tiling a shower

[TrophyHusband 0]

has anyone who is not a professional done this? and how hard was it? how did it turn out? have you had any problems? was it harder or easier than you thought?

i just talked to the tile guy, and it's going to be expensive. the things that are pumping up the price are porcelain tile, 6 small shelves, decorative band, and diamond pattern. i can get the price back down to a managable place by getting rid of those things, but i just think they will make the shower so much nicer.

i'm just not sure about this. i certainly possess the skills needed, but i've never done it before and i'm nervous that if i fuck it up, it will be extremely difficult to fix.


i've seen it done a hundred times on tv, and there's a plethora of info on how to do it on the internet, but actually exacuting it properly is daunting.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[BillyVance 34]

I have done tile in the bathroom, but only on the floor and walls, never in a tub or shower. And I would not want to. It's not just getting it to look nice, but making sure it's water-proof and will not leak through under the floor. I'd rather have a pro do it, but that's just me.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[skydiver30960 0]

Quote

It's not just getting it to look nice, but making sure it's water-proof...

Especially right around the little internet cam secretly installed in the light fixture!

Elvisio "don't look directly into the lens" Rodriguez

[PhreeZone 20]

I've laid about 400 Sq Ft of tile so far in this house and there is no way I'd attempt a shower after seeing everything involved in it to do it right like the proper slope on the basin floor, all the waterproofing, etc. I talked to a general contractor about tiling a shower and he farms out all that work to a specialist since there are so many ways to screw it up I guess and any repairs eliminate any cost savings you have at doing it yourself.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[warpedskydiver 0]

I have done the shower walls quite a few times, I have only done the floor of the shower once.

The floor is a pain in the ass and all the work takes place BEFORE the tile goes down.

[skyrider 0]

Doing the job "Right" is much harder than doing the job....Last shower I did for myself., lasted 3 years, a pro, would have got me probably 20 out of it...

Run an Add in the paper, there are THOUSANDS of people unemployeed, that can do it, and even have lisenses! might make a Huge difference in price...But if you plan to Own the home...Bite the bullet, get bids, and let a pro do it!

[ryoder 1,590]

The right way to do a tiled shower is to rip out the tile and replace it with fiberglass.
They put that crap in my house (only ten years old) before I bought it and it already looks like hell.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[monkycndo 0]

Installing a proper drain pan, sloping the dry pack sub-bed to drain, installing the durarok with the shelves all takes practice.

Showers with nooks and crannies just means more places for leaks. Do yourself a favor and hire a pro. All the money you think you will save doing it yourself will cost you that much more to rip it all out and do it again.

I have seen some nice showers that had custom Corian surrounds. The are completely water tight because all the seams are welded together.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[squirrel 0]

well. everyone here seems to say hire a pro. i say go the other way. ok, so this is how it is. i build houses. finding a GOOD finish tile guy is hard. i hired young and old, some with lots of experience, some with none. not really happy with anyone. so, i started doing it myself. i figured that if i did not pay myself labor, i could do the job 3 times over if i fucked it up for the same price of hiring somebody to usually fuck it up. so, if you have the time, thats the kicker, go for it. and if it comes out bad, rip it out and do it again, then again. you'll get it right, and will ultimately be happy. just got done laying 800 SF of floor tile in my latest house...took a month...but i took my time, and it looks great!

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[VectorBoy 0]

Quote

Installing a proper drain pan, sloping the dry pack sub-bed to drain,

If you are starting from the rough structure look into wediboard ( its german) alternative to building up a sloped shower pan. This territory is strictly for guys who do it all the time.

If you are tiling an existing surface its a different story. Like some said above the hard work is in the subsurface work.

[skyrider 0]

Quote

well. everyone here seems to say hire a pro. i say go the other way. ok, so this is how it is. i build houses. finding a GOOD finish tile guy is hard. i hired young and old, some with lots of experience, some with none. not really happy with anyone. so, i started doing it myself. i figured that if i did not pay myself labor, i could do the job 3 times over if i fucked it up for the same price of hiring somebody to usually fuck it up. so, if you have the time, thats the kicker, go for it. and if it comes out bad, rip it out and do it again, then again. you'll get it right, and will ultimately be happy. just got done laying 800 SF of floor tile in my latest house...took a month...but i took my time, and it looks great!

