Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, I hired a plumber/handyman to tile my bathtub surround. He seemed to know a lot about about everything and said he has done many many tile jobs including working on hospitals. However, as I read on here and other forums, I have found several rules that he is breaking and it has me a little freaked out. 1. He put up 1/2 inch cement board BUT he said I usually just fill up the seams with joint compound. After googling this, I was thinking oh crap!. He was half way finished with this when I came in. When he went to cut a piece of cement board, I looked at the bucket and sure enough it was all-purpose joint compound...same stuff I use to fill in nicks before painting. 2. He did not tape the seams between the cement boards. While in Lowes, I asked my friend's dad who is a contractor and he said the seams should definitely be taped with thinset used. While at Lowes I bought the tape and thinset...I took it home and asked him to do the seams over. He said he could add the thinset and tape over the seams already done with joint coupound (the back wall and half way into the long wall). I'm not sure if that will work or not. 3. He said plastic vapor barriers usually cause more trouble than they prevent. This really set off red flags after all my research. He said he always just tiles over the cement board which is water proof. While I was buying the other stuff at Lowes, I also bought some Redguard and asked him to put on a few coats after the cement board was up. He said sure, it's your house. 4. He used drywall screws to put up the cement board. From my reading, there are special screws to be used with cement board. 5. He wants to leave the drywall (regular drywall from 1964) around the top 1.5 feet (8 ft ceiling) and tile over it. At this point I feel like I'm insulting him by pointing out so many things that I think are wrong with his methods. However, I also don't want to spend a lot of money on something that may need to be torn out in a year (his warranty on labor is 1 year) or cause damage to my walls. I also feel like even if I catch some things that aren't done correctly and remedy them...what incorrect things has he done that I'm not seeing? I just started reading about tile 2 weeks ago so Lord knows I'm no expert. As of now, he has the cement board on with joint compound/thinset/tape in the seams. Should I tell him I have decided not to do the job? I would be willing to give him $100 or something for his time. What would you do?
seems you did the research after the fact. In the bad old days before all this advancements in products, we used to use regular sheet rock then green board. The protecting layer is the tile and grout. if they are sound, and remain sound...you can use sheet rock.
I would keep good ventilation and seal the grout. Caulk all proturtions well. Keep the maintenance up on your grout.
Well, I hired a plumber/handyman to tile my bathtub surround. He seemed to know a lot about about everything and said he has done many many tile jobs including working on hospitals. However, as I read on here and other forums, I have found several rules that he is breaking and it has me a little freaked out. 1. He put up 1/2 inch cement board BUT he said I usually just fill up the seams with joint compound. After googling this, I was thinking oh crap!. He was half way finished with this when I came in. When he went to cut a piece of cement board, I looked at the bucket and sure enough it was all-purpose joint compound...same stuff I use to fill in nicks before painting. 2. He did not tape the seams between the cement boards. While in Lowes, I asked my friend's dad who is a contractor and he said the seams should definitely be taped with thinset used. While at Lowes I bought the tape and thinset...I took it home and asked him to do the seams over. He said he could add the thinset and tape over the seams already done with joint coupound (the back wall and half way into the long wall). I'm not sure if that will work or not. 3. He said plastic vapor barriers usually cause more trouble than they prevent. This really set off red flags after all my research. He said he always just tiles over the cement board which is water proof. While I was buying the other stuff at Lowes, I also bought some Redguard and asked him to put on a few coats after the cement board was up. He said sure, it's your house. 4. He used drywall screws to put up the cement board. From my reading, there are special screws to be used with cement board. 5. He wants to leave the drywall (regular drywall from 1964) around the top 1.5 feet (8 ft ceiling) and tile over it. At this point I feel like I'm insulting him by pointing out so many things that I think are wrong with his methods. However, I also don't want to spend a lot of money on something that may need to be torn out in a year (his warranty on labor is 1 year) or cause damage to my walls. I also feel like even if I catch some things that aren't done correctly and remedy them...what incorrect things has he done that I'm not seeing? I just started reading about tile 2 weeks ago so Lord knows I'm no expert. As of now, he has the cement board on with joint compound/thinset/tape in the seams. Should I tell him I have decided not to do the job? I would be willing to give him $100 or something for his time. What would you do?
I would examine my contract and see what the terms and conditions of cancellation are. Obviously, the guy is more interested in cutting corners than doing a good job. You are going to end up with leaks and black mold, my friend.
Hopefully your contract will allow you to get out of the deal with a minimum of financial suffering. Next time, go to Angie's list when looking for someone like this.
Because of the lack of general/annual maintenance performed by H/O's is half the reason we have the codes that are in effect today. The lack of upkeep generally becomes a safety/health concern; which is the main reason for building codes today.
Properly finished drywall, primed and then coated with redguard will work. I see it all the time in new homes and did a tile shower in my own house this way 8 years ago.
"The Uniform Building Code is dedicated to the development of better building construction and greater safety to the public, through the elimination of red tape, favoritism, and local politics by uniformity in building laws; to the granting of full justice to all building materials on fair basis of the true merits of each material; and to the development of a sound economic basis for the future growth of cities through unbiased and equitable dealing with structural design and fire hazards."
Not one mention of maintenance, but clearly it can be seen as a means for a standard to remove bias, greed, and cronyism from the industry. Has it been perfect throughout the years? Of course not, but it is better than nothing at all.
To the OP: please note in the Durarock link I posted that they recommend a moisture barrier of at least 15 lb felt paper. cementitious materials do one thing really well, and that is to absorb moisture. while it may have good mold resistance it can wick it to adjacent materials that do not.
seems you did the research after the fact. In the bad old days before all this advancements in products, we used to use regular sheet rock then green board. The protecting layer is the tile and grout. if they are sound, and remain sound...you can use sheet rock.
I would keep good ventilation and seal the grout. Caulk all proturtions well. Keep the maintenance up on your grout.
Tile and grout are never considered to be a waterproof barrier, even when sealed. Water will eventually work its way through and once it does, mold will form and sheetrock will dissolve. Sure, your method has been done for years, but that doesn't make it right. Also, green board is not an approved tiling surface.
[SIZE=3][SIZE=3]Installs over cement backerboard or gypsum wallboard[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Taken from:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]http://www.custombuildingproducts.co...s_brochure.pdf[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE][/SIZE]
The only reference to gypsum wallboard was with the use of their waterproof fabric. I believe we've been referencing their brush on membrane product where gypsum is not an approved substrate. I did a Kerdi shower where gypsum wall board was an approved substrate, so yes I agree the fabric can be used on it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
