Shower from the 60's

[cx]

If you're building a Kerdi shower, Joseph, you most definitely do not want to fill and tape the drywall joints, especially the inside corners. Your membrane will go on much easier with all those joints left open.

As for your grab bar blocking, I seldom actually installed such hardware in my showers, just installed the blocking for future use.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

I'm going to be using the Kerdie membrane with matching tray and drain.

I'm NOT taping the corners. But I already used spackle to fill a few holes and gaps that were larger than 1/4".

[HooKooDoo Ku]

Progress Report:

Went ahead and added a primer coat to cut down on how much moisture the drywall would suck up.

Mistake on wall #1 was not mixing enough thinset. All those YouTube videos teaching you how to apply the Kerdie membrane fail to tell you that (as a beginner) for your 1st wall, you need to mix twice as much thinset as the coverage suggests since, as a beginner, you won't come close to only putting on "just enough" thinset before making that final pass with the notched side of the trowel.

For the second wall, my overlap worked pretty well.

I cut and hung the drywall such that the wall on the right had the recessed edge in the corner while the wall on the left had the "cut" edge in the corner.
I hung the 1st sheet of membrane so that it only covered the right wall. I then hung the 2nd sheet of membrane cut to overlap the 1st wall in the recessed area.

I also got the niche covered. Mistakes were made... hopefully some beads of kerdie-fix will help cover the sins once the main sheet has been hung on the wall.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

So thinking ahead to the curb...

What are the ways you can build a curb if you're using the KERDIE membrane and don't want to use KERDIE-BOARD-SC?

The KERDIE curbs are so prevalent, it's impossible to google the subject and NOT get web pages that talk about anything but these prefabricated curbs.

[cx]

Relax, Joseph. Deep breaths.

You can build your curb easily enough using dimension lumber to most any size and shape that suits your purpose. You then cover it with drywall or CBU and then waterproof it with Kerdi membrane, similar to what you did with your niche.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

Thanks CX

That's pretty much what I figured... but I just couldn't find anything online to confirm using drywall IN the curb... anything about that seems to simply be burried by every one showing how to install Schluder curbs.

By concern is for the corners. I've seen how drywall is delivered with drywall separating the stacks. Proof that drywall can handle the weight. But my concern is for the edges...

Anything I need to do to reinforce the edges?

[ss3964spd]

The tile, or solid surface material, that will be installed on the curb will protect the edges sufficiently.

[cx]

And for the edges of the outside corners I recommend breaking them at least a little, rounding them off a bit, before installing the Kerdi over the curb. The Kerdi will go on much more easily without sharp outside corners.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

Building the curb went well... three 2x4s wrapped in drywall. Something I stumbled onto to help protect the exposed edges is to paint them. By pre-folding the KERDI, wrapping the curb went well too.

I then managed to finish installing the pan, the drain, and covering all the joints and corners. Took longer that I expected, so that by the time I was installing the corners pieces, I noticed the thin-set was starting to thicken a bit. Anything I need to look for before I flood test? I know I need to add a bead to some spots on the outside corner piece (it would NOT lay completely flat due to the slope on my curb). Makes me wonder if a good idea to ensure those final corner pieces are working is to add a bead of Kerdi-fix along their edges.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

So the flood-test is planned for this weekend and I'm trying to decide on the type of tile to use on the floor of the shower.

Any advice on what style tile to pick (or avoid)?

A. My primary goals are:
1. Something that is as non-slip as reasonably possible.
2. Easy to keep clean/maintain (maintenance free? - this is for a college student).

So far, I've been considering a mosaic tile, lots of edges to help make the surface non-slip. I've specifically been leaning towards 2" hexagons, but I've also considered penny tile.

B. What (if anything) do I need to do to account for the fact the Schluder shower pan has that change of plane along the diagonals. Is the change subtle enough that I shouldn't have a problem? Or will I have to cut all the tile that crosses that diagonal?

[cx]

A1. Good eye-dee. I favor 2"x2" squares unless customer requires otherwise.

A2. Even college students are capable of keeping a shower clean. Providing the appropriate incentive is beyond the scope of this forum.

2. The Schluter foam trays I've seen are subtle enough in those slopes that they can be disregarded in your planning. They're also not sloped sufficiently in some cases, but that's just one of the reasons I recommend the use of deck mud for a shower floor.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[PC7060]

What CX said; 2”x2” is the easier and provides a non-skid surface with a classic look.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

My plan is white... perhaps subway tile, but more likely basic 4x4 white tile to better "match" the existing bathroom's 4x4 tile in size if not color.

For the floor, I had been looking at various white hexagon mosaics. But I was finding that they were usually a matte white that when you put the white subway tile against it, it looked off... like you were TRYING to match color as missed.

So I spend a part of this weekend checking out various tile stores (Floor and Decore, Home Depot, Lowe's).

I found this.


The gray seems to go with a pure white tile as it's enough of a contrast to look more like an accent rather than a bad "match".

I found matching bullnose, so I think my plan is use this gray on the floor, the top of the curb, and as a border tile... sort of just like the old shower and existing bathroom use light and dark green for field/boarder, I'll use white and gray.

But the one thing I HATE about this 2x2 tile is that the Kerdie drain grate is a tiny bit larger than 4 2x2s. Open to suggestions, but the best thing I can come up with on my own is to start tiling from the drain, cutting the corner of four sheets.

[HooKooDoo Ku]

Tile of Different Thickness.

I have not purchased the white "field" tile yet. But as previously mentioned, I've purchased the floor tile and matching bullnose tile that I think would make a good accent piece all the way around the edges.

But I think the bullnose tile is going to be a little thicker than the field tile.

Any suggestions on how to line the surfaces of those up?
Or would it be better to just purchase some other type of field tile with a matching thickness?

[Davy]

Really depends how much difference the thickness is. Before buying the tile, I'd make sure the bullnose is the same thickness as the field tiles. It can cause a lot of grief. The floor tiles can be a different thickness than the wall tiles, no problem there.