"Ya fuck it up, you can do it again, cause ya did it cheap....."
"Took a month for a floor?...."

Remind me to never hire you!

[TrophyHusband 0]

the showerpan is being built by a pro. i'm putting in the durock. with most people saying to hire a pro, especially those who have tried it before, i'll have to go that direction. i'm just shocked that the material and design i've chosen doubled the estimate. we'll only be here 3-4 years, so i think i can live with something a little less elaborate.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[skyrider 0]

Quote

the showerpan is being built by a pro. i'm putting in the durock. with most people saying to hire a pro, especially those who have tried it before, i'll have to go that direction. i'm just shocked that the material and design i've chosen doubled the estimate. we'll only be here 3-4 years, so i think i can live with something a little less elaborate.

In the long run, Wise choice....

[JohnMitchell 16]

In our master bath we had water seep through the grout and a few other spots and ruin the greenboard behind. I tore everything out, fixed all leak points, re hung the greenboard, and then used a 5 piece plastic install instead of retiling. Cheap, quick and easy, I may hire someone to retile someday for resale value. As it is, it's functional and one of the last things you'd see if you were a potential buyer. I might just leave it.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

It's not hard, but it can be time consuming.

There is a Kerdi shower kit that you can purchase that comes with the floor pan and drain. It helps to make the shower water tight before the tile is laid (plus you can put down the kerdi membrane on the walls to make the walls water tight before the tiles are laid). There are a lot of resources on the net to educate you on how to do the job and do it right the first time.

Google "kerdi shower system" and go from there.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[PLFXpert 0]

We completely gutted and redid our master bathroom ourselves about a year ago down the studs.

By "we" and mean my hunny, Bill (not a professional), with help from the *neighbors.

We took out an old steal tub and replaced it with a nice, big shower--obviously had to break through the concrete, move the drain, opted to move the shower head to the opposite wall, install shower pan, etc.

We also tiled the entire shower, floor to ceiling, and tiled halfway up the walls around the entire bathroom.

It took twice as long as expected for about 50% more than our original budget more.

It turned out AMAZING. Been a year and everything works beautifully.
Any specific questions I can ask him for you?





*I should note, we have great neighbors who like to tinker, fix, improve and do things themselves by night/weekend, so we had a revolving door of neighborly help & advice. One had done a shower pan a while before, so if it is just you and your buddies/neighbors are not the handy-type, I would be safe and budget for a professional with that part.

Also, Bill made about 100 trips back and forth to Home Depot and more phone calls than that to their tile guy who was SUPER helpful and--according to Bill--knew a helluva lot more than any professional tile guy he inquired.

One last caveat: If you do not have a super-good-humored, stable, loving relationship with your wife, DEFINITELY hire a professional. That is all I have to say about that.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Royd 0]

I've done quite a few showers, but that's not all that I do.

One of the most important things to do, is to put a mildly sloping mudbed under the shower pan. This prevents moisture from building up, in any existing low spots, in the original floor. This is the main cause of rotted wallboard and framing.

If you can get your hands on a laser level, it'll help you set a level elevation, for your final mudbed.

Next, try to check the plumb of the shower walls.... Nothing looks more ametuerish than having a 1/2" runout, from top to bottom.

USE CEMENT BOARD, FOR THE WALLS.

At this point, if possible, try to figure your finished roughin, to accomodate full tiles, on all walls.
The old timers, seemed to know how to do this.
One of the best little tools, for the actual laying of tiles, are the little plastic wedges, found, in the tile section, with those little cross spacers.
They are absolutely necessary, if you are laying stone, instead of ceramic tile.

[squirrel 0]

Quote

"Ya fuck it up, you can do it again, cause ya did it cheap....."
"Took a month for a floor?...."

