hi everyone,

just thought i'd post my shower install maybe someone will find useful in the future. if you have any questions or comments just post here and i'll get back to you.

thanks to everyone on this board who has given great advice, your help is immensely appreciated!

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ok, for this shower it is my first attempt. my wife wanted a frameless glass and tiled walls. when i started this shower i did not know the pros/cons of denshield or i would have gone full kerdi (which i also had no idea existed until AFTER i started the shower).

i bought a MAAX shower from HD, one that was frameless, the plastic walls were optional (in this case i didn't want them) and comes with a prefabbed reinforced plastic base. this was perfect for me because i didn't trust myself with the custom tiled base, i wanted something fool proof.

ps. the instructions for the base that came with shower said that the drain pipe rubber seal should go on TOP of the base, but that is wrong. there should be silicon on top and the rubber goes under.

Knucklez

first i decided to build a false wall. due to old house i figured it was the only way i was going to get a good flat surface. also, the walls are drywall over lath & plaster so it is a good 1.5 inches before you find the studs.. which themselves are rough cut and are not flat. i used 4" screws to reach the studs and dropped in the framing.

second i placed the base and leveled it meticulously. due to floors having a slope and corners i had to put some 1" board under the feet to raise it up in two of the corners!

i also poured some mortar under the base (after satisfied with dry fit) to add to stability. the mortar was poured in a circle around the draing (i left a 4" gap) and the mortar was about 6" high. the base will push down on the mortar giving good contact.

then it dried and i am much pleased.

i did not screw the base into the studs as instructions did not say. also, advice from different message board said the mortar, glass doors and drain pipe will hold it all stable.

then i put up the denshield backerboard. there is much discussion on if this is a good idea or not. well, what can i say, i was ignorant and just bought what looked reasonable and easy for me.

at this point i found out that denshield is .. OK .. if it is installed properly.

i had screws that went in too far, some exposed gypsum (hard to see in the picture). i got scared..

but the advice i received was to use 2" 10x10 meshtape with mortar over anything that looked questionable and then redgard waterproof it.

the meshtape i found in the drywall section at HD. they didn't have any in the cement board section, so i just bought it. was $5

the redgard i found in the tile section where they cell sealant. some say it can be found in the roofing section. also from HD.

i had to put an extra strip of denshield down the center because my temperature valve stuck out too far! now i have a 3D effect.. good spot to put nice trip i guess.

also, this exposes MORE gypsum, on the top & bottom of this 3D strip. will definitely need meshtape, mortar & redgard here!

you can see the mortar is drying. it changed to a white colour when it finally dried.

by the way, i used a LOT of silicon between the shower base and the bottom edge of the denshield. i filled the gap here with silicon. i also filled around the shower head where it leaves the wall, and around the temperature valve. i'll seal it again when i put on the chrome plates.

now it is time to break out the big guns...

$72 for 1 gallon, worth every penny.

with a 2" slighly fuzzy roller it goes on farily easy. my wife took over this task while i posted our progress to the web. unfortunately the corner was difficult to get redgard into with the roller. instead we put on rubber gloves and just rubbed it in there.

the redgard when on AFTER the mortar was completely dry. it goes on pink, when the redgard dries it turns deep red, takes about 3 hours.

here i show the tiles we plan on using. it is tumbled traveltine, each square is 2"x2". we used tilelab tile sealant, 2 coats, and presaled them.

we will seal them again when on the wall with mortar.

the mortar i plan on using to put the tiles on is something i found from HD. it says on the bag it is for stone tiles and is a polymer modified.

so far, what do you think?

what have i done right?

what have i done wrong?

Looks good so far. My only concern would be that 3D strip. Make sure you waterproof the top edge really well,because even with the tile on there, you will still have a lip that will collect water. Use silicone caulk on this joint when you are all finished, to make sure water can't get into that transition joint.

the tiling started.. nice thing about tumbled stone is that it is pretty forgiving. since the stones are all different (colour, shape, placement on the mesh tape behind each stone) the look is rough. that's good for beginners who do rough work! ha.

i started out by applying a very thin layer of mortar with a 6" trowel. then, i used my notch trowel to thicken up the mortar.

here is the mortar i used..

nice thing about this mortar is that it is warrentied for LIFE if you use redgard .. which i did

here is the tiling done..

now i let is dry for a couple of days and will use non-sanded grout.

so here's my question.. after i grout, i have to put the glass shower door on. but, i think along the edge where the metal frame gets drilled through the tile and into the studs the tiles are not perfectly flat. there is one or two for sure that are sticking out... oops..

any ideas on what to do?

