I thought I would do a mini blog about a bathroom I did last weekend for a couple I know well. They had there bathroom redone about 4-5 years ago. I talked with them at great length but could not get the timing to work so I could not do the work It was not long after the work was done, the contractor fired that problems began to arise. It finally came to a head and we started talking again about redoing some of the work, most notably the tiling around the tub. After discussion, they ordered the material from a list I gave them. Kudos as they bought it all from a reputable tile store, not a big box store. Time lines were established to work with there schedule and mine. The plan was to have the homeowner do the demo and have the Kerdi board up by the time I got there. I would tile on Friday, grout and caulk on Saturday and then head back home. Well I got there on Friday morning to this.
What you are seeing is black mould. Not good. I have not seen this much deterioration except in bathrooms that have been at least 15-20 years old and abused. That stuff was so wet that I could take in out and make a mud pie with it. There were several things wrong with the original workmanship.
The wrong caulking was used originally as it did not bond to the fiberglass tub. I had to replace that shortly after the original work was done.
Tiles were not spaced apart, i.e. they were tight together and misaligned. This did not allow grout to go between the tiles but sit on top of the tile only.
The PC(previous contractor) used green drywall. This stuff is water resistant, not water proof. Great in its day but that has long passed. Then taped with regular joint compound. That stuff is not water resistant or water proof.
The tile was glued on with a mastic adhesive. This stuff breaks down in water.
After removing all the drywall and tile we found more problems:
The tub was sitting loose, not screwed to the studs.
The PC installed shut off valves to isolate the tub but had them closed or used to much heat to solder the valves so it melted the gaskets inside so we could not get the water to stop flowing
The control valve was loose in the wall. It was held up with a couple of screws but was not fastened to any backing.
The PC used plastic or Pex piping for everything including to the spout so the spout was loose as well.
A decision was made to redo the rest of the plumbing. Changed everything to copper pipe. Bought a new control valve. Secured everything the way it should be done. Then installed Kerdi board, sealed the joints with Kerdi band and started to install tiles. Then called my wife and let her know I was going to have to stay an extra day.
Is that "Perfect Leveler" product or another brand?
There are several brands of leveling systems out now. This was one of the/or the first one. It is Raimondi leveling system. The product is great and makes for a perfect tiling job every time.
Don't you just love fixing other "professional" peoples work... good luck
Everyone has a place in life. There are lots of good contractors around as well as a few bad ones for sure. Even good guys can have bad jobs. I'm sure he thought he knew what he was doing and fully believed in himself. I have no idea who he is but would like to talk to him. Sometimes it is just a matter of education.
The biggest reason for this mini blog is to make you guys and gals aware of the difference between good and bad work when it is for your own house. Normally I would not share much about my job. Just don't think of it once I am done for the day and would rather work on something else.
And day # 2 begins. This is an out of town job for me and I got to start out with a great big breakfast thanks to the owner. One thing I did not mention yesterday was the existing floor of the house was out of level so the PC just set the tub on top of the floor. In theory it is fine, I just prefer to level my tubs. It makes starting the tile work a lot easier. In this case I had to shim up some tiles and cut others to start the first row. This is key to doing a nice straight job. Once the first row is on the rest can be very easy with just some checking along the way to make sure you stay straight.
Oh a little trick or rule of thumb in my world. If you understand straight, level and plumb you can tackle almost anything in the construction world. Get one of them not correct and you will fight it all the way to the end.
And so day 2 begins. We laid the rest of the tile today. Accent band is about eye level. for different people this is going to be different. In case you are not sure, go a bit higher.
It is now Sunday morning, well it was when I did the work today. Got another big breakfast in . The wedges are snapped off. I will often let kids do this if there are any as it is a blast. The wedges go flying everywhere. In this case the owner did it as there teen aged daughter was still in bed. Once cleaned up the grouting was done. This is the greatest part of the work as it makes a big difference to the final look. Caulking, installing the tap and done. Another happy family. Had some lunch, packed up and headed home for a beer.
Please be careful who does the work on your house. If doing it yourself please make sure you know what you are doing. Hoping you have enjoyed this brief ride.
OK so you didn't ask for it but I have a couple of encore pictures for you to view. This is another shower I did just before Christmas. There was a bathtub in an ensuite but the client wanted a standing shower instead. They worked with a tile supplier to come up with a pattern. I think it turned out really cool and so for your viewing pleasure and perhaps some inspiration I give you a different tiling pattern in a shower.
Ok so I can build things but don't know how to do the picture thing correctly. This is one shower but the pictures should be reversed to show correctly. The triangle piece in the corner is a permoulded seat. You could sit on it I guess but most don't. These are very handy with shaving your legs so you stand and put one foot on it, then shave.
Man, you work quick. That little job would take me a week. Looks good.
Thanks 123pugsy. This is in part what I do for a living so timing is of the essence, that and a lot of practice, er jobs that I have done. We all have our thing. For me watching people build hot rods is cool but when I try it, it will take a lot longer, unless I do it on TV cuss then it only takes an hour with 4 sets of commercials.
Man, you work quick. That little job would take me a week. Looks good.
Thanks 123pugsy. This is in part what I do for a living so timing is of the essence, that and a lot of practice, er jobs that I have done. We all have our thing. For me watching people build hot rods is cool but when I try it, it will take a lot longer, unless I do it on TV cuss then it only takes an hour with 4 sets of commercials.
I like that Marten, 'tis different!
junior
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Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods. HL Mencken. 1919.
"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." George Orwell 1984