Remind me to never hire you!

its the house i am living in...and its a total rehab, foundation cracks, uneven original pour, doing it right takes time dumb ass. sorry to take so long, we're kind of busy selling all the REPOS up here, . when you learn how to successfully make money building houses, like I do, then you can have an opinion. if you would like a house built new, I can usually do that in 5 months, from graded to locking the door. go ride your silly bike.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[squirrel 0]

Quote

Quote

the showerpan is being built by a pro. i'm putting in the durock. with most people saying to hire a pro, especially those who have tried it before, i'll have to go that direction. i'm just shocked that the material and design i've chosen doubled the estimate. we'll only be here 3-4 years, so i think i can live with something a little less elaborate.

In the long run, Wise choice....

IF you get a good job, its a wise choice. I've been at this too long to see to many houses built wrong by so called "Pros" its not hard, its time consuming.

3-4 years? hmm. as a GC, we are obligated to warranty the home for 10 years. I've done all my own tile, and no call backs. Just take your time, you can do it...unlike other people around here.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[skyrider 0]

Quote

Quote

"Ya fuck it up, you can do it again, cause ya did it cheap....."
"Took a month for a floor?...."

Remind me to never hire you!

its the house i am living in...and its a total rehab, foundation cracks, uneven original pour, doing it right takes time dumb ass. sorry to take so long, we're kind of busy selling all the REPOS up here, . when you learn how to successfully make money building houses, like I do, then you can have an opinion. if you would like a house built new, I can usually do that in 5 months, from graded to locking the door. go ride your silly bike.

ROFL, My gawd, if we ever get to meet in person, I hope yer dumb enough to talk to me that way!

dude grow up!

[squirrel 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

"Ya fuck it up, you can do it again, cause ya did it cheap....."
"Took a month for a floor?...."

Remind me to never hire you!

its the house i am living in...and its a total rehab, foundation cracks, uneven original pour, doing it right takes time dumb ass. sorry to take so long, we're kind of busy selling all the REPOS up here, . when you learn how to successfully make money building houses, like I do, then you can have an opinion. if you would like a house built new, I can usually do that in 5 months, from graded to locking the door. go ride your silly bike.

ROFL, My gawd, if we ever get to meet in person, I hope yer dumb enough to talk to me that way!

dude grow up!

nope, not gonna grow up. i can build houses faster being young. BTW, i ride a silly bike too...its just quieter, thats all.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[headoverheels 333]

Like lots of other stuff in construction, or car repair, the investigation time to understand how to do the task may be a lot more than the time to do it. If you see yourself doing it again, or just love doing stuff for yourself, that invested learning time may be worthwhile. If not, maybe find something else that needs doing to save money on, with more labor content and less learning time content.

[skyrider 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

"Ya fuck it up, you can do it again, cause ya did it cheap....."
"Took a month for a floor?...."

Remind me to never hire you!

its the house i am living in...and its a total rehab, foundation cracks, uneven original pour, doing it right takes time dumb ass. sorry to take so long, we're kind of busy selling all the REPOS up here, . when you learn how to successfully make money building houses, like I do, then you can have an opinion. if you would like a house built new, I can usually do that in 5 months, from graded to locking the door. go ride your silly bike.

ROFL, My gawd, if we ever get to meet in person, I hope yer dumb enough to talk to me that way!

dude grow up!

nope, not gonna grow up. i can build houses faster being young. BTW, i ride a silly bike too...its just quieter, thats all.

Hope we meet some day pup., we ,more than likely wil have a laugh together!

[skyrider 0]

BTW...as for "loud" My bike runs 2 Mufflers, from 1942, when only 1 is required...I'd ay it is pretty quit.....

[fallinbear 0]

Check out Schluter Systems online. It's a german company that makes a shower system that's easy for the do-it-yourselfer. It's actually made for you!

Seriously, check it out...

As far as the price of porcelain...see if you can get a contractor to let you use his discount at a distributor. I've done it for my friends...

Good luck, amigo. I'm open to discussion if you have any questions.

Steve (CanuckinUSA) mentioned the kerdi system. It's the same one I'm talking about with a pre-formed, pre-sloped pan that takes the worry out of packing a pan with mud...

mike

I don't want to make all the decisions because if I screw up, then I can't blame it on you...