Did I pick the wrong place to ask questions (with photos)?

Does anyone have comment/suggestion about my idea of waterproofing the shower ceiling with Kerdi prior to installing ceramic tile, especially given its proximity to the shower head?

Does anyone have a suggestion for the vapor barrier on the tub-end wall? I am thinking to open it (cut through the barrier) and make a contiguous barrier from the Kerdi (over the backer) joined to the remaining vapor barrier (through the rest of the room, on that same wall).

I've never really found the need to waterproof the ceiling in the shower. It's not going to see enough moisture to make it worth it, and any moisture that does get up there is going to hang off the tile and evaporate or drop to the floor due to gravity. But you can certainly waterproof it if you want.

My biggest concern would be that it appears your lumber is on 2' centers. I would add some blocking between the ceiling joists, or add a couple more joists to bring it down to 12" centers. I would screw the drywall (or whatever it is you're using) at 6" on center. It looks like you'll need something on the back at the ceiling to attach the drywall, you may already know that.

I'd cut the vapor barrier and attach the Kerdi to the drywall, leaving a 1/2" gap between the drywall and top edge of the tub, then fill the gap with silicone.

Thanks, Kman:

I was thinking about how close the shower is to the ceiling, may just waterproof it to sleep better.

The ceiling joists, like everything in this house, are no two the same distance. They are between 13" and 16". They do seem farther apart in the photos.

The plan is to screw 1/2"x 3" furring strips perpendicular to those joists at xx interval (somewhere 6" to 12" apart, but I have to ask now). Yes, we have to clean out the dead drywall and get some more lumber in there (at the top of the back side, long wall of tub). Far right of that wall also needs some, where it was a 2x3 framed wall, mostly now 2x4 except for some leftover holes.

If 6" center is what it needs to stay up there and hold tile, then 6" it will be.

Thanks for the Kerdi wall idea, too. That sounds like it to me. Kohler says minimum 1/4" clearance above top of tub and also to seal with silicon. Depends what you read, seal or fill. Fill sounds "safer" to me. The vapor lock problem seems very real to me, so I figure it is best to cut the barrier and "re-route" it by sealing the Kerdi to the continuation of the barrier (after where I cut it out).

Yes, they do look further apart than 16". You could add some more blocking between the joists for extra insurance if you want.

If it'll match up to the ceiling in the rest of the room, you could get some 5/8" drywall. It's used for ceilings sometimes and is less likely to sag. When I said 6" on center, I was referring to along whatever lumber you have. You don't have to have lumber every 6". You just need to reduce the chances that it will come down.

Thanks, again, Kman:

Fred is big on using lots of screws. I will talk to him about 5/8" for the drywall. Where tile meets painted surfaces, I may need a bullnose or some type of edge. I will deal with the transition however it ends up.

Fred has blocked in a lot of places, seems to think that the 1/2" x 3" furring strips will hold the ceiling adequately. I think he had 12" spacing in mind. I got lots of those (for a small room, he asked me to buy quite a few).

We are moving forward on all this, slowly. Fred can only work Saturday and Sunday. I was in hospital for most of 2 weeks, and now I have to take it easy for ... they did not say how long.

I called Moen over an interesting problem: when I turn the bath on, the shower spits a low volume of water, just enough to soak your head and be a nuisance.

They were very fast and very definite that the pipes from the tap to the spout need to be in copper. Now I am wondering about the maybe 24 inches between them. I put the faucet halfway down the tub and the spout at the shower head end.

They say the thing is calibrated for exactly 1/2" diameter (for the pressure) and that plastic pipes are not quite 1/2 inch.

We would be changing that today. I am thinking of how many elbows, etc., are in that tight run. We just returned all the plumbing bits that were not used, as we are now onto ventilation, drywall, and soon the mud and ceramic for the surround/shower, followed by the floor (heat, Ditra, granite).

Hi Randy. I have a question. What's your plan for tile along the front left corner (down the side of the tub)? Will there be a sliver of tile there?

Hi, Robert: For the sliver, yes, folks recommended I tile that, so I will. For the flat end of the same 2x4 stud there, we have not yet decided: either painted or tiled. Tile would look good.

They said I should tile the sliver for some good reason or other, and for the way it looks.