Brian's master bath remodel

[bhusk]

I recently started remodelling our masterbath and ran across this site. Lots of great info here and I have a few questions before I go any further with the project. We have a small masterbath (~7'x10') and I've already finished the demo phase - removed the one piece shower surround (no tub) and ripped up the lineolum and luan underlayment.

I plan on tiling the shower walls and bathroom floor with 12x12" porcelain - Unicom Nevada. 2"x2" on the shower floor. 48" wanescot on the walls.

I originally planned on using the Schluter shower system and I bought the 48"x48" ST, curb, drain and kerdi. The shower dimension is 47"x38" (including the curb). I'm having second thoughts about cutting 7" off 2 sides of the shower tray after reading the Kerdi shower e-book. I'm considering a mud bed but I'm a little nervous about doing it myself. Seems everyone on this board thinks it's easier than cutting the Schluter tray.

Is the mud bed really the best way to go? Is it something that a weekend DIY'R can do without any problems?

The shower drain is off center now and I plan on centering it but I have to move it to the other side of a floor joist. And there's a little bit of water damage to a small part of the subfloor . I plan on replacing a 4'x4' section.

I'm going to tile the shower wall to just below the shower head. The drywall above the old surround is still intact. I was planning on putting 1/2" cement backerboard on the shower walls and 1/4" on the shower floor. Ditra over the rest of the floor.

Is it ok to put tile on the existing drywall that had been wallpapered? The wallpaper's been removed and it will only be a couple of inches. Also, what should I do with the seam where the drywall and the backerboard meet?

Sorry for the long first post. Any advice would be apprecitated. I'll add some pictures later.

[custombuilt]

-mud bed won't be too hard....these are tutorials around here in the Liberry....or at least a link.

-You don't need any durarock on the shower floor

-Run you bullnose or whatever up over the drywall/ durarock joint

-if the paper is removed it shouldn't be a prob---scratch up the drywall a bit and burn the thinset on the wall (or mastic0

[Marge]

bhusk, welcome to the forum.

Mud bed sounds intimidating, but it's not. Hard to mess up and even if it doesn't go well, easy and cheap to rip out and redo. Not that I've ever had to do that....

[John Bridge]

Hi Brian,

The drain doesn't have to be centered when you do the mud floor. I has to be away from all the walls, though.

Run the wall tile to ABOVE the shower head by at least a few inches. The shower head should be in the tiled field.

Marge has built mud shower floors, and Marge is a girl, for crying out loud.

[Man, she's gonna whup me now. ]

[bhusk]

That settles it then. I guess I have to do a mud bath now that John's challenged my manhood. Assuming Marge has always been a girl and never had her sex changed. ;-) You never know these days.

About the drain location. The edge of the kerdi drain flange will only be about 2" from curb. Is that going to be a problem? I dry fit the drain and it's not close to being level. What's the best way to fix that?

I also want to replace a piece of the subfloor that has some water damage. It might not be that much extra work to center the drain.

[wayne4027]

Brian,

You're probably going to be better off relocating the drain to the center of the floor. When determining the layout of your mud bed you will need to establish a line on the wall furthest from the drain with a slope of 1/4" per foot to the drain. Then you will mark a level line from that point all the way around the shower enclosure - this will be the height of your mud bed. Leaving the drain where it is now means you're going to have a very steep angle on the floor between the drain and the curb. Remember to leave about 1.25" between the bottom of the drain flange and the subfloor. I just completed my mud bed and I can tell you that whatever you can do to make the drain sit level from the start will pay huge dividends when you start setting your mud bed. Believe me, there's nothing to be intimidated about if you're contemplating doing a mud bed, and when you're done it's very satisfying. Just take your time and make sure you get mud packed under the drain for support and you'll be fine. One other thing - it looks to me like the hole in the subfloor where your riser comes up is way too large. The drain kit comes with a template for the hole in the subfloor.

[bhusk]

Thanks Wayne. The existing hole is huge but I was planning on replacing that piece of the subfloor anyway. I think I'm going to move the drain. I have to go through a floor joist. Anything I need to be concerned with there?

[Brian in San Diego]

Yes, there is. You have to be very careful in notching and/or boring holes through joists. Somewhere there was a great reference guide to where you are allowed to notch or bore through a joist but I can't find it right now. In general terms, I think you are not allowed to notch or bore a joist in the middle third of the joist. In the inner thirds (the thirds closest to the supports) you should only notch or bore a whole to a certain percentage of the height of the joist. Anyone able to help out with the reference guide?

[wayne4027]

I'll defer to the experts on the joist question but you won't be sorry you decided to center the drain and do a mud bed. You'll find the experts on this site very friendly and eager to help you through it. Good luck!

[bhusk]

Hey guys,

I have a question about installing vinyl corner bead over the outside corner of the drywall in my kerdi shower. I plan on laying the tiles on the shower wall all the way to the edge with bullnose pieces running vertically up to the height of the shower head. Above the shower head is painted drywall. The shower side of the corner wall will be tiled, the other side will be painted.

Questions:

1. I bought some 3M spray adhesive to mount the corner bead. Has anyone had any experience with this stuff? Do I need to secure the corner bead with drywall screws or nails? I'm concerned about the screws not being flush with the drywall under the bullnose.

2. Should I overlay the kerdi on top of the corner bead (or vice versa). Or just run it to the edge of the corner bead. The bullnose is 3-1/8" wide. The corner bead is ~1".

3. Do I need to spackle over the corner bead, then thinset over that when laying the bullnose? Or is it ok to thinset directly over the corner bead.

Thanks.

[muskymike]

Hi Brian, you can go to User PC and edit your signature so it shows up in all your posts.
I would put the corner bead on with some PL 200 or liquid nails then Kerdi over it.

[bhusk]

Thanks Mike. I'll give that a try.

[bbcamp]

Was someone looking for this?

[bhusk]

Thanks for the link Bob. I already moved the drain and used the joist boring guide in the liberry. Also had to replace the diverter valve since the new shower faucet didn't fit the old valve. I Have the drywall hung and I need to build the curb and tape and spackle the sections that aren't being tiled. Then onto the mud bed.

It's taking alot longer than I originally thought.....and I now have alot of respect for the guys that do this for a living. Lugging those boxes of tiles around is alot of work. I'm glad I have a job where I sit on my ass all day.

[bhusk]

Hi all,

I'm installing ditra over plywood on the bathroom floor and Kerdi over drywall in the shower. I know that I have to use unmodified thinset between the tiles and the Ditra/Kerdi. But is it OK to use a modified thinset (Laticrete Gold 253) between the drywall and Kerdi? Will it have a problem curing at the Kerdi seams where theere is a 2" overlap.

I think it should be ok to use between the plywood and the Ditra since Schluter recommends using modified thinset. I'd just like to confirm that.

Thanks,