Custom Shower Project Progress & Questions

[siearly]

That extra pan liner out onto the bathroom floor isn't necessary and could cause you grief, depending upon how you intend to finish that floor.

I just reread your post CX. The liner is extended only because I thought it couldn't hurt having it where people will likely dry off. The outer floor will be finished in ceramic tile. Is this a bad idea?

[cx]

Well, if you're fixin' to build a mud bed on that floor, it won't matter much, but otherwise I'd cut it back near the curb.

If you want that portion of the floor waterproofed, use something tile-friendly over your CBU or mud. Or use a waterproof membrane for your tiling substrate.

No up-side to that piece you have there. Downside is that it could interfere with the installation of your tiling substrate. And it's not gonna provide any effective waterproofing at that level anyway.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[siearly]

First, CX, I will cut the liner back as you recommended. I'll ask about waterproofing the floor later when I get there.

I leak tested the pan today, albeit with some reservations, but it is water proof.

I plugged the drain with one of my wife's North Caronlina Tarheel baloons (go 'heels) and filled it until the water was barely lapping onto the flat of the curb and marked the water line. It took about 15 minutes to fill. Talk about a lot of water.

My 2 year old inspected the work and gave me approval.

After 12 hours the water was exactly at the line. I'm sure some evaporated but it was indetectable.

When I popped the baloon I gave my plumbing work a real "load" test but there were no leaks.

Tomorrow, I hang the 4 mil plastic and then my wife and I will hang the Durrock.

[cx]

Good progress.

Originally Posted by Steve

My 2 year old inspected the work and gave me approval.

And who knows more about water leaks than a two-year-old?

[John Bridge]

The work looks good, Steve. Nice and neat.

[siearly]

And who knows more about water leaks than a two-year-old?

Tell me about it.

The work looks good, Steve. Nice and neat.

Thank you. I try to be as neat as possible. I think if I were a professional I'd go out of business because everything takes me so long to do "right".


I was all proud last night because my thread is getting feedback from BOTH CX and John. My wife didn't understand.

[siearly]

It's official; I hate Durrock. I've always disliked doing drywall but it is a pleasure compared to cement board. It is heavy, messy and a bit more of a pain to cut. Anyway, here's an update.

I started installing the cement board and on the second panel noticed it bowing out at the bottom. Ooops, I forgot to shim it out to account for the thickness of the pan. Off came the two sheets and the vapor barrier.

Michael suggests using 1/4" lath for shims but I didn't have any and didn't need that much thickness anyway. I had 3/16" luan sheets in the basement so I ripped them into 1 1/2" widths on the radial arm saw and nailed them to the studs. I then reinstalled the vapor barrier and began hanging the cement board.

Now, however, there was no support behind the board at the bottom where it overlapped the pan. I pulled Michael's book and re-read the procedure. It seems I am supposed to apply thinset to the back of the board up from the bottom to the height of the pan to fill the gap. I think I need to slow down and take a breath, I'm making stupid mistakes which is causing a lot of rework.

So, the panels come off again and get buttered, then reinstalled. After putting in two I'm mentally (and starting to get physically) exhausted so I quit for the day. The next day I'm fresh and get all but two panels in (I ran out). I also get the spaces cut out for the niches.

I think today I'll take my daughter to Lowes and get the last two boards. She loves riding in the carts that look like cars. Maybe I'll put them up today, maybe not. I'll post pictures when I'm done this phase.

Things I learned:

Cut the board *outside* to minimize mess, especially if you are using a cutting wheel. I only used the wheel to cut out the spaces for the niches after the board was already up.

Despite the manufacturer saying to score the board on both sides, you don't need to. Get a good quality CBU scoring tool and score one side, then snap it like drywall and use your tool to cut the remaining figerglass mesh from the back-again, just like drywall.

I laid cardboard down on the pan to protect it while I worked. I also frequently removed the cardboard and vacuumed up the cement chips. It seems to me that after all the work to install the pan and leak test it, there is significant risk of damaging it when working with cement board.

