Bathroom remodel questions

[Sonnie Layne]

I'm with Scooter on selling that tub, you might be surprised.

I think with a shower that size, 3x3 would work, it'll be something you'll take time with when installing.

[Steven Hauser]

Paul,

Just hopping in here to make trouble , Not just no but hell no don't butt the tiles together in the shower. The grout is necessary.

1) Shiny marble looks like crap if you don't get it perfectly flat. I have specialized in stone for quite a while now. The first time out you want more forgiveness than 1/16" or butt-set could offer. I won't even talk to you about how you get grout between the tiles when it is that tight.

2) The pan tile will be fine for tumbled stone. You know how to adjust your pitch to accomodate different tile widths right? If not then follow the recommendation and get smaller tumbled pieces. shoot for 3/16" to 1/4" grout joints for the pan.


From the questions and answers I have read here I think you would be better off with a ceramic tile shower.

Just my negative .02

[advtrvlr]

Adjusting pitch? Do you mean adjusting the grout spacing so that I end up with an even number of tiles on the pan?
I'm stuck with the marble - already bought and the wife is set on it. From the replies, I'll put at least a 1/16th spacing on the walls.
For the pan - again, the 4x4s are already sitting in the garage. Can you explain adjusting pitch?
Paul

[John Bridge]

Cut the tiles into smaller pieces for the floor.

[Sonnie Layne]

You're not going to get even number of tiles on your planes because you don't have a perfect square. Don't worry over the "pitch", the meaning of that goes beyond what we need to accomplish here. Only pitch you have to keep melded into your head is 1/4" per foot of drainage. If you're draining 2 ft of lineal area, you need 1/2" of rise overall. now..... the diagonals will read less, so we read the measurement from the long point, the diagonals, which will probably make 1/8" difference in the rise. Does this make sense? what you're trying to accomplish is done everyday ... turn an inverted pyramid into an inverted cone over half the width/length of your shower. Heck the Egyptians were doin' this stuff thousands of years ago (so were the Inca in my opine).

There is another way... Not necessarily hard, but different thought process.

I vote we cut those 4x4's into 2x2's, use 3/16" grout and get the show on the road. For the time it took me to write this, I could have had the floor set. ..... 'course I don't type too good

[advtrvlr]

Ok, Im back.
Had to do a couple of trips on the weekends, a party, etc - the wife set all these up and then tells me I need to be done by Christmas - and this with working my regular job first...
I've got the whirlpool tub upstairs, have redone the drainpipes and set the drain.
I've got the tub to plumb and then I'll be ready for my preslope (finally!). I'm good on the directions for this.
My question is where can I get the pan liner and dam corners.The liner needs to be 6ft by 6 ft., and what I've seen at Home Depot and Lowes is the 4' wide PVC, and no corners or adhesive. Maybe Scooter can answer this since he's down here by me in Southern California. I could order the liner, corners and adhesive directly from Noble - how quick are they?
Paul

[advtrvlr]

I've got another question. I've added a picture of the sort of configuration that we're doing. The shower is on the left, then a short wall up to the level of the deck of the tub. Should the pan liner go up and over the short wall, or should I just bring the liner up the 10 inches or so like the rest of the walls, and then use a waterproofing membrane like redguard on the wall? I'm using hardibacker, not mud...
Paul

[Clowny]

The Oatey PVC liner they sell at my HD comes in a 6ft width, maybe you can ask somebody there to order some?? And, they could probably order the corner dams too.

http://www.oatey.com/apps/catalog/showskus.asp?ctg=12&subctg=0&prodgrpid=81

Marge

[Sonnie Layne]

I've only ever bought 5 ft widths. You'll likely have to go to plumbing house or tile supply to get the dam corners, in which case, that's who should get your bidness for the sheet goods, too.

PVC seams easily and securely with the right adhesive. Don't make the mistake of trying to seam it inside the shower. Do it out on a flat floor where you can get it spread out and accessible from at least two sides.

[advtrvlr]

More Questions...
I have encapsulated R13 insulation in the outside walls behind the shower, and then I stapled 6 mil poly for the actual vapor barrier. Is this a problem? Someone told me I shouldn't have insulation behind the shower walls.

Should I grout the gap between the shower wall and floor, or should that be caulked?

Is there code that specifies the minimum inside dam height? I bought a PVC drain that isn't adjustable, so the height of the shower floor from subfloor will be 4-1/4 inches. I dont really want the final height of the dam (outside) to be much more than 6 inches.

Paul

[John Bridge]

You need to insulate your exterior walls. Slice the facing on the insulation with a razor knife before you install your moisture barrier. If you've already put up the moisture barrier, don't worry about it.

Is there no way you can lower the drain? That floor is pretty high. The code here is three inches on the inside, but that's just here.

[advtrvlr]

The pvc drain I bought has legs that holds the bottom portion of the drain to about 1-1/4 inches, but the top section of the drain is 2 inches, plus the pan liner, then add the 7/8" for the slope (farthest corner is 38 inches from the center of the drain). That adds up to the 4+ inches...
The bottom portion of the drain seems that it would give the right thickness for the preslope, but the top section isn't adjustable. Would I be better off putting in one of the adjustable ones (I got the one I'm using from a local plumbing store, but I know they have the Oatley ones at HD) so I could have a smaller final mud thickness?
Paul

[John Bridge]

Paul,

For 4x4s you can't have a steep pitch, or all the corners of the tiles will be sticking up. So you have to keep the floor at a shallow pitch, but at the same time you have to make sure it drains. I would say about a half inch difference between the top of the drain and the walls -- no more than 1/4 in. per foot.

[advtrvlr]

New update.
I replaced the drain with a adjustable one, and got it to sit lower.
I put in my preslope (turned out great with a nice even slope to the drain.
I put in a 40 mil PVC pan, put the rest of the CBU on the walls, then put in the final mud - but I think I made a big mistake. I did not put the vapor liner on the inside of the liner - how big of a problem will this cause?
I also did the mud on the curb.
Should the next step be the floor, or should I tile the curb next?
I was planning to do the floor first, then do the walls.
When I do the walls, at the corner interface do I leave a grout space on each wall (needing alot more grout in the corner space) , or does one tile butt up (with appropriate grout space) to the other walls tile with only the one grout joint?
I'm using the 12 x 12 marble with 1/16 spacing and unsanded grout.
I want to thank you all for all the advice so far, and Happy Holidays to All!