Have fun cutting that cement board!
My bathroom repair project
- Thread starter Zanne
- Start date
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So, do you think I should run cementboard all the way up or should I merge with drywall?
I don't want to have to use cementboard, but I don't want the surround peeling off like the old one is doing.
My friend will be the one cutting the cementboard.
I'll get the right tools for him though. And some gloves.
I don't want to have to use cementboard, but I don't want the surround peeling off like the old one is doing.
My friend will be the one cutting the cementboard.
I'll get the right tools for him though. And some gloves.
My first thought is the thought of using 1/4" concrete Durock cement board, which is just too flimsy. If you are using Durock, go 1/2" minimum.
Thanks. I am keeping notes and when you suggested 1/2" I priced it out. Does the cementboard have a rough texture on the surface? Is that why it would look bad if painted?
Yes, it would look horrible
BUT
I'm wondering if you can use drywall mud on the Durock to make a paintable surface. Similar to Venetian plaster?
BUT
I'm wondering if you can use drywall mud on the Durock to make a paintable surface. Similar to Venetian plaster?
I'm wondering that too. Can thinset be painted? I might just spread thinset over any exposed surface. Would be simpler to do cementboard all the way up instead of trying to merge with drywall which requires different screws and mortar. The Durarock Cementboards are a little under $10. The purple drywall is ~$22. So cementboard is cheaper.
I read that you can put drywall mud over thinset. I don't want to overthink this (too late for that) LOL.
So long as I can clean it easily and it doesn't soak up water, I'm not too concerned if its ugly. I'll figure something out. Those printed plywood panels have managed to hold up since the 70s so I might just cementboard up to where the existing surround ends and use moulding to cover the seams.
My current hairbrained plan:
Go to stores to pick up supplies/materials
Sort out the plumbing valves & controls and such (I should have everything I need already)
Make template out of cardboard for holes that need to be cut
Put plastic sheets up on walls over studs so wood will not be in direct contact with cement board
Run cement board up to the height of the new surround (58").
Paint Mapei AquaDefense on all edges that will not get thinset and around any holes cut
Cut it off just above the surround-- enough to put the tear away trim on.
Run sides of side wall cement board out to end of wall on the right and same distance on the left
Use tear away trim at edges
Use trimmed off cementboard to go down just above floor next to tub (may need to add some blocking in wall for reinforcement)
Use leftover tear away beads next to tub side
Spread thinset (still trying to decide on type-- need modified thinset)
Use aquadefense over thinset in corners, top, and bottom perimeter as extra precaution
Glue up surround
Paint drylok on any exposed pieces of cement board to be painted over with Killz later
Trim existing 1/4" printed plywood panels above surround enough to put up 3.5" PVC boards
Drill hole in middle of PVC board on right wall for showerhead (need to get correct sized bit for boring through)
Put pvc boards up on side edges of shower to cover exposed painted cement board
I know it is a lot of work, but I'm hoping things will go smoothly. I may have to shim behind some walls to make sure everything is straight so I'll pick up some shims. I need to make sure I find all of my tools and materials that I already have at home before picking stuff up.
I'm limited to the thinset options available at home depot or lowes in Alexandria - zipcode 71303. Anyone have suggestions? I don't want it to dry too fast to work with, but still want it to dry fast enough to be able to move on to sanding. Dry time maybe 45min to an hour? Even 30min might be enough. Gotta ask my friend how fast he is at mudding.
Is thinset about the same as drywall mud in terms of application?
Go to stores to pick up supplies/materials
Sort out the plumbing valves & controls and such (I should have everything I need already)
Make template out of cardboard for holes that need to be cut
Put plastic sheets up on walls over studs so wood will not be in direct contact with cement board
Run cement board up to the height of the new surround (58").
Paint Mapei AquaDefense on all edges that will not get thinset and around any holes cut
Cut it off just above the surround-- enough to put the tear away trim on.
Run sides of side wall cement board out to end of wall on the right and same distance on the left
Use tear away trim at edges
Use trimmed off cementboard to go down just above floor next to tub (may need to add some blocking in wall for reinforcement)
Use leftover tear away beads next to tub side
Spread thinset (still trying to decide on type-- need modified thinset)
Use aquadefense over thinset in corners, top, and bottom perimeter as extra precaution
Glue up surround
Paint drylok on any exposed pieces of cement board to be painted over with Killz later
Trim existing 1/4" printed plywood panels above surround enough to put up 3.5" PVC boards
Drill hole in middle of PVC board on right wall for showerhead (need to get correct sized bit for boring through)
Put pvc boards up on side edges of shower to cover exposed painted cement board
I know it is a lot of work, but I'm hoping things will go smoothly. I may have to shim behind some walls to make sure everything is straight so I'll pick up some shims. I need to make sure I find all of my tools and materials that I already have at home before picking stuff up.
I'm limited to the thinset options available at home depot or lowes in Alexandria - zipcode 71303. Anyone have suggestions? I don't want it to dry too fast to work with, but still want it to dry fast enough to be able to move on to sanding. Dry time maybe 45min to an hour? Even 30min might be enough. Gotta ask my friend how fast he is at mudding.
Is thinset about the same as drywall mud in terms of application?
I think I found the right thinset. Can't find pre-mixed but this is rapid setting and cures in about 3 to 4 hours. Can walk on it in 6.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Rapid-Setting-50-lb-Gray-Thinset-Tile-Mortar/5014025091
https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Rapid-Setting-50-lb-Gray-Thinset-Tile-Mortar/5014025091
I decided to pry the wall panels off. Left one was in decent shape. The corner shelf peeled right off. Back wall crumbled to pieces. Looks like it might have had termites at some point. Found out there is plywood behind. I still need to get the tub spout off. I think it has a set screw but I'm not certain I need to remove it. I might be able to force it to turn with the right tool. Still need to get showerhead off too.
Looking forward to seeing the finished product!
Thanks. Me too. Ran into a snag though. I don't have studs behind those walls. I have horizontal wooden planks that look like they have old termite damage. I peeled some of the plywood off and said "Well, fuuuuuuuuuuuu...."
The good news is, if the adjacent bathroom has planks behind then I have blocking for grab bars.. Gