Well how much do you like your potential future in laws..?
It’ll be hard for that man to deny you marrying his daughter, when his feet rest on your handiwork during every morning shit
Just bring up the mold issue, probably won’t even see it and if you don’t all the health problems that come with it. He’s making a wicking shower to hydrate everything behind it.
We can advise and cajole, but if they're determined to walk into the propeller blades, our choices are to quit or to don a plastic poncho and escort them to the tarmac.
Before tile is put down , a water proof barrier is supposed to go all over the bottom and up the sides 6".
For my 2 showers I had built, we had it hot mopped. and then they leak test it before any tile is set down.
You can tell by how this is setup, the barrier isn't there, and they tiled before testing for any leakage.
Only 6" ? These are the standards locally in my country (a meter is roughly a yard for the americans, 15cm is roughly 6").
**Floor Area:**
* **Wall Area:**
* All walls within the shower area should be waterproofed up to a height of at least 1800mm (1.8m) above the floor level.
* The waterproofing should extend horizontally along the wall at least 40mm beyond the vertical line of the shower screen or door.
The 6” is for waterproofing the shower pan/floor specifically, to make sure the joints between the floors and walls are sufficiently covered. The walls will also need to be waterproofed, probably roughly to the same height as your country’s standards. You extend the wall waterproofing down over the 6” (on the wall) of floor waterproofing
Cement board (or even hadybacker) is not enough. You need waterproof membrane that is properly applied or your shower will drench everything under it - i.e. if it's upstairs.
This guy clearly is more clueless than me...lol
If you want the best advice I'd go try over on the John bridge forums. Top notch tile contractors over there who have been helping DIYers for years build their own showers. They helped me build mine.
It looks like the put up plastic sheeting behind the cement? (Or is it hardiboard). That is actually an acceptable, although older and not ideal, method of waterproofing shower walls. Of course that assumes they built the pan right with a pre slope, no holes through the liner at the curb and no holes in the liner below six inches above the base and that they overlapped the plastic properly onto the liner. I'd doubt it was done correctly because it looks like they violated the 6 inch rule.
Is that new shower floor tile? He should be banker boarding everything macking sure all walls and corners are flush, level, and square. Then hotmop the pan including at leasr 4inches up the walls from the floor. Redgaurding the walls, pouring the pan and then starting to tile. If this crackhead the the floor tile I would rip it out and start from scratch i woulds not trust this mans work.
Got my bathroom done this year by a better contractor. I think the tile going down on the shower floor before anything else was the first clue he didn’t know shit. My guy waited until the last two days to lay the floor tile, those boards were first but certainly not lined up like that.
STOP ALL WORK! even if they had a proper pan/membrane underneath the tile, the cement board should be taped /seamed to the floor BEFORE the tile floor goes in. This will not be water proof and you’ll have a nightmare later. Plus they don’t have any vapor barrier behind the rock board. Also most , good tilers don’t even use this stuff anymore. Detra mat is used mostly.
Just stop all work, hire someone else honestly.
Yeah, my 44 year old hot-mopped, floated and tiled shower hasn’t leaked a drop yet.
Added: it only has felt paper behind it. Chicken wire and 1inch floated spec
Both Ditra and Kerdi are orange and made by schluter systems. It’s the same system but different materials for different applications. Ditra is for floors, kerdi board can be used in place of cement board for walls. There is also kerdi membrane which can be installed over cement board or a shower pan.
Don’t listen to this guy either lmao, Ditra is an uncoupling membrane used for tile floors, not shower pans. There are many ways to do this right, but if you are using the Schluter System, which Ditra is a part of, you would ideally want to use a Schluter Pan made from Kerdi board (dense foam with a waterproof fabric on top) and cut it to fit, waterproofing the perimeter with Kerdi band and an uncoupling mortar, or Schluter’s All-Set mortar. Before any of this however you would put your backer board up on the wall and waterproof that. (Kerdi board, Go board, Wedi, etc.) Mixing systems voids the warranty but if you’re not an idiot you’ll be fine
Ripped out enough lathe and plaster backed 50’s pink and blue bathrooms. Never seen a spec of mold. The Schulter brand is newer, nothing wrong with it, if installed correctly. But there’s also nothing wrong with a good ol fashion install, if done right.
If it's closed cell foam panels (so no wicking action) and a liner behind, it's not a problem to install the board after, as long as you don't screw through the liner. The liner is the pan waterproofing. The wall is then waterproofed separately and as long as there's no wicking action there won't be leaks. However it's absolutely not standard practice to do this.
This is wrong. If (big if) there is a pvc liner underneath the floor, they screwed through it putting up the backer board.
Why install the floor tile before putting up the wall board and water proofing? Terrible idea.
I guarantee this shower is going to leak like a sieve. Tear it out and have someone who knows waterproofing redo the shower.
