I need to again ask for some advice. I’m in the middle of repairing a bathroom in a house build maybe in the 30s with hard (like concrete) plaster and rather thick ceramic tile on the lower half of the walls. After showers, moisture has condensed over the surface of the plaster in the whole (unvented) bathroom, resulting in varying degrees of spalling, efflourescence (sp?), and cracking. Worse, behind the tile in the shower, continual soaking has led to deterioration and expansion of the plaster and complete rotting of the expanded metal lath so that the tile has copiously cracked around the tub/shower valve. So, I cut out the rotted stuff (all day to make 3 holes; darn, that stuff is hard, even if it has rotted!) and now am wondering what to do with other areas in the bath where the top coat of plaster is spalling off (if that is the correct term). I’m tempted to take off the loose stuff, casually fill in the voids, and cover with drywall. Otherwise, I’m faced with finding a plasterer I can trust ( I don’t know any in St. Louis) who is good, which means he’s too busy to come, or taking a crash course in plaster repair.
If I cover with drywall, I’m concerned about using moisture resistant, as it seems to be anything but if there is real condensation in the room.
I’ll be installing a vent fan with a dehumidistat control. Even so, I’m concerned about future condensation. I’ve never seen walls so wet. Even on the opposite side of the room from the shower, the walls were wet when I got there this morning.
Help?
Replies
I have a house built in 1931, and I have cedar lath under plaster.
Like your job, the bathroom was unvented, even to the point where the windows were painted almost shut.
When I bought the house from my folks, there was mould everywhere but luckely, the plaster had been taken care of years before. What the folks did was to buy a molded surround and have it glued into place.
Now, to your job. When I'm faced with this type of problem (and it happens a lot), I explain to the homeowner that I'm probably going to need to strip off the area above the tub to the studs.
Then, I get everything off, shim it all and install Durock or any good cementatious tile backer, and have it finished off properly. Only then do I get the bathroom fan and humidistat and the tiler in.
Hope it helps.
Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the Handyman
Vancouver, Canada
Thanks for your reply, Aaron. I appreciate your comments. We'll see how this goes today.
What do you think about the greenboard for nontiled areas?
Andy's point about the vent is seriously true.
When I speced my vent fan I bought a fan for double the cubic footage of my bathroom.
I forgot that a) I had an electric water tank, and that by the time the second daughter (4, fine thanks) finished her shower, the water was already cold so venting was not the issue. My wife & I did it in the AM, no trouble.
I put in gas, so the recovery rate went way up. Vola, my wife could stay in longer. Steam. I ran it hotter. Steam. The girls had nothing on my 15 year old son who stays in 20 minutes and the last time I went into a room that foggy, I quickly confirmed my sexual preferances and got out.
Quadruple the volume of the room and proceed.
Green board for non-wet areas are fine, in my experience.Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
Most importantly is to get a serious vent. Probably will cost you upwards of $300 but well worth it.
I'd do that first before redoing anything in your bathroom.
Be seriously vented
andy
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Andy, thanks for your reply. Yes, I've put in a good vent (don't remember the specs offhand) with a dehumidistat control switch from Tamarack technologies -- list for $167.
Maybe they need a timer on the shower valve . . .
Edited 9/17/2003 8:58:20 PM ET by Tim