Building a Ceramic Shower Stall
Installing your own ceramic shower stall used to be a complicated undertaking, but modern tools and supplies have made the process simple enough for just about anyone to complete the task on their own. With a little planning and a few interesting design features, your ceramic tile shower stall will bring you and your family years of pleasure and enjoyment.
Instructions
Build a Ceramic Shower Stall
1. Remove existing shower material and drywall to expose the studs. Check for the presence of mold and treat with bleach if you find any. Allow treated areas to dry completely before you proceed.
2. Cut pieces of 15 lb. roofing felt to fit over the exposed studs and attach to the studs with a hammer tacker or a staple gun.
3. Cut cement backerboard to size, if needed, and apply to the studs using backerboard screws. Afteer you have hung all of the backerboard, mix up a small batch of thinset to a peanut butter consistency and spread over one joint at a time with a joint knife. Then place a length of 2-inch backerboard tape over the thinset and scrape the excess thinset away with the joint knife (using the same technique as taping drywall). Repeat for all joints.
4. Remove all dust and debris from the surface of the backerboard and slightly moisten the surface with a damp sponge.
5. Mix thinset to a peanut butter consistency, making sure you make enough to complete the project . Allow thinset to rest for 15 minutes. Remove thinset from the bucket with a margin trowel or a joint knife and then load the thinset onto a tile trowel. Spread the thinset using upstrokes. Spread as much thinset as you can cover with tile in under five minutes.
6. Allow the tile to dry for 24 hours. Then mix grout to a peanut butter consistency. Allow the grout to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the grout from the bucket with a margin trowel or a joint knife and then load the grout onto a grout float. Spread the grout over the tile and into the grout joints using upstrokes.
7. Allow the grout to dry for 15 to 20 minutes, and then begin to wipe the excess grout from the tile, using a damp grout sponge. Form the grout lines to their finished quality.
8. Allow the grout to cure for 72 hours. Then apply at least two coats of a high-quality penetrating grout and tile sealer.
Tips Warnings
Attend a free tile class offered by your local big box home improvement retailer.
The grout MUST cure for a minimum of 72 hours before you apply the sealer.
Tags: build, ceramic, shower, stall, joint knife, Allow grout, butter consistency, Ceramic Shower Stall, peanut butter, peanut butter consistency