On occasion, for the same reason, I've had to mark where the door frame goes exactly and using my grinder, knock off any high spots. This isn't too much of a problem if there are just a few bad spots...and with the stone being the same colour all the way through, it doesn't show. Caulking works to hide things too.

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I think if you tried to remove them, you would pull the denshield apart...possibly making a hole..or worse. I guess I shouldn't trash the Densheild too much...it would probably damage Cement Board too if you removed the tile and thin set. I think, that after you put the doors on and start using the shower, that you will be the only one to notice. You could also put a towel bar there...yes, it's a little high up,but who says a towel bar always has to be 36 inch off the floor?

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i'm going to grout tomorrow with my polyblend non-sanded grout. i'll post pictures when available..

Knucklez

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i removed some posts where i discussed a problem i ran into. i want to finish the shower, snap some pictures and will then ask if you can spot it...

curious to see how noticalbe it is.

anyway..

ok, so now i am grouting. i chose non-sanded polyblend, polymer modified, alabasker colour, grout.

wow, that's a mouth full.

i had a foam float and i just put it on according to directions. nothing too complicated here.

about 5 minutes after i applied it to one section, my wife came by with a damp sponge to wipe away the excess. you're supposed to do this according to the instructions on the box, but it was hard to tell how long you're supposed to wait. anyway, came off looking good so we kept with out plan.

here is a picture of the grout job completed. the bottom left panel looks shiny only because its a bit wet from the sponge.

next up.... FRAMELESS GLASS DOORS!

wish me luck :lol2:

I think a lot of things done wrong. Wasted time, money and materials.

One of mistakes this is uncovered gap between marble and shower pan. When you start using the shower water will pour through this gap. You can fill the gap with silicon, but it will be just temporary decision.

i plan on using a quarter round along the bottom with silicon to keep the wanter from going under base. but what could i do? my floor was not level, and yes just 3 ft away from the wall it dropped off about an inch. i could have leveled the floor with shims and plywood, but then you would just see the plywood and .. alas.. you would be stuck using quarter round to hid the wood.

but that is later as i haven't worked on the aesthetics yet.

i think the only thing i did wrong was i didn't measure the protrusion of the plumbing into the shower correctly, up at the top. i'll snap a picture.


after posting this, i realized you were speaking about the gap between the bottom row of tiles and the shower pan... ok, on that subject i left a gap on purpose because that's what the instructions said to do. it said to bring the backerboard down to the base edge, which i did, and then to overlap the tile a little lower. but seeing that my tile is only 2" sq. i can only over lap about an inch or the tile just falls off... i put LOTs of silicon in there though, and the stuff is rated for 30 years!

still poll'n the crowd for suggestion on what to do with this exposed brass fitting...

now the shower is finally taking shape! putting up the glass doors was not too bad. the hard part was putting on the metal frame straps that hold both side pieces. this was assembled on the floor.. it was hard because you have to lean both glass walls towards each other so you can get the strap in place. definitely takes two people!

the tiles being tumbled are not perfectly smooth like porcelain. the metal rail that runs up the side did not go on perfectly flat but it is a bit flexible so i screwed it in place. then, when i put the glass in, i found that you could extend it a bit so that made up the difference. great, no gap along the wall

Like PSV said quite a few mistakes. your layout is all wrong. you always want to start with full tiles at the edge and trim the inside corner. The tiles should extend all the way to the shower pan and IMO all the way to the ceiling for a luxurious feel.

The outside edges of the tile should extend about two inches past the shower pan and down to the floor. And that outside line needs to be perfectly straingt, yours is all over the place.

Don't get me started on the Dentshield installation. You wasted a lot of time and money. It is a great product, but you went a bit overboard on the installation. Should have used Thinset instead of gypsum to tape the corners.

I applaud your effort, and your efforts in writing about it, but as far as a how to manual I would not recommend it.

Cut him some slack Pistolpete ... remember, Knuckles is doing the work in his own home and displaying it here not as a "how to" ... but more as a "hey, I did it myself". Personally I think the job looks great and as far as overkill ... it's a much better alternative than the other side of the coin.

