Tile Guys - I have a ?/Oh...and I love my tub!

[Sudzz]

I see that there are a couple of "tile guys" on this board.  I have a 3/4 bath in the lower level of my split-level home which is below grade that I'm going to remodel.  I'd like to do a complete tiled shower, 1/2 walls and floor.  The room has had a wet floor maybe twice in past 5 years (VERY heavy rain, previously poor outside drainage).

The floor now is unsealed concrete that has self-stick vinyl tile that I can easily remove.

Is there any special prep and/or adhesive that can be used in this application?  There's always a chance that the floor  could see another inch or two of water down the road and I'd hate to have it ruined.

BTW - Going on 6 months with my Nordic tub and my wife and I love it!!!

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You could use a product called "Kerdi" and,there are lots of waterproofing materials out there to choose from.

Here's a link/url,where you can post and ask questions.  I'm registered on there,and post occasionally

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/

[Chad]

I see that there are a couple of "tile guys" on this board.  I have a 3/4 bath in the lower level of my split-level home which is below grade that I'm going to remodel.  I'd like to do a complete tiled shower, 1/2 walls and floor.  The room has had a wet floor maybe twice in past 5 years (VERY heavy rain, previously poor outside drainage).

The floor now is unsealed concrete that has self-stick vinyl tile that I can easily remove.

Is there any special prep and/or adhesive that can be used in this application?  There's always a chance that the floor  could see another inch or two of water down the road and I'd hate to have it ruined.

BTW - Going on 6 months with my Nordic tub and my wife and I love it!!!

I'd use 1/2 durock on the walls and latex modified thinset.
On the floor, I'd remove the VCT. Then scrap, sweep, and clean the floor with a sponge and water. Let dry, then use a latex modified thinset and mix with straight additive instead of water to glue down this stuff called Noble Seal with a 1/4'' V notched trial. Then use the same thinset with straight additive to set the tile using atleast a 3/8'' square edged trial. Use epoxy grout.

Btw, for maximum adhesion, flat trial the floor with thinset before using the notch side. No need to wait for it to dry between those steps. Simply take enough thinset out of your bucket to cover a small area, flat trial it then notch trial it.

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I'd use 1/2 durock on the walls and latex modified thinset.
On the floor, I'd remove the VCT. Then scrap, sweep, and clean the floor with a sponge and water. Let dry, then use a latex modified thinset and mix with straight additive instead of water to glue down this stuff called Noble Seal with a 1/4'' V notched trial. Then use the same thinset with straight additive to set the tile using atleast a 3/8'' square edged trial. Use epoxy grout.

Btw, for maximum adhesion, flat trial the floor with thinset before using the notch side. No need to wait for it to dry between those steps. Simply take enough thinset out of your bucket to cover a small area, flat trial it then notch trial it.

That's not gonna prevent water going out or in for that matter,in respects to the shower/wet area. He needs some form of waterproofing,6"s up mimimum,from finish grade. I believe he has more issues,which relate to the outside of the house,as he has mentioned having water inside the house,from poor drainage/grading.

Kerdi would waterproof the entire wet area in the shower stall,but that still doesn't solve why water is getting into the house from excessive water outside. Do your baseboards/toekicks show evidence of water damage?

And Chad,it's good to hear some are still "burning" the mud into the substrate,prior to smearing  They taught you well!

He needs to resolve what and why,water is coming INTO the house,and proceed from there.


And with Noble seal,you also have to adhere/connect the pieces with Noble weld,which for some people,can make em goofy

That link I posted,has top pros from the nation,that specialize in tile/stone. I believe if you post questions there,you will get some helpful responses.

[Chad]

I wasn't under the impression he was tiling the shower floor, thus is why I didn't advise him to use some sort of waterproofing. I thought 3/4 bathroom meant he only has a standard bathtub but I could very easily be wrong. :-?
Anyways, thanks for pointing that out. He'd be in a world of trouble if he didn't use some sort of water proofing on the shower floor and up the shower walls. Do you think he needs to water proof the bathroom floor if it only has a bathtub?

[Chad]

Suddz, is there anyway we could get some pics?

Thanks,

Chad

[Sudzz]

Guys, thanks for the all the very helpful responses.

As far as the layout of the bathroom goes - It is a shower and not a bathtub.  I have a friend who's a contractor - but not a tile expert - and he's built out many shower bases/walls for tile so he knows what to do about the waterproofing there.  It's the floor in the room that he's not 100% sure about because of the potential for moisture.

Regarding the wet floor issue - Since I've owned the house, I have addressed the drainage issues around the outside.  However, we had a heavy snowstorm followed immediately by a lot of rain this Winter and because of the snow/ice buildup around the house, the rainwater pooled up in places it normally doesn't.  As a result, some water found its way into my crawlspace and then into the bathroom.  There was really no way to prevent this.  That's why I'm concerned about putting tile down unless there's a product (or combination of products) I can use to make sure the tile holds up should something like that happen again.

Sudzz (In my beer, not in my tub!)