I’m helping a friend redo a bathroom in an old house. She’s acquired a three-panel fiberglass shower stall from a Habitat for Humanity resale store. We haven’t located instructions on proper wall prep. She intends to tile above and around the stall. We’ll use Hardipanel backerboard. Should the upper lip of the stall panel be attached to the studs so that backerboard goes down over the lip or should the lip be held off the studs 1/2″ and the backerboard brought to the edge of the panel so that the surfaces of the backerboard and panel are flush? I’m thinking the two surfaces need to be flush so the ceramic tiles would not bulge around the upper edge of the shower panels.
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Replies
Should the upper lip of the stall panel be attached to the studs so that backerboard goes down over the lip
Yes. And you should plan to shim the studs out just a bit, so that the backerboard does not have a slope or a curve at the bottom. Also note that when you install the tile, you need to leave about 1/8" between the ledge on the panel, and the bottom of the tile. That gap then gets caulked.
or should the lip be held off the studs 1/2"
Nope.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Thank you for taking time to reply. It's consistent with another reply to my query. Your reply is very helpful.
If the unit comes with a flange, it should be attached to the bare studs. When installing surrounds/stalls to bare studs, I always furr out the studs to the thickness of the flange after installation of the surround so the drywall/cbu will lay flush on the flange. It makes finishing the walls, corners, etc. much easier.
Most manufacturers have installation guidelines for their products on their website. Sometimes they are general in nature, but all will show the footprint and framing layout, and usually the only difference is the size (length) of the surround/stall.
Good luck.
Thank you, too, for taking time to reply to my query. Your guidance is very helpful.
You're welcome. That's why we're here. Good luck.
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