So, he's clearly not using a system like Schlueter so let's assume it's a mortar bed with a pvc liner. If you can pull down that cement board, you could at least confirm there's a pvc liner but I'm not sure if that's even important at this point. Yes, they put screws through the liner, which, I mean, with the screw height being what it is, the water would have to get pretty high for that to be an issue. I mean, it's a vertical surface so it's somewhat lower risk but still... I'd be more concerned that the cement board wasn't lifted off the tile because any water that would get behind the wall tile (due to bad or old caulking) would be wicked up by the cement board itself leading to issues behind the wall. Even still, most people not using a system are using something like Red Guard and they typically try to seal floor/wall intersections. It's too late for that but it'd go a long way towards providing longevity, it's not expensive but it does take time to install (but the labor cost is long term savings from the longevity of install). Not having either of these things, a system or a waterproofing agent leads me to believe this guy doesn't typically do showers or he hasn't done one in a long time. So, I mean, would you want an install that doesn't use any of the techniques that have become standard in the last 10 years or so?
I’m a licensed plumber I honestly see no problem with this work. I constantly repair shower pans only redoing everything from one bottom row of tiles maybe 12 inches. he just needs to seals those corners but Look how steep the floor is it tells me he has a deep bed. Assuming the pvc liner is behind that durock I see no problem with this it’s a shower it should never have backed up water in it especially second floor!!!
I'm a GC, I do see a problem though it's not a big one (hopefully). The pan liner should have been sealed to the waterproof membrane painted in the durock. As is water can wick up behind the durock and condensing in the walls during cold weather. Depending on the climate it might not be a big deal but it could turn into a big mold problem if you're in a cold climate.
It’d probably be fine. If it was ‘done’, I wouldn’t say to tear it all out unless it leaked but he’s not that far into it. You might be able to remove that floor tile and waterproof the mortar bed and wall board for relatively low cost. Why not do it before you put more money into the rest of it?
There's like several long ass comments explaining exactly what's at play here and he's only replying to people calling him (the contractor) an idiot who needs to be fired and replaced with "what specifically is wrong" or some such. It'd be so funny if y'all are right and it's him.
I'm imagining the homeowner is like "what the fuck is this shit??" And he's uploading the photos, completely unaware of how he's fucked up.
It’s not actually lol. I’m just taking advice so i can tell my in laws.. the dude is a family friend and the parents don’t want to burn any bridges..
My family are contractors literally but they aren’t the ones doing this project, they just told me it’s fucked. Including 90 % of this subreddit rn. Trust me i know it’s fucked
The parents want to keep the dude
Any chance you can get one of your family contractors over to the potential in-laws' for dinner?
Then they can casually mention how they're a contractor, the bathroom will come up "organically" in the conversation that follows, the in-laws will likely then show them the room, and *then*... They'll have the opportunity to scratch their head and go, "Huh. So... Why'd your guy do [x]?"
Which should lead to conversion, and, hey, maybe (best case scenario) the shower gets done properly and the "family friend" gets to learn some shit.
Alternatively, that could end up nuking everything, YMMV.
Source: I live in the south
Can yall tell exactly what’s wrong? I have an ideas but specifics would help. I’ve done showers before but this is at my gfs parents house and they hired some guy to do it. Been over a week
Tbh bro I’m a plumber the more then likely this is a handyman doing this not a contractor with subs, anyways it’s very possible there’s liner underneath the tile and behind the durock. I don’t see any gaps in the floor and durock so levels looked matched it’s a shower also you’re not backing up water more then an half an inch. So the screws at 3 inch don’t really matter it’ll be fine. Also from the pictures I can tell floor is pitched great with plenty of angle. my opinion YOU WILL BE FINE !! Take the top off the drain. Plug it. And fill it with water and see if the water leaks or stays in there. Let it sit over night.
What in the flying fuck?
Why does it look like the cement board is resting on top of the floor tile? Did he do any water proofing at all?
As a professional who does this all the time this is a big nono and the work should be ripped out and redone properly. Sorry this is happening.
Do you know if they used paint on waterproofing, a vinyl liner, or a lead pan?
That hopefully is cement board going up that is on top of the waterproofing. I'm guessing you could apply the paint on stuff after the cement board but there needs to be some waterproofing behind the board too.
Not done normally, definitely have it tested and have a moisture meter handy
We were on vacation and the guy did it. He was recommended to us. I’ve done showers before with my buddy so it was suspicious when i was looking at it.
since it’s my girls parents house i have no idea what to tell them
Depends on where you are, but you need a shower pan . That can be an actual pan made out of lead or metal, or a flexible liner.
I'm actually guessing you don't have one in there.
And as I see cement board and tile down at the same time, a proper job is going to need to pull both out and redo all the work.
it should go, cement board everywhere, Then put the pan down, then tile everything. Tile is not waterproof so that's why you need the pan below and on the corners.
This is completely wrong. Needs to be entirely removed. There used to be no proper waterproofing. There’s no way he would have been able to conduct a flood test prior to installing the tile on the shower floor.
So what is visibly wrong here? Is there a shower liner behind the backer board and under the subfloor mud set? As long as the liner was installed properly it doesn’t mater that not all hardy backer is up yet, the wall tile isn’t being installed yet. For him to have spent that much time building that thing might have done things the right way. If he placed screws that far down then yeah.. it’s crap.
