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All work by: Harry Dunbar
Barrie, Ontario
Phone: (705) 424 - 5144
Toll Free: 1-866-837-7773
(Toll Free for Ontario residents)
The first thing to examine are if the surfaces are level and structurally sound. In this particular case there are no level or sound surfaces.
Upon examination here's what I found:
Problems
- Main floor not level.
- Main floor not structurally sound.
- Liner improperly installed.
- Green board not proper material for shower.
- Green board has screws installed through liner near floor.
- Green board too close to liner, wicking will take place.
- Walls not plumb or flat.
- No pre-slope under the liner.
- Curb prepared wrong for tile installation.
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This bathroom is fairly small but the shower is quite big. First I'll level the bathroom floor (area on right) with a mortar bed then continue into the shower area.
I've already installed a vapor barrier and lath, now I'm ready for the "Deck Mud".
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Mortar bed is finished and is now 100% level.
If you look at the bottom 2"x4" used in the construction of the curb and how it looks in relation to the mud bed, you see how much the floor was out of level.
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There is no pre-slope under the liner which means the liner will NOT direct moisture to the weep holes in the drain. Water will collect inside the liner and stay there until it becomes stagnant. It will also wick up into the wallboard causing failure in the board and the tiles.
The drain is already installed in preparation for the liner, BUT in this case the liner will be replaced with a proper installation.
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WRONG!
Notice how the screws are drilled right through the bottom of the liner. Also, the greenboard is sitting directly on the liner material which means that moisture collected in the liner will wick up into the board. This installation would begin failing within months.
There are many corrections and alterations needed to create a properly functioning and waterproof shower. The tile which is being used for this project are VERY large .... 20"x20", so mortar beds on the wall screeded flat and plumb are essential in order for these tiles to be installed correctly.
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A pre-sloped mortar bed has been built, a new liner has been installed and the greenboard trimmed and re-installed. Notice how the greenboard is almost an inch up from the liner material and there are NO SCREWS drilled through the liner. Wicking will be impossible in this shower for a number of reasons which you'll see as you look through the stages to come. Notice how the new liner material is up over the curb?
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Over top the moisture barrier I install 2.25 gauge wire lath.
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Now I can start building the mortar bed which will be the base for the shower floor tiles. I begin by firmly packing deck mud along the perimeter to act as a screed.
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Finished!
Both the main bathroom and the shower floors have mortar beds. The next stage is to mud the walls.
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I've set in 3 floats strips on the back wall of the shower. There is another float strip on the left side not shown in the frame.
The top of the wall is out by almost 1-1/2" from the lower portion. It will be 100% plumb by the time the mud work is done.
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Not only are these walls going to be plumb, they are also going to be completely flat which means the 20"x20" tiles being installed will not have imperfections causing them to rock.
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After the mud walls have set over night, the next day I apply Laticrete 9235 liquid membrane waterproofing. I'll be adding more later, but for now I just want to have the floor ready for tomorrow's tile installation.
As you know, there is a poly moisture barrier behind the mortar bed. It isn't a proper vapor barrier (very flimsy and thin), plus there's a few hundred staples penetrated through it ..... so I need to apply waterproofing over top to ensure water doesn't make it in behind.
It's hard to see the detail of the Laticrete because it's so dark for the camera.
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This photo shows better detail of the waterproofing membrane.
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James is setting the tumbled marble like a "jigsaw puzzle". The marble comes in sheets, but we're finding we have to remove and adjust some of the pieces so we can fit it all properly.
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After applying more waterproofing to the surface of the walls I've begun setting in the bottom row of tiles.
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Finished!
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