[siearly]

Finished the Durock today and it didn't seem as bad as yesterday. I installed the pre-formed Noble curb and cut back the shower liner. Things are starting to come together. I also learned more tricks.

When cutting the CBU, follow the procedure I outlined in my previous post but after snapping it, bend it back the other way and snap the remaining mesh. It saves you from having to use your cutter to cut the mesh and saves a bit more time.

I was using a cordless drill to put the screws in the CBU. Today I swiched to my corded drill which is a 1/2" with a reduction gear for lots of torque. Because of the torque, it has an extra handle for the hand not pulling the trigger. Boy, what a difference that made. It was much easier to drive the screws with this drill.

Use the right screw driving bit. I started using the same #2 phillps I use for drywall. Bad idea. The screws I bought came with a #2 bit but it is much stronger than the ones you buy for drywall. Once I started using it, I stopped stripping screw heads.

Here are pictures of the finished product. I had just washed everything down with water to get rid of the incredible amounts of dust I created when I cut out the niches. Again, cut CBU *outside* if possible. I used a hole saw to cut the circles for the shower heads and I used a jig saw with a special blade to cut the 6" diameter holes for the controls.

I am so happy this phase is done.

[tndude]

what happens if your 4 corners meet?? If everything is screwed to the wall tight, is it really a bad thing?

[siearly]

what happens if your 4 corners meet?? If everything is screwed to the wall tight, is it really a bad thing?

I'm not sure but I know everyone says to avoid it. I avoided it in my shower but once I was done I realized I had 4 corners meeting in two places at an inside corner. I'm not sure if you're supposed to avoid it at inside corners or just when the sheets are in the same plane.

Anyone?

[tndude]

Thanks Siearly. Your project is looking great.

Anyone want to chime in and give their 2 cents on my question above? Just curious because I'm doing the same and realized I have two sections in the corner where 4 corners meet. I've been reading thats a no, no.

If the 1/2 inch hardiebacker is screwed on tight...whats the long term risks? Why are you not suppose to do this?

[cx]

Doug, you'll do a lot better if you post your project questions on your project thread so the responses will be in the history there. I've combined all your project threads here, so if you'll go there and bookmark that for your future questions folks will be better able to keep up with what you're doing, eh?

[siearly]

After taking some time off (a combination of being burnt out on this project and having a lot of other stuff to do) I'm back at it.

I installed the rest of the drywall, installed the niches and floated the shower floor.

I ripped a 2x4 and put a piece on either side of the shower, then took another 2x4, laid it on the other two pieces and used it as a screed to get a 1.5" debth. As I progressed, I slid the 2x4 pieces towards me and back filled where they had been. I packed and troweled the mud and other than a sore arm, things went well.

[siearly]

My game plan now is to tile the walls, then the floor. Now I have a question. Since the shower floor is sloped towards the drain and I have a long shower, the height from the floor to a level line varies at different points.

When setting the first row of wall tile, I figure I want the top edge of the first row to be even and level. That means the bottoms of the tiles will need to be taper cut to match the floor. They will also be different physical heights depending on what part of the shower they are in.

Is this the correct approach?

Is there a convention for the spacing of the wall tile? I'm using 12" x 12" and was thinking smaller is better.

What do people use to hold up the first row while it dries?

[Lazarus]

One approach is to measure from the ceiling down and establish a level line on the perimeter just above the bottom row of tiles. This will probably be something less than a full tile. Using finishing nails, put up some "ledger" boards on this line. 1x2's or "screen molding" usually works. Use a good level and check to be sure your distance to the ceiling is equal (if your going to the ceiling.) Now, start your wall tiling on those boards up to the top. Give it a day before removing the boards. Any nail holes can be filled with silicon caulk. Next, I set the floor tile. Finally you can cut in the bottom row of tiles, custom cutting them as you go. As you said, they may well be slightly different sizes, so take your time and fit them in on top of your finished floor.

Make sense?