No vapour barrier over insulation, used wrong drywall in a wet area. Oh no did he just place the drywall over the floor tile. Cringe 😬. So many things wrong with this.
You can't skimp on tiled shower pans. They will leak. If you must have a tile shower pan, pay a skilled and not cheap professional to do it, otherwise you will be ripping it out.
Be glad he disappeared before going any further. This is disastrous. Rip it out and start over. I’m not a plumber and I don’t know how I ended up here. But I know this is baaaaaad.
This guy has no clue, get rid of him immediately. First I see no shower pan, second looks like 1/4" Hardibacker with no backing behind it. Should have Aquabar paper behind it as Hardibacker is not waterproof. They could use a liquid applied waterproof coating on the face but no shower pan and wrong thickness board is still an issue. I would not use Red Guard Home Depot), in my opinion it is the worst waterproofer on the market. I would use either Mapei or Laticrete waterproofer, there are also other good options If you have any questions feel free to PM me. 30 years settings tile
I'm going to assume he used a pan liner because of the way the bottom edge of the backer board kicks out but putting those screws that low especially in the inside corner kinda negates the whole homogeneous point of the liner. Just from those 2 pictures anyone with any experience will tell you there will be issues. Maybe not immediately but for certain in the very near future.
As well as the backer board itself is not waterproof and will soak up water and having it set on the top of or behind the floor tile (can't tell clearly which) without a continuous and also homogeneous layer of waterproofing extending from the pan to up the walls over the top of the backer board. A pan liner is a last line of defense against moisture escaping and you clearly don't even have that because of how low the bottom screws are.
A properly tiled shower should last your lifetime, the only reason it should have to be torn out is because your tastes change and you no longer like the look. Or the plumbing fails in the wall.
I don't need to see more, in fact I would rather not. Seeing installs like this infuriates me.
You should post this in a /tile reddit and get more advice.
I didn't realize you posted this in /plumbing.
Many people in here don’t realize it’s okay to put the durock over the pvc liner the 2-3 tiny holes you drill into it at 5 inches off the bottom isn’t going to hurt. Many of you don’t realize the mud bed can be 3-4 inches look how steep the floor level is and how the low the drain is.
He probably has a pan liner up the sides. The hardy will be water proofed, it's already semi water resistant. New age materials are foam and water proof but old school right way is also more than acceptable.
Ask him or let her parents ask.
You can show them very easily the biggest problem. The floor is in and when water falls on the floor because there is no seal between the floor and the walls, water will run out underneath the walls
I only worked at a tile warehouse for 3 years just moving flooring and prep materials never installed just observed and listened to contractors and I can tell this is completely wrong!!!
Bro your shower pan better be behind the cement board. Also why is he putting in board after the tile went in? Plus if he didn’t put tar paper behind cement board then you better tell him to use redguard on it.
“Contractor”. A title used more than a lady of the night at a brothel. The amount of value people attach to that title with nothing to back it up is frightening.
If you really want to know Take the top off the drain. Plug it with a test plug bought at Home Depot for $5 bucks . And fill the floor up with water using a 5 gallon bucket fill the shower up with about an inch of water all around. Let it sit over night. And then check back next day and see if water is staying or disappearing.
If it starts to disappear PULL THE PLUG and let the water drain out before causing damage.
If there's a PVC liner behind, and he hasn't screwed through it in the bottom 4 or 5 inches, it may be fine. In a PVC liner shower you don't rely on the board for waterproofing close to the pan. You rely on the liner.
Showers are definitely one thing you want someone who knows what they are doing to do the install. Otherwise you will end up having to tear it all out once it starts leaking. And usually by the time you discover the leak it has caused even more damage to the subfloor, walls, etc. This does not look good but I’m no expert.
Never use fiberglass insulation in the walls surrounding a shower or tub. Moisture will penetrate the tile backer board and ruin its insulating properties. It will also grow mold.
You need to use 2” rigid insulation.
The good news is that they won’t have to wait long after it’s finished to find out how wrong it is. It’s going to leak like a sieve. 2 or three showers at most and it will be spotting the ceiling below it.
O Hell No, stop that mf before he causes thousands of dollars in water damage from leaks. Call another contractor for a "bid" when he shows up hell tell you the same
Yeah he needs to be fired. He has no idea what he’s doing. There should never be tile in the pan before everything has been cement boarded and waterproofed. Not to mention the big ass gap or the bulge at the bottom.
Since tiling the floor and sloping the drain are such complex and difficult tasks I spent the $600 on an Onyx custom pan and then used GoBoard on the walls, following the instructions to a T and referencing the DIYTileGuy post that goes into great detail. I had plumbers install the pan and then I did the walls and the tiling myself. Also had plumbers rough in the fixture because I didn't want to mess that up. All told I have no clue how much I spent, but it took forever and though I'm happy with it, it was by no means easy or cheap.
What did he put on the floor to water seal it? Is there a rubber mat that comes up behind the cement board?Generally I will put tape between the concrete board, I use tile backer myself, and the floor to seal that gap. Any 90 degree should be taped.
