bob-dog]

I examined the tile work today. I noticed two things. Do either of these represent a problem, or are they just typical sloppy work?

1) First photos: There is a window above the tub. They used metal trim. On the corner of the metal trim, it looks like either the trim was too short so they filled with grout, or they grouted over metal trim.

2) Second photo: They used glass and plaster mosaic tile as a decorative accent. There is a pinhole in the grout which seems quite deep. I have no way of knowing how deep. Honestly, when I look closely, this accent tile looks awful. Perhaps I'm just supposed to look from a distance. :-)

Are these problems or just sloppy work?
If problems, are they fixable?

Thank you.