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OT - Bathroom/Tile guys (That's you UD)

K

Kirk Grau

Member
Have a typical 5' fiberglass tub/shower surround. Unfortunately, tub floor has developed a crack. Have squeezed some silicone caulk into it and if we stand on the proper side of it it stays closed enough that it doesn't perceptibly leak. Wife doesn't care if we have a tub or not in this room so looking for thoughts on just tiling up a shower. Thinking about stealing some of the space at the end for some sort of linen cupboard, but that's not a must. Wife has outlawed a simple fiberglass floor so looking for either some sort of solid material floor or what it would all take to do a tile floor. I'm leaning toward a solid floor, but my wife just isn't familiar with anything other than the fiberglass and is insisting on tile. Seems harder to me, but maybe the costs are in line.

Next item of discussion is how long it would take a professional to do something pretty straightforward like this. I am always inclined to do something like this myself, but time availability is really limited right now so might just hire the work out if I can find somebody with good references/samples.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts,

Kirk
 
There's only one way this ends with everyone happy.
Find a licensed plumbing contractor. Invite him over . Let him sit down in the kitchen with SWMBO and she can tell him what she wants, while you watch the Cavs and Warriors. Then you pay the bill. Simple huh?
 
I just redid my bathroom floors, tub and foyer with ceramic tile (12"). Probably over 400 sq ft total. Tile is not too bad once you get the hang of it. Cost is not too bad either if you're doing it yourself. I paid 69 cents/sq ft. 50 lb bags of thinset (get the polymer added) and grout are between 10 & 15 bucks a bag. I don't think I've got $600 in tile material in 3 baths, tub, foyer, pantry, laundry room. Of course, we've been living with a lot of dust and chaos the last few months. :roll: For one bathroom, I'd figure one weekend to demo it and prep for the tile. Another weekend to cut and set the tile. Then another weekend to grout and install fixtures. Of course, that assumes you don't run into problems. Throw in another weekend for any drywall patching and painting. The above is based on my recent experience, your experience may vary. :lol:
 
Kirk, make a deal with other half. You get new tractor, equipment whatever and she gets new bath. Simple right?
Your mileage may vary.
 
Hello Kirk,
I sent you an email.
There is probably more to it than can be discussed here.
As to hiring a plumber to do it...
Plumbers, bless their hearts, are good at what they do but they sure aren't the guys you would want to hire to build you a bathroom as the plumbing is only a small part of the job.
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far.

Any plumbing work I will just do myself. Not moving any fixtures so nothing too tough there. Just demo the old tub/shower and put a new tile shower in. Mostly looking for thoughts on the cost/benefit of a solid base versus tile. I can do all this myself, but time is short now. Wife is probably due some consideration for this as I have been burning the candle on both ends for quite a while now and she has been holding down the fort pretty much by herself. Biggest problem I have is all the DIY shows my wife watches have convinced her that all projects take half an hour.

Kirk
 
There is a good chance the tub/shower wasn't installed properly. I mix up a wheelborrow full of concrete using screened sand and gravel. I only use the small gravel. Then set tub in concrete, wiggle it, tip tub forward, add more concrete until there are no void areas under tub.

I have bathrooms with tile around the tub and absolutely hate it. Tile is a maintance issue. When I put together a new bathroom, I use quality fiber glass tubs/showers. My last bath was a 3x5 fiberglass shower and walls.

You will never catch me using tile on walls again.

I have a fiberglass tub/shower in a rental that I installed in 1985, no cracks, no leaks. Since then I've installed 5 other tub/shower combos with no problems. I have two rentals with tile and I will someday rip the bathroom apart and do it right.

I have heard of people repairing fiberglass cracks, like they would repairing fiberglass on a car. They also fill the underside of tub with great stuff foam for support the weight.
 
You are right that a fiberglass tub and surround is no/low maintenance and if installed properly on a mud base will last for many years.
On the other hand, they are butt ugly darned things.
If you like a bathroom that looks like a Motel 6 go for it.
But if you want a little style, some color and a lot more class you gotta go with tile.

100_2150.jpg


100_2152.jpg
 
A shower curtain covers up butt ugly. Not to mention, there are a lot of ugly stinky butts found in bathrooms. I like to keep things simple and not work to keep tile clean, re grout, seal. NO THANK YOU. Same with the rest of the house. I refuse to paint outside too. Brick, aluminum siding, or vinyl, no paint windows.

I've had both my tile bathrooms where the grout leaked, wall had to be replaced behind tile. Tile on floors ok and needed in bathrooms, but not as a tub surround. Put the tile above tub surround where water won't get, fine.
 
George,
No argument here from me.
It's fine that you like what you like.
Other people like different stuff.
If you like that one piece modular look you could even go with a unit like the one below.
It's simple, maintenance free, long lasting.
Just make sure you wash your face in the right bowl.

PrisonToilet_500.jpg
 
Hi, can you just rip out the old and hire some guy
that knows his stuff to install a new unit. You can buy them in 3 pcs so no problem getting them in place. The crack is from insecure base I guess. Take care of that when re Installing. My 2 cents. Ed will
 
Oh yeah, there are plenty of simple/cheap approaches. Wife wants to dress things up a little. I don't have a problem with it. Just looking for advice from those that have been there and done it.

Kirk
 
Does that come a heated seat?

When a kid, I remember dad remolded our bathroom. Mom liked the carpet so much she made dad run the carpet all up to the house. Mom wanted a heated see too, but bathroom didn't have electricity or TP. We used last years Sear's catalog. It was better than corn cobs.
 
Schluter makes a shower base that you tile over. Nice drain system and easy to install. Comes in all sizes but a little pricey. Beats the rubber and mortar base system especially if you have never installed one. They have great videos on their web site. Would try to buy from a supply house and not a box store, you should get a better price. 30+ years owning my remodeling business I have installed quite a few of these and like them a lot.
 
That's uptown compared to some of the joints I have been in. Just a sloped cement floor drained to the middle with a hole there. No water anywhere to drink, much less anything else. Cement walls, floor, ceiling, and that's it. I've tried to frequent classier places since retirement, but still haven't seen one that nice!!!
 
The key to constructing a tile floor that will last is in the preparation. Ideally, you want zero deflection in the floor, which is of course impossible (except on concrete), but the less deflection the fewer problems you'll have. You may need to sister the floor joists to get the floor stiff enough for tile.
 
When a minimal threshold is desired-such as in a handicap renovation-we like to use Onyx. You can get the base-up to the size of your old tub-in a minimum 1 3/4" slab! I did one shower replacement in 3 days! Demo day one, plumber to hookup the drain on the floor day 2, walls and soap dish day 3! Not all onyx suppliers are the same quality-the one I linked too is one of the best! They offer a lifetime warranty on their product!
http://www.onyxcollection.com/
 
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