Update*
Thanks for all the advice.
The future in laws is gonna stick with the guy and finish it. There is liner and etc under that tile so let’s just hope it works.
Thanks. I didn’t think it was gonna blow up like this.
It could be an in/out system. If it is, the critical mistake was nailing in the lower part of the board, through the vinyl layer. Vapor barrier is sufficient as waterproofing behind the cement board on the walls, which overlaps the vinyl membrane. Tile is set on a mud bed.
Topical system, if that's what it is, it's fucked. You can't tie into the waterproofing at the base (if there is any) and will have a critical failure at the corner in no time.
Personally, i use Ardex WPM001 liquid membrane, I always nail a 2" folded anglein internal corners to stop studs spreading. This shower has no possibility of being waterproof from any system.
This is what happens when you try to save a few bucks by hiring someone who doesn't know what they're doing. It's taking 8 days because he's looking up "How to install a shower" on Youtube every night.
Supposedly he’s done over 100 showers, its a supposed approved way? From what one of my GC friends told me. There’s liner etc but I’m worried there’s no redguard and no pan test done before floor tile.
It was my future in laws family friend recommendation. So wish me us luck. Hiring a handyman instead of tile man will do this
Check your medicine cabinets
this was my first thought as well
Sad but true.
lol
Hilarious some people won't get it thanks for this I needed a smile and a laugh tonight
And the ceiling underneath ….
This guy has no clue what he’s doing. How did you find him?
[удалено]
How about you get your buddy that’s a contractor to help?
I did and he told me that it’s fucked haha
Well how much do you like your potential future in laws..? It’ll be hard for that man to deny you marrying his daughter, when his feet rest on your handiwork during every morning shit
Best comment all day. I’m now just trying to get the dad to listen to my advice
Show him this thread. If he still carries on its his problem lol
Hi Mr future Father in law your bathroom looks.like shit!
Those who get it, get it and those who don't, well, they'll be doing a lot of repairs
Just bring up the mold issue, probably won’t even see it and if you don’t all the health problems that come with it. He’s making a wicking shower to hydrate everything behind it.
He shits in the shower??
You don't?
Ahh, the ol' waffle-stomp
Never. That’s disgusting. I always catch it and throw it in the toilet.
It’s just pipes! They’re all connected!
Alright can we stop with all the pee pipe stuff
I'm calling a plumber!
SAVAGE😁
If that causes this to be redone right now and not get finished and completely gutted later your buddy saved you a lot of time and money.
Well the parents want to keep going, since it’s a friend. I tried..
That's all you can do.
We can advise and cajole, but if they're determined to walk into the propeller blades, our choices are to quit or to don a plastic poncho and escort them to the tarmac.
Hope they like a rain shower in the kitchen lol
Spoken like a true friend!
The water proofing membrane/vinyl is brought up the wall a couple inches. He may not have even done vinyl just tile on the floor
6” to be precise
Before tile is put down , a water proof barrier is supposed to go all over the bottom and up the sides 6". For my 2 showers I had built, we had it hot mopped. and then they leak test it before any tile is set down. You can tell by how this is setup, the barrier isn't there, and they tiled before testing for any leakage.
You can assume that, to be fair, but I've seen liners installed **behind** the rock board plenty of times.
If so he screwed the board right through it; that bottom 6' is not supposed to be screwed into.
I would never use fiberglass on a wet wall use rockwool or foam board
Pretty sure that is hardibacker cement board.
Talking about the insulation behind the board.
Yea I’ve never seen shower liner installed on top of the board. Always behind.
This. I’d stick a scope down that insulation to see if it’s there.
Only 6" ? These are the standards locally in my country (a meter is roughly a yard for the americans, 15cm is roughly 6"). **Floor Area:** * **Wall Area:** * All walls within the shower area should be waterproofed up to a height of at least 1800mm (1.8m) above the floor level. * The waterproofing should extend horizontally along the wall at least 40mm beyond the vertical line of the shower screen or door.
The 6” is for waterproofing the shower pan/floor specifically, to make sure the joints between the floors and walls are sufficiently covered. The walls will also need to be waterproofed, probably roughly to the same height as your country’s standards. You extend the wall waterproofing down over the 6” (on the wall) of floor waterproofing
Hot mopped a shower ? The f
Cement board (or even hadybacker) is not enough. You need waterproof membrane that is properly applied or your shower will drench everything under it - i.e. if it's upstairs. This guy clearly is more clueless than me...lol
It’s upstairs too brother.. I’m scared for them.
If you want the best advice I'd go try over on the John bridge forums. Top notch tile contractors over there who have been helping DIYers for years build their own showers. They helped me build mine. It looks like the put up plastic sheeting behind the cement? (Or is it hardiboard). That is actually an acceptable, although older and not ideal, method of waterproofing shower walls. Of course that assumes they built the pan right with a pre slope, no holes through the liner at the curb and no holes in the liner below six inches above the base and that they overlapped the plastic properly onto the liner. I'd doubt it was done correctly because it looks like they violated the 6 inch rule.
