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One Person's Shower-building Experience

John P. Bridge (11-27-04)

Occasionally, while cruising the John Bridge Tile Forums I run across a "thread" which is a bit unusual and which might be of interest to others who might be considering doing the same type of project.  The following words and pictures result from such an experience.  The owner of the project is John Applegate, a do-it-yourselfer, and these are his words:

The 2 year old shower is 68" on curb side by 72" deep. Tile goes all the way to the ceiling 8' up, and 9' to the left behind the tub (and the rest of the floor). That's why I didn't redo the whole thing. Kerdi would have been nice, but replacing the drain was farther than I wanted to go. Every tile had to be cut, since the new ones were 3/16" larger than the original ones. Below are some things I ran into and comments on the project:

Photo JB1 - The mold was so thick inside the original diagonal bench, I needed a weed-eater! Subfloor and window sill were soaked, but seemed OK after drying. EPA recommended mold remediation was performed throughout.

Photo JB2 - Nope, no liner, just the plastic on the sub-floor.

Photo JB3 - Finally beginning reconstruction. Decided on framed bench 'cause I was concerned about weight, and had already decided to use a trowel-on membrane at the windows.

Photo JB4 - With all the angles, installing the liner was real cut & patch job, and took me several days to get it where I felt comfortable with it. First leak test FAILED, and damaged the ceiling below... I forgot to tighten the drain bolts!

Photo JB5 - All Wonderboard installed and taped. I discovered that 1/2" Wonderboard doesn't match up perfectly flush with 1/2" drywall.

Photo JB6 - I used TEC Triple-Flex for my trowel-on membrane (2 ea 10lb containers). I thought by the time I got 2 coats of Red Guard on, it would cost more than the Triple-Flex. I noticed that Triple-Flex sets up VERY quickly (5 minutes) once exposed to air, and can be very messy. Don't wear shorts! I had to shave my legs to get it off!

Photo JB7 - Duct tape does anything! And I'm proud of my new Felker. I ran into problems with the saw however. The tray wobbles back and forth slightly, even after tightening all the bolts, and the water pump housing was cracked. I had ordered one from Construction Complete just as Felker was having delivery problems, and wound up getting this one from Home Depot Supply. It may have been a display model. I haven't taken any action to address the tray or the pump.

Photo JB8 - The floor grout isn't even dry yet, but I'm done except for that last bit of cleanup. The band around the bench is all individually cut pieces. Sealed with StoneTech Enhancer Pro (solvent based) twice, which seems to repel water fine, but didn't make much difference on the appearance. The commercial tile suppliers around here (Denver) sure don't like to sell to the average joe. The signs on the counters all say "to the trade only", and I did encounter some resistance. Is it that way in other parts of the country? Of course, the retail tile joints recommended mastic for the whole project.

Thanks again for all the help. You guys are great!

Sincerely,

John Applegate

(John is a member of the John Bridge Forums and can be contacted there by other members.)

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