Hi Guys,

I've never tried ceramic tile before, so have a jillion questions. Don't want to start on the wrong foot. I apologize in advance for the long post.

We're installing a bathroom in a basement apartment. The current floor is very good condition (but very ugly) 8" tile (probably asbestos containing) over cement. I haven't run a screed over it so make check for high and low spots yet, but it is, for all intents and purposes, very level with no cracking or raised or peeling tiles. So.

1. Can I install ditra (or something like it) over the old tiles, then ceramic on that? If so, what are the products and order to use them. Of course, no one at HD ever mentioned ditra or any other waterproofing material to put under/behind my tile.

Issue two. We would like to install tile shower walls. The existing wall is a painted cement foundation wall (again, good condition, no cracking or bulging). The new wall has only been framed, no covering added yet. I had thought to use prefab shower walls over greenboard, but even those have no guarantee that they won't leak or weep, so maybe I'll cross my fingers and go for tile. So:

2. If I install cement backerboard (wonder or whatever HD carries) on the new wall, do I need another sealing material over it (that red stuff I saw in you pics?)? Or do I screw the backerboard to the studs and tile directly onto it?

3. What about the existing wall? How do I seal or otherwise prepare the surface?

4. The tile my husband got to use in the shower is 16" ceramic floor tile.... All I see on the box is "Glazed Ceramic Tile". Would that work for shower walls? Is there a particular sealant to use so that it is "slick" enough not to build up soap & hard water deposits? Or is it better to use those shiny tiles? Is it hard to get those big tiles to "hang" on the wall? They're pretty darned heavy.

5. Which grout product do you recommend for shower walls?

Thanks in advance. I know you've covered a lot of this in other topics, but I'm having some trouble pulling the details together to suit my situation.