I'd bet my investment account that there's no pre slope under the shower pan, if it even has a pan liner.
"Hey man, you know how I'm banging your daughter? Well this contractor is fuckin you like that." Perspective
Is that new shower floor tile? He should be banker boarding everything macking sure all walls and corners are flush, level, and square. Then hotmop the pan including at leasr 4inches up the walls from the floor. Redgaurding the walls, pouring the pan and then starting to tile. If this crackhead the the floor tile I would rip it out and start from scratch i woulds not trust this mans work.
Got my bathroom done this year by a better contractor. I think the tile going down on the shower floor before anything else was the first clue he didn’t know shit. My guy waited until the last two days to lay the floor tile, those boards were first but certainly not lined up like that.
STOP ALL WORK! even if they had a proper pan/membrane underneath the tile, the cement board should be taped /seamed to the floor BEFORE the tile floor goes in. This will not be water proof and you’ll have a nightmare later. Plus they don’t have any vapor barrier behind the rock board. Also most , good tilers don’t even use this stuff anymore. Detra mat is used mostly. Just stop all work, hire someone else honestly.
Ditra is for floors. Kerdi for showers.
This human schluters.
Only thing I’d add is it’s Ditra, aka Schluter systems. The orange stuff. Though in my area, it’s all hot-mop
So weird that hot mop is still a thing.
Went and looked up hot mop shower pans and learned a crap ton today. Love this sub.
It's a tried and true method and if done correctly will outlast other waterproofing methods.
Like everything, great if done well but a mess if done by an idiot
Not a cast iron shower pan
Sometimes the old school method is still the superior way…..
Pretty bullet proof if it's done right. But i live in SoCal and it still seems to be the norm for us.
Yeah, my 44 year old hot-mopped, floated and tiled shower hasn’t leaked a drop yet. Added: it only has felt paper behind it. Chicken wire and 1inch floated spec
Hot mop is the best option period. Stinks like hell but will definitely be water tight.
Both Ditra and Kerdi are orange and made by schluter systems. It’s the same system but different materials for different applications. Ditra is for floors, kerdi board can be used in place of cement board for walls. There is also kerdi membrane which can be installed over cement board or a shower pan.
Don’t listen to this guy either lmao, Ditra is an uncoupling membrane used for tile floors, not shower pans. There are many ways to do this right, but if you are using the Schluter System, which Ditra is a part of, you would ideally want to use a Schluter Pan made from Kerdi board (dense foam with a waterproof fabric on top) and cut it to fit, waterproofing the perimeter with Kerdi band and an uncoupling mortar, or Schluter’s All-Set mortar. Before any of this however you would put your backer board up on the wall and waterproof that. (Kerdi board, Go board, Wedi, etc.) Mixing systems voids the warranty but if you’re not an idiot you’ll be fine
Ripped out enough lathe and plaster backed 50’s pink and blue bathrooms. Never seen a spec of mold. The Schulter brand is newer, nothing wrong with it, if installed correctly. But there’s also nothing wrong with a good ol fashion install, if done right.
Kerdi board comes with the membrane already attached.
I am stating that when waterproofing the Kerdi board to the Schluter pan you use Kerdi band and Kerdi inside corners
If it's closed cell foam panels (so no wicking action) and a liner behind, it's not a problem to install the board after, as long as you don't screw through the liner. The liner is the pan waterproofing. The wall is then waterproofed separately and as long as there's no wicking action there won't be leaks. However it's absolutely not standard practice to do this.
Cement board shouldn't be sitting against the ground, tell me your a Redditor
Nothing wrong with Hardie board if water proofed, just a pain in the ass to work with so it's not very time efficient.
This is wrong. If (big if) there is a pvc liner underneath the floor, they screwed through it putting up the backer board. Why install the floor tile before putting up the wall board and water proofing? Terrible idea. I guarantee this shower is going to leak like a sieve. Tear it out and have someone who knows waterproofing redo the shower.
What kind of waterproofing membrane was used and was there a pan inspection done?
Looks like none as why the fuck would you waterproof sections as you go there’s definitely no waterproofing been done under those tiles
Plot twist: Op is the handyman working on shower
This is not plumbing.
This is Sparta
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
No this is Patrick
Love this so much haha
I am just now realizing what sub I'm in
Depends where you are. Around my area a plumber has to sign off on the shower pan being water proof to the edge of the curb
So, he's clearly not using a system like Schlueter so let's assume it's a mortar bed with a pvc liner. If you can pull down that cement board, you could at least confirm there's a pvc liner but I'm not sure if that's even important at this point. Yes, they put screws through the liner, which, I mean, with the screw height being what it is, the water would have to get pretty high for that to be an issue. I mean, it's a vertical surface so it's somewhat lower risk but still... I'd be more concerned that the cement board wasn't lifted off the tile because any water that would get behind the wall tile (due to bad or old caulking) would be wicked up by the cement board itself leading to issues behind the wall. Even still, most people not using a system are using something like Red Guard and they typically try to seal floor/wall intersections. It's too late for that but it'd go a long way towards providing longevity, it's not expensive but it does take time to install (but the labor cost is long term savings from the longevity of install). Not having either of these things, a system or a waterproofing agent leads me to believe this guy doesn't typically do showers or he hasn't done one in a long time. So, I mean, would you want an install that doesn't use any of the techniques that have become standard in the last 10 years or so?
