Shower Waterproofing Manual

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Posts tagged as:

membrane

Shower Tile Basics or Shower Tile 101

I get a LOT of questions from my readers about basic shower construction. I understand that my readers don’t consider this stuff basic and there’s no problem with that. The problem is that I end up answering the same questions over and over and over… So, to save what very little is left of my [...]

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Effects of Improper Ditra Installation

I am not writing this to tell you why your tile is cracking or why your grout is cracking – I have other posts that may tell you that. (Click on the pretty little links ) If you happen to have Schluter Ditra as your substrate, this post will tell you why either one of [...]

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What is a ‘Soft Joint’ and When to use One

That title right there is absolutely ripe for me to go off on a sophomoric, mildly humorous rant about the viability of inferior illegal plant use. But I’m not gonna do that. (Okay, maybe later…) A soft joint, or control joint,  is simply one grout line, all the way down the length of your installation, [...]

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ProvaFlex vs Ditra

That’s right, I said typed it! Bring it on In the last month or so there has been a lot of hype about Loxscreen’s new polypropylene tile underlayment membrane. That’s just a big phrase for plastic tile underlayment. It is being marketed as a replacement product for Schluter Ditra. Since I use Schluter Ditra almost [...]

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Create a Shower Floor for Tile – Video Post

Since I’m just a tile guy I”m not usually up on all the new technological crap that has nothing to do with tile, like online video or the ‘SlapChop’.  I’ve decided that since I spend most of my days in other people’s showers that I should get out more and learn something else. So naturally, [...]

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How to Build a Niche for your Shower – Part 2

Waterproofing Just look at you! Sitting there with a hole in the wall of your shower. What are we gonna do with you? If you do not happen to be sitting there with a hole in the shower of your wall read How to Build a Niche for your Shower – Part 1 and join [...]

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How to Build a Niche for your Shower – Part 1

This four part series describes methods to create a niche in your shower wall for tile. Please read through all four parts before starting. Your layout dictates the size and placement of your niche. You need all this information before making a hole in your wall! Or don’t – it isn’t my shower, eh? Framing [...]

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How to Create a Shower Floor – Part 5

And the rest . . . Once you have your entire perimeter done you simply need to pack deck mud into the rest of the base from the perimeter to the drain. Once again – beat the hell out of it. Seriously, pack it in there really well. The more dense your floor is the [...]

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How to Create a Shower Floor – Part 4

Well, you’ve made it to the final step. If you have arrived at this portion of the instructions without first reading the rest, start with How to Create a Shower Floor. Go ahead, I’ll be right here when you get back. I’ll just sit back and drink this beer Pepsi while I wait. Okay, now [...]

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How to Create a Shower Floor – Part 2

Now that you have your curb built and your pre-slope done (if you haven’t done this yet check out How to create a shower floor, Part 1) you are ready to install your waterproof liner. Purchasing a waterproof liner When you order or buy your liner you need to get one large enough for your [...]

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Installing Redgard on Shower Walls for Tile

Elastomeric or liquid waterproofing membranes are one of the most convenient methods of waterproofing shower walls before installing tile. These membranes consist of products such as Custom Building Products’ Redgard and Laticrete’s 9235 and Hydroban. I will refer to all the membranes as Redgard for the purposes of this post, but they all work the [...]

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Installing Cement Backerboard for Tile in a Shower

Installing cement backerboard is one of the more popular choices for a shower wall substrate. Cement backerboards include Hardiebacker, Durock, Fiberboard, wonderboard, and similar products. These materials bridge the gap between expense and effectiveness. When installed properly they will give you many, many years of durable shower construction. The advantage of cement backerboards is that, [...]

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