Shower Reno. Hardiebacker over sheetrock.

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AndrewGL

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Hi guys. I am doing a bathroom reno. Went out for a couple of days and went i came back found out the contractor was already tiling the shower walls (i have no bathtub). However, my concern is he installed sheetrock first directly to the wall studs and then hardiebacker and then tiling. No pan liner was used first or in between sheetrock/hardie/tiles. I asked him if that was correctly done and he said yes. He argued that he has done it plenty of times over different showers and no leak nor mostiure/mold has been reported. Is that a common practice? Should I go back with him so he leave only the hardiebacker?

Shower floor will be tiles as well but he did installed pan liner for it.

Thanks for your help!!

shower.jpg
 

Jadnashua

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IMHO, there's no way that shower can be finished and pass either a plumbing inspection or be in compliance with industry standards!

First, the pan liner needs to go up ABOVE the top of the curb by at least a couple of inches with NO fasteners in it below that point. Then, the liner must be sloped to the drain, and if he was going to try to put it flat on the floor, that would be a big red flag. And, if he thinks he can tile over the curb like it is, that won't work. The builder obviously did not get a building permit or an inspection, since there's no way it would have passed without the liner being in and a flood test where they block the drain, then fill the basin up to near the top of the curb and let it sit to look for evidence of any leaking. Then, when they open the drain, it should drain out without puddles or bird baths.

There are numerous industry approved methods to building a shower. Unless you're using one of the surface applied waterproofing membranes, the walls need to have some water vapor management. Cement board is NOT waterproof, but is not damaged by being wetted. So, you either need a moisture barrier behind it, or waterproofing on top of it, and drywall doesn't qualify.

One of the biggest retorts from installers is "I've been doing it like this forever, and not had complaints". Keep in mind that a properly built shower should last until you get tired of it, not because it failed!

Check out www.johnbridge.com for building your shower to one of the industry standards...lots of tiling pros over there.
 

Jadnashua

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Another thing that applies to Hardiebacker...in the industry it is classified as a fiber-cement board, and the manufacturer specifically requires that it be terminated ABOVE the pan, otherwise, it can eventually lead to failure. The fiber in this board is listed as cellulose on their spec sheet (i.e., wood fibers), and if embedded in a wet area, it will wick moisture, causing the cellulose fibers to expand which can damage the board, and make the drywall paper behind more problematic. Using it IN the curb is also problematic unless you waterproof over it entirely. Swelling Hardiebacker, and the wood that may be beneath it, is a major reason for tile failures on a curb. There's no good way to have a cbu on the curb unless you're using an approved topical waterproofing membrane (there are only two approved that I know of: Kerdi and Hydroban Sheet, but maybe one of the Noble membranes would qualify, too).
 
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