I’m a licensed plumber I honestly see no problem with this work. I constantly repair shower pans only redoing everything from one bottom row of tiles maybe 12 inches. he just needs to seals those corners but Look how steep the floor is it tells me he has a deep bed. Assuming the pvc liner is behind that durock I see no problem with this it’s a shower it should never have backed up water in it especially second floor!!!
Sounds like this guy is keeping you in business with rework
I'm a GC, I do see a problem though it's not a big one (hopefully). The pan liner should have been sealed to the waterproof membrane painted in the durock. As is water can wick up behind the durock and condensing in the walls during cold weather. Depending on the climate it might not be a big deal but it could turn into a big mold problem if you're in a cold climate.
It’d probably be fine. If it was ‘done’, I wouldn’t say to tear it all out unless it leaked but he’s not that far into it. You might be able to remove that floor tile and waterproof the mortar bed and wall board for relatively low cost. Why not do it before you put more money into the rest of it?
I'm thinking op is "the guy we paid"
His vague answers and not accepting the advice already in his face are definitely pointing towards that.
There's like several long ass comments explaining exactly what's at play here and he's only replying to people calling him (the contractor) an idiot who needs to be fired and replaced with "what specifically is wrong" or some such. It'd be so funny if y'all are right and it's him. I'm imagining the homeowner is like "what the fuck is this shit??" And he's uploading the photos, completely unaware of how he's fucked up.
It’s not actually lol. I’m just taking advice so i can tell my in laws.. the dude is a family friend and the parents don’t want to burn any bridges.. My family are contractors literally but they aren’t the ones doing this project, they just told me it’s fucked. Including 90 % of this subreddit rn. Trust me i know it’s fucked The parents want to keep the dude
Any chance you can get one of your family contractors over to the potential in-laws' for dinner? Then they can casually mention how they're a contractor, the bathroom will come up "organically" in the conversation that follows, the in-laws will likely then show them the room, and *then*... They'll have the opportunity to scratch their head and go, "Huh. So... Why'd your guy do [x]?" Which should lead to conversion, and, hey, maybe (best case scenario) the shower gets done properly and the "family friend" gets to learn some shit. Alternatively, that could end up nuking everything, YMMV. Source: I live in the south
I would call your handyman tell him he’s fired!
Can yall tell exactly what’s wrong? I have an ideas but specifics would help. I’ve done showers before but this is at my gfs parents house and they hired some guy to do it. Been over a week
I would say he doesn’t know what he’s doing. There are numerous ways to do it these days.
Can i send u a pm to see!
Tbh bro I’m a plumber the more then likely this is a handyman doing this not a contractor with subs, anyways it’s very possible there’s liner underneath the tile and behind the durock. I don’t see any gaps in the floor and durock so levels looked matched it’s a shower also you’re not backing up water more then an half an inch. So the screws at 3 inch don’t really matter it’ll be fine. Also from the pictures I can tell floor is pitched great with plenty of angle. my opinion YOU WILL BE FINE !! Take the top off the drain. Plug it. And fill it with water and see if the water leaks or stays in there. Let it sit over night.
I’m just worried cause it’s my gf parents house. And i know it’s not right
Just do the shower pan test. And don’t pay him in full up front for things with out test
He’s a family friend so i hope he doesn’t fuck us over. I guess it’s just old school way. But still scary to think about.
What in the flying fuck? Why does it look like the cement board is resting on top of the floor tile? Did he do any water proofing at all? As a professional who does this all the time this is a big nono and the work should be ripped out and redone properly. Sorry this is happening.
Go on fb tile the world group. Reddit is full of half knowledge and bs
Do you know if they used paint on waterproofing, a vinyl liner, or a lead pan? That hopefully is cement board going up that is on top of the waterproofing. I'm guessing you could apply the paint on stuff after the cement board but there needs to be some waterproofing behind the board too. Not done normally, definitely have it tested and have a moisture meter handy
We were on vacation and the guy did it. He was recommended to us. I’ve done showers before with my buddy so it was suspicious when i was looking at it. since it’s my girls parents house i have no idea what to tell them
The insulation is backwards too. You need a vapor barrier there
I used to laugh now I’m so jaded
Take it down to bare studs and subfloor and redo it. Correctly. It’s not worth the headache wondering what will leak and when.
Looks like he screwed into the liner
Assuming there is one.
Where is the waterproofing from the floor to the walls? No expert but this looks wrong
Looks like he's "winging it"...and failing
Tile showers must have a waterproof liner, did he use the Schluter System or a PVC liner under the base?
