Just out of curiosity, has anyone attempted to remove a fiberglass shower pan and replace it with a Tiled shower curb, without replacing all the tile in the shower?
Asked another way, is it a doable retrofit job, assuming that I have enough of the original wall tile to patch?
Replies
I know of a place that did it on a regular basis. Thankfully the owner and I had it all ripped out and never looked back.
It is very doable. When people get into trouble it in how its demolished. Cutting, scoring, breaking and chiseling has to be done carefully to save existing backing, so it can be lapped properly.
Thanks for the reply, any rough idea of what the cost maybe? $1000 range, but less than $2000
More than $2000 range, but less than $3000
Way way more than $3000 range
You can get a price here http://www.coastlinetileonline.com/contact_us.html
The best route to go is to find a Professional showerpan guy, never a hot mop roofer. He can refer you to a tile guy that he has worked with for many years.
There use to be Home Inspectors who found leaking shower pans and would refer work to tile guys who specialized in repairs. There was one showerpan guy called to hotmop a leaking shower. The shower pan guy did his job, but the tile guy did not know how to finish it because the existing shower walls were fiberglass.
So how is he going to get the vinly liner or Kerdi up the walls to a sufficient hieght by just removing the base?
He's going to go up a little higher than the pan. In our case, he was going up a full tile height of 12" above. Basicly 24" of tile was being ripped out and replaced.
So, you either end up with a grout line that lines up with a substrate joint directly behind it, or you maybe, possibly, somehow can get some tile off the wall without damaging the substrate?
Don't mean to be a wise guy............but this is not a best choice situation.
Unless I am reading the situation incorrectly.
Eric
The shower can't flood the walls any higher than the new curb. Vic
And the new curb...............is not higher than the old fiberglass one was?
How does the op intend to detail the membrane where it interfaces with the new curb?
This is not a slide in slide out type of project.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=112955.9
New curb, old curb, pick a curb as it does not matter. Just run the new liner material up the walls higher than the curb you plan to step over on a daily basis and you are covered. Work the rest of the mud bed just like any other mud bed.
I would just do as someone else has suggested and demo up a bit higher, leave the cold joint that bothers you and tile away. If that cold joint really bothers you you could demo the backer higher above the curb, then carefully remove one more row of tile above that line, leaving most of the backer. Then either run the membrane up and over the existing, or run the membrane over the new and redguard the cold joint. I'd also warrenty a fat bean of silicone between the new backer and old, as long as it was above the now new curb level, as we now know a shower can not flood higher than over the top of the curb. It can flood the floors, but I am yet to see one that has flooded the shower walls. Vic
I did a few of them and I used a small grinder with a diamond cutter blade on it. The kind with no serrations on it to cut the tile just below the grout line at whatever height you need. This gave it a cleaner line when you are ready to grout the new into the old. Usually about 12"-16". I usually had a floated wall and had to get a hot mop pan guy to water proof the new shower pan including the new dam. Then I floated the new floor, dam and wall with mortar.
If it's wonderboard underneath the tile, you will have to waterproof the new connection to the old.
It's a hassle but if you don't want to remove all of it, it's do-able. Also, the new tile will not match your old even if you get the same color since shading is different. I had owners pick a different color or a variation of colors to make it look like you did it on purpose.
I don't know if this is what your looking for but I hope it helps.
By the way, I stopped doing them unless I was desperate for work.
Normally there is one or two rows of tiles removed above the dam. The hard part is to save the lath paper without cutting or braking it so it can properly overlap the hot mop or membrane.
Hey thanks for your response.. So far it sounds doable, but I never find anyone willing to take on the job. The tile substrate is tile backer board, so it sounds like waterproofing the connection is going to be a challenge.. I still cannot believe this price point house wouldn't have a tiled shower base.