TREVATHANS TILE, INC.

In the picture below you will see I've torn out some of the walls and found exactly what I expected:  bare drywall for a backer board and mastic used to put the tile on the wall.  The installer did use cement board on the walls from the floor to about 2 1/2 feet high, but there was no vapor barrier used to keep moisture from getting into the framing. 

Below you will also see that I found another common mistake in the floor of the shower:  the liner is lying flat on the wood subfloor.  The drain flange is about an inch above the subfloor, which means the water has to be over an inch deep before it gets high enough to get into the drain.  This standing water is only one of the problems.

The corner bench was constructed from wood, which is an acceptable method.  However, the waterproofing method used was not acceptable.  A section of liner was laid on the bench, and cement board was nailed on top.  This punctured the liner in several places.  The main problem, though, was that the liner was not attached to the liner on the floor.  It was actually cut about three or four inches above the floor liner.  This meant that any water that ran off the bench went partially to the floor liner (and into the stagnating pool of water) or under the floor liner and into the subfloor.  Look at the damage caused.  Imagine what could happen if this shower had been used regularly.  The entire subfloor and framing underneath could have rotted.  As it is, it's water stained.  I'll let this dry for a few days before I start in rebuilding.

Notice in the picture above how the liner was cut off on the inside edge of the concrete-constructed curb.  This allowed water running down the shower door and jamb to enter the subfloor and adjacent framing.  In the picture below, you can see the liner cut inside the shower.  In the above picture (bottom right) you can see the rotting door jamb.

AFTER:

Here's the shower after all the tile is up, before grouting.  Underneath the tile is Kerdi membrane, which keeps any moisture from pentrating into the drywall or framing.  The glass and stone mosaic is used on the floor, as a band around the shower at eye level, and on the front of the seat. 

In the original layout of this master bedroom, the bathroom area was set on a tile platform in one corner of the room.  However, there was nothing to separate it from the rest of the bedroom.  That meant the tub, shower, and double-sink vanity was widely visible from anywhere in the bedroom!  The new homeowners didn't like this layout (who can blame them!) so I constructed a wall that ran along the edge of the tile platform.  The ceiling is 10' high in this room, so we stopped the wall at 8', then installed posts at each point where the wall turned.  The posts connected to the ceiling, making the wall more stable.  After I hung drywall on the new wall and posts, a drywall finisher was called in to take care of the rest.  After he was finished, I installed trim and a new door.  After I was done, a glass company was called in and fitted the area above the wall with glass.  The glass was sandblasted to diffuse the light that might come from the bathroom area, keeping down any glare.  The glass company also installed the frameless, clear shower door.

 From the bedroom looking toward the bathroom....

and from the bathroom area looking toward the bedroom!

 Here are some pictures of a shower and bathroom floor that was done with slate.  The shower was installed with the Kerdi waterproofing system.  The floor was installed with an underlayment of Fiberock.  The underlayment provides an "uncoupling" from the wood subfloor and keeps the slate from suffering from the stresses of movement within the subfloor.  A strong subfloor is an absolute necessity when installing any natural stone, such as slate, marble, granite, etc.

Here is a marble shower in totally remodeled bathroom in Garfield.  The homeowner framed the walls and hung the drywall, then I came in and installed the Kerdi waterproofing system and the 16X16 marble.  The niche was built into the wall and has two shelves to accomodate several shampoo bottles, soap, etc.  The homeowner installed two shower heads (one rain shower head, one detachable shower head) and two body sprays. 

The floor was covered with Hardibacker underlayment and the same 16x16 marble.  The marble was installed in an offset pattern.

This is a shower and tub in the master bathroom of a new home in Missouri.  The 18x18 ceramic tile was installed on the shower walls with a decorative band.  The band was made from brown marble tile that was cut down from 12x12 pieces to 4x4 pieces.  The remainder of the band is tumbled marble.  The soap dish is travertine. 

The tub below is made from the same 18x18 porcelain tile on the deck and backsplash with the 4x4 marble accents, and a 3" tall bullnose around the top.  Across the front of the tub is a travertine chair rail, and the window seat is made from the brown marble. 

Here are some examples of how not to build a shower:

1.  Don't drive screws through the cement board and liner 2" from the floor, allowing water to leak out.

 2.  Don't cut the liner out around the drain, then "poke" the drain through the hole you just cut.  There's nothing water-tight about this.  The liner should be clamped to the drain.  The clamp for this drain is actually under the liner.

(The sand you see is from a hole in the slab under the liner.  The hole is normal and allows for plumbing work to be done.  However, it should be filled in when the shower is built.  So much water from the shower went to this area and into the hole below, that sand sifted up through the liner)

 3. Don't drive nails through the liner, especially this close to the floor.  (You can see the rusty nail head in the center of the picture below, and various nails and screws driven into the bottom plate in the rest of the pictures)

 4.  Don't put the liner on top of the CBU;  the CBU goes on top of the liner.  An interesting note on the above pictures:  you'll notice that the bottom half of the bottom row of tiles is stuck to the liner.  This installer obviously didn't know what he was doing.

5.  Don't cut the liner in the corners and overlap the excess and attach with nails.  How good is a liner with the corners cut all the way down to the floor?  (Look at the center of the picture below:  you can see the slit and overlap in the liner)

6.  Don't lay the liner directly on the subfloor.  A conventional shower (built with the PVC liner) must have a pre-sloped bed of mortar under the liner.  With the liner laying flat, any water that gets to it simply sits there and isn't directed to the drain.  In this case, since any water that hit the liner never made it to the drain, it drained under the house.  Or it got through some of the many nail and screw holes or cuts in the corners of the liner and rested on the subfloor underneath.  If this shower had been on a wood subfloor, it would have rotted a long time ago.

You can see that the bottom plate and studs were already turning black from years of exposure to moisture. 

A Kerdi shower installation would have stopped any and all moisture from entering the framing and subfloor of this house.  While the cost of the Kerdi shower is slightly higher, it would have saved this homeowner $1200 in repairs!

7.  If you're going to ignore all the above advice, at least try not to drive a screw into a water line.  This one had been seeping for three years.  Fortunately, it was a small puncture, but the homeowner had to pay a plumber to come fix it.