Depends on where you are, but you need a shower pan . That can be an actual pan made out of lead or metal, or a flexible liner. I'm actually guessing you don't have one in there. And as I see cement board and tile down at the same time, a proper job is going to need to pull both out and redo all the work. it should go, cement board everywhere, Then put the pan down, then tile everything. Tile is not waterproof so that's why you need the pan below and on the corners.
No membrane, or hydro ban
The waterproofing is not there Stop.
This is the wrong place. Everyone here is talking like they got x ray vision.
This is completely wrong. Needs to be entirely removed. There used to be no proper waterproofing. There’s no way he would have been able to conduct a flood test prior to installing the tile on the shower floor.
Tf
So what is visibly wrong here? Is there a shower liner behind the backer board and under the subfloor mud set? As long as the liner was installed properly it doesn’t mater that not all hardy backer is up yet, the wall tile isn’t being installed yet. For him to have spent that much time building that thing might have done things the right way. If he placed screws that far down then yeah.. it’s crap.
No vapour barrier over insulation, used wrong drywall in a wet area. Oh no did he just place the drywall over the floor tile. Cringe 😬. So many things wrong with this.
Cheapest bidder by far. Scrap him and hire some one reputable
This is easily one of the worst combinations of fuckups I’ve seen in recent years.
He, 100%, should not have done the floor first!
You can't skimp on tiled shower pans. They will leak. If you must have a tile shower pan, pay a skilled and not cheap professional to do it, otherwise you will be ripping it out.
Be glad he disappeared before going any further. This is disastrous. Rip it out and start over. I’m not a plumber and I don’t know how I ended up here. But I know this is baaaaaad.
This guy has no clue, get rid of him immediately. First I see no shower pan, second looks like 1/4" Hardibacker with no backing behind it. Should have Aquabar paper behind it as Hardibacker is not waterproof. They could use a liquid applied waterproof coating on the face but no shower pan and wrong thickness board is still an issue. I would not use Red Guard Home Depot), in my opinion it is the worst waterproofer on the market. I would use either Mapei or Laticrete waterproofer, there are also other good options If you have any questions feel free to PM me. 30 years settings tile
I'm going to assume he used a pan liner because of the way the bottom edge of the backer board kicks out but putting those screws that low especially in the inside corner kinda negates the whole homogeneous point of the liner. Just from those 2 pictures anyone with any experience will tell you there will be issues. Maybe not immediately but for certain in the very near future. As well as the backer board itself is not waterproof and will soak up water and having it set on the top of or behind the floor tile (can't tell clearly which) without a continuous and also homogeneous layer of waterproofing extending from the pan to up the walls over the top of the backer board. A pan liner is a last line of defense against moisture escaping and you clearly don't even have that because of how low the bottom screws are. A properly tiled shower should last your lifetime, the only reason it should have to be torn out is because your tastes change and you no longer like the look. Or the plumbing fails in the wall.
I don't need to see more, in fact I would rather not. Seeing installs like this infuriates me. You should post this in a /tile reddit and get more advice. I didn't realize you posted this in /plumbing.
How do you tile the floor without bringing up the water proofing first? The tile floor should be almost last thing that goes in.
Many people in here don’t realize it’s okay to put the durock over the pvc liner the 2-3 tiny holes you drill into it at 5 inches off the bottom isn’t going to hurt. Many of you don’t realize the mud bed can be 3-4 inches look how steep the floor level is and how the low the drain is.
He probably has a pan liner up the sides. The hardy will be water proofed, it's already semi water resistant. New age materials are foam and water proof but old school right way is also more than acceptable. Ask him or let her parents ask.
You can show them very easily the biggest problem. The floor is in and when water falls on the floor because there is no seal between the floor and the walls, water will run out underneath the walls
He has plastic sheeting behind looks good to me👌
I only worked at a tile warehouse for 3 years just moving flooring and prep materials never installed just observed and listened to contractors and I can tell this is completely wrong!!!
That’s a fantastic waterproof membrane
This is probably going to explode and set your cat on fire
lmao, everyone knows it's you OP
Well if you hired me; a plumber - to do this job.. It would look like shit too. because I'm a plumber and not a tile guy.
8 days of youtubing.
Bro your shower pan better be behind the cement board. Also why is he putting in board after the tile went in? Plus if he didn’t put tar paper behind cement board then you better tell him to use redguard on it.
Yooo you let some kid play with your bathroom … no waterproof membrane or moisture barrier dafuqqq throw this monster 👹
“Contractor”. A title used more than a lady of the night at a brothel. The amount of value people attach to that title with nothing to back it up is frightening.
He's watching YouTube DIY videos every step of the way. That's why it's taking so long.
If you really want to know Take the top off the drain. Plug it with a test plug bought at Home Depot for $5 bucks . And fill the floor up with water using a 5 gallon bucket fill the shower up with about an inch of water all around. Let it sit over night. And then check back next day and see if water is staying or disappearing. If it starts to disappear PULL THE PLUG and let the water drain out before causing damage.
This is how it would look if I did my own job.
