Waterproofing and tiling in earthquake country

[markch]

Oh no! That makes sense though, the person who took my order was wrong on almost everything else.

I actually have a bunch of leveling sand (somewhat coarse grained) and Portland cement left over from an outdoors project.

Alternatively this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete...oduct-overview

?

[cx]

How long has your Portland cement been open?

[markch]

Too long if you have to ask ( I actually don't know, it belongs to my girlfriend who is an artist doing concrete work quite some time ago). I have to do an order from the hardware store regardless now so it's best to just buy the right thing instead of trying to make do with what is at hand.

[cx]

That bagged Deck Mud from Quikrete appears to be the right stuff, Mark. Well, once you figger out the marking on the bag is a chapter and verse from ANSI A108, that is.

Never seen it at my Home Depot and never have tried it, but says it's a 5:1 sand/cement mix. Can't tell if it's got the optional "up to 1/10th part lime" in it. I'd rather it didn't.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[markch]

They actually don't have it, and I'm either going to source from a local builder supply or use the library deck mud calculator.

I wonder -- is the 5:1 sand-cement ratio based on what packs the best, a structural value, or that lets water flow through to weep holes more easily. I wonder if there will be different formulations recommended for single-layer sheet membrane waterproofing? For sure will stick with tried and true formulation now.

[cx]

Mark, the 5:1 mix just seems to combine the best in workability and porosity needed for the top mud bed in a traditional shower construction. The ANSI standards still actually call for a 4:1 mix for that application for reasons not known to me. That particular standard dates from many decades back and I don't know if even our own Dave Gobis knows the rationale behind that one. I do know that the 5:1 mix works well for any and all applications for a deck mud or "mortar bed" mix.

The mortar bed used as a pre-slope for traditional shower receptor construction or under the newer direct bonded waterproofing membrane shower receptors has, to the best of my knowledge, no standard at all in the tile industry, it actually being part of the plumbing. You can use whatever you like so long as it is sufficiently sturdy, flat, and properly sloped to support the waterproofing membrane in either case. Again, the 5:1 mix is known to fit that requirement quite well.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[markch]

Finally moving from theory to practice (a few days late after recovering from some cold that was miraculously not covid). Demo half day. Under the floor tiles is 1/2" mortar & wire lattice. Under that is plywood that is completely deteriorated- stepped through it once in the 2sq ft I uncovered. Anything to look out for when removing the subfloor other than be careful?

[markch]

Going into hot line
.will be removing receptacle btw

[markch]

Never mind, cold line, goes to fridge

[markch]

Update: took a few days to get the walls down to the studs and replace water damaged subfloor. I was going to replace all of it but what wasn't damaged was in good shape and as flat as my 5' level could confirm.

I used the diamond blade with an angle grinder to remove the lathe plaster. Very dusty and I benefitted from a negative pressure ( fan in the window).

Today I redid the plumbing. After practicing soldering outside and nailing it on test joints I went for it inside where it instantly became 100x harder in the confined space. Anyway house is still standing, and two hours after calling it a day and no drips (had to redo some joints) The fiberglass flame barrier was key.

[markch]

Is there anything wrong with a brad nailer to hold furring strips in place before backer board is up?

[ss3964spd]

None I can think of, Mark.

[markch]

Trying the megashim approach for leveling walls

[markch]

Oops photo wasn't attached, but it was a bad bad not good idea so nobody missed out on anything. I used a sled to make various shims that had 1/4"-1/2"/6' slope, thinking I could measure how out of plumb a stud was, and tack on a long shim to fix it all in one go. What I should have remembered is that 60 year old wood will have all sorts of additional twists, warps, and bends in it. I really should have remembered that since last year I redid all the door jambs in the house and solved this exact problem just fine back then. I now see why people float despite the heavy lifting.

Here's the approach that I took:
1. Examine a stud to see if it is generally sticking inwards or outwards from the bottom, pick the spot furthest in, and mark it.

Assuming the stud is sticking outwards (bottom is furthest in the room):

2. Hold the bottom of a 5' level to the marked spot, and tilt out until the bubble is centered. Shim near the top of the level.

3. Now pressing the level against the marked spot and first shim, add a third shim in the middle of the two so that it is flush with the level.

4. Move the level up so that the bottom is pressing against the lowest shim, press in the middle of the top two shims, and add a third at the top of the 5' level.

5. Repeat until you get to the top of the shower.

6. Repeat for all the other studs, reversing the direction if a stud sticks inwards.

7. Now the studs are plumb, time to make them even. Working that out today. Hopefully I don't come up with some idea that hemorrhages time like my terrible megashim idea yesterday.

[markch]

It seems there are tons of tutorials for hooking up mixers, but I'm curious about the next step of connecting the shower head and auxiliary hand shower.

An elbow is involved, but that's the extent of what I know. Maybe also that it's a female threaded connection to a pex fitting.

What size threading on the elbow (3/4" or 1/2")? 3/4" seems more sturdy, but it would need a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter.

What pipe connects the elbow and the shower head?

Is the only support for that pipe the threading at the elbow?

How do I waterproof around the pipe (using sheet membrane)?

For the hand shower, is there a way to install male threading flush with the tiles?