I wasn't trying to be harsh or anything. Just pointing out a couple of things to help out future DIY installers. The shower looks better than my first install, that's for sure.

its ok, i asked for feedback and i'm glad you gave me your honest opinion.

if we were having a sit down conversation i'd have interjected as such:

>your layout is all wrong. you always want to >start with full tiles at the edge and trim the >inside corner.

perhaps, i searched the web for this and couldn't find a good direction, i got mixed info. so i just decided for myself.. i thought that when i'm inside the shower that is when i'm going to care how it looks, and when i'm inside i want to see full squares, nothing trimmed. outside the shower then is where the trim (cut tiles to fit dimension) went. in retrospect, if i had known what tiles i was using BEFORE i began the shower i would have calculated to not have to trim anything.

>The tiles should extend all the way to the shower >pan and IMO all the way to the ceiling for a >luxurious feel.

i thought so too.. but the instructions for the pan clearly showed the backerboard resting against the top of the lip and the tile exending ever so slightly lower; definately not all the way to the pan. since i don't know, i just relied on the instructions. as for the tile all the way to the ceiling, i thought this a good idea too but i don't call the shots on decorating. i just do the work

>The outside edges of the tile should extend about >two inches past the shower pan and down to the >floor. And that outside line needs to be >perfectly straingt, yours is all over the place.

not sure why it has to be 2" instead of the 1" i have, but its surely not straight. i'm hoping i can cover this up some how.. we'll see.

>Don't get me started on the Dentshield >installation. You wasted a lot of time and money. >It is a great product, but you went a bit >overboard on the installation. Should have used >Thinset instead of gypsum to tape the corners.

the denshield was great for amature first timer, i would recommend it (so long as it lasts a lifetime). BUT in the future, i would go full kerdi. i knew i was going overboard with the installation, i did that purposely. i figured i was saving a few bucks by doing it myself so i could afford to build it like a tank.. whoaa to the person that has to remove it in the future!! the gypsum was recommended by the denshield manufacturer, they specifically said not to use thinset. dunno, so i followed the instructions.

>I applaud your effort, and your efforts in >writing about it, but as far as a how to manual I >would not recommend it.

thanks for the applaus. its certainly not a manual, but it does give tile newbies a lot of information from the perspective that THEY would be seeing things from. hopefully they can learn from my mistakes and do an even better job.

For a manual, refer to Harry's work - its beautiful.

Knucklez

by the way, i have a solution for the exposed brass fitting.

stay tuned...

my father and i came up with another solution that looks good (i hope). this was a 10$ can with lid from Home Sense. we cut a hole out of the top & bottom so the pipe would fit through it. then epoxy it to the tiles.

i still have to paint the walls and stuff, but that's about it.

oh, i should mention a side note about water pressure! when i first turned the shower on, i got just a drizzle... VERY disappointed!! i got all sorts of "advice" from home depot & rona.. which ranged from:
- no rain shower will ever have enough pressure
- temperature control valve has 3/8" inner bore, so even if you run 1" flex plumbing direct to the shower you'll still have low pressure
- there is such a thing as 'high flow' temperature control but they are illegal (i think?) in canada --> i.e. you have to buy it from ebay

in the end, it was just the areorator that was plugged. haha.. you experts know that you must flush the system for 2 minutes before you screw in the areorator. but that is not written in the book!!! so.. i found out the hard way. least it works great.

another tip... use painters green tape to make your silicon nice and sharp. i was a little frustrated at the time and didn't bother.. turned out OK, but still could have done it nicer if i were more patient.

now i need somewhere to store my soap.

got this 9' tall caddy from Linens & Things. was a bit expensive, but that's what gift certificates are for

so, this is it. final shower done. i really tried to make this a nice shower built to last 50 years... guess time will tell

final cost (from memory so might be wrong..):
wood for framing: $20
4" screws to reach wall studs: $5
bag of mortar to stabalize the base: $10
shower glass & base: $750
silicon: $4
kholer shower hardware: $250
shower caddy: $50
denshield board: $75
redgaurd water proofing: $30
tiles: $500
tile mortar: 2 * $30 = 60$
grout: $20
tools: $15

Total: $1800

skills learned during project = priceless

i have lots of left over water proofing so will come in handy with my next shower project

so... what do you think?