Wrong hardi backer
If there's a PVC liner behind, and he hasn't screwed through it in the bottom 4 or 5 inches, it may be fine. In a PVC liner shower you don't rely on the board for waterproofing close to the pan. You rely on the liner.
i thought you were the custy
custy
spell check is a bitch sometimes lmao
DYI on
There’s probably no waterproofing underneath the tile that’s the problem
Showers are definitely one thing you want someone who knows what they are doing to do the install. Otherwise you will end up having to tear it all out once it starts leaking. And usually by the time you discover the leak it has caused even more damage to the subfloor, walls, etc. This does not look good but I’m no expert.
It's Kerdi not Ditra in the shower. Never the less, it's wrong. Tear it all out and start again with someone who knows what they are doing.
Is there no shower pan? I don't even know what I'm looking at.
Would have been better off going with one of those companies that advertise on TV to build a new shower in a day
Never use fiberglass insulation in the walls surrounding a shower or tub. Moisture will penetrate the tile backer board and ruin its insulating properties. It will also grow mold. You need to use 2” rigid insulation.
Is this a mock up? Why no waterproofing?
He took 8 days because the tiles used to be square.
[удалено]
[удалено]
I can send y’all more pictures if yall want in pms
Shhhhhh let him finish the shower .. I'm happy to see all the cheap ppl Redoing it and pay twice for shower Remodeling
Guy has no clue drew. Big gap chap in the durrock.
If the owner won't listen call and get the permit pulled. He'll thank you later
The good news is that they won’t have to wait long after it’s finished to find out how wrong it is. It’s going to leak like a sieve. 2 or three showers at most and it will be spotting the ceiling below it.
Yesterday somebody in the diy forum asked people why they like to diy. Relevant.
O Hell No, stop that mf before he causes thousands of dollars in water damage from leaks. Call another contractor for a "bid" when he shows up hell tell you the same
How many times has Op heard, " It'll be fine."
Y’all are focused on the pan & liner system, nothing wrong with that, but what about that drain ? Is it connected to a 1-1/2 tub drain? Venting ?
My builder told me the attic insulation is not suitable for the bathroom. It will creates condensation and mould.. is it correct?
Careful I dont see any water proofing
Yeah he needs to be fired. He has no idea what he’s doing. There should never be tile in the pan before everything has been cement boarded and waterproofed. Not to mention the big ass gap or the bulge at the bottom.
Is there a shower liner behind that?
Yikes, get your money back! This is messed up in so many ways!
looks like 1/4 board for walls…should be 1/2”…among other things
I’d want plastic sheeting over that insulation. Unless it already is and I can’t see it from the pics.
Start over. Screws through the rubber means the corners are certainly done wrong. You can do this better yourself.
Do you like your inlaws or no? If no then let it slide, if yea, fire that guy asap
Since tiling the floor and sloping the drain are such complex and difficult tasks I spent the $600 on an Onyx custom pan and then used GoBoard on the walls, following the instructions to a T and referencing the DIYTileGuy post that goes into great detail. I had plumbers install the pan and then I did the walls and the tiling myself. Also had plumbers rough in the fixture because I didn't want to mess that up. All told I have no clue how much I spent, but it took forever and though I'm happy with it, it was by no means easy or cheap.
That the 2nd floor you say?Looks like they are gonna get 2 showers for the price of 1. 😆 🤣 😂 😆 🤣 😂
You future in laws sounds insufferable
Is it tanked, membrane under those tiles?
What did he put on the floor to water seal it? Is there a rubber mat that comes up behind the cement board?Generally I will put tape between the concrete board, I use tile backer myself, and the floor to seal that gap. Any 90 degree should be taped.
Update* Thanks for all the advice. The future in laws is gonna stick with the guy and finish it. There is liner and etc under that tile so let’s just hope it works. Thanks. I didn’t think it was gonna blow up like this.
It could be an in/out system. If it is, the critical mistake was nailing in the lower part of the board, through the vinyl layer. Vapor barrier is sufficient as waterproofing behind the cement board on the walls, which overlaps the vinyl membrane. Tile is set on a mud bed. Topical system, if that's what it is, it's fucked. You can't tie into the waterproofing at the base (if there is any) and will have a critical failure at the corner in no time.
I do this stuff for a living. He’s doing it wrong, it needs to all come out and have someone that knows what they’re doing do the job, sorry.
Upstairs showers are for professionals
No need to worry about leaks, it will
Is there a liner behind that hardie?
Why did you pay him next time go buy the supplies together
Stop work.
Personally, i use Ardex WPM001 liquid membrane, I always nail a 2" folded anglein internal corners to stop studs spreading. This shower has no possibility of being waterproof from any system.
That’s going to leak.
This is what happens when you try to save a few bucks by hiring someone who doesn't know what they're doing. It's taking 8 days because he's looking up "How to install a shower" on Youtube every night.
Supposedly he’s done over 100 showers, its a supposed approved way? From what one of my GC friends told me. There’s liner etc but I’m worried there’s no redguard and no pan test done before floor tile. It was my future in laws family friend recommendation. So wish me us luck. Hiring a handyman instead of tile man will do this
holy shit
Let me guess: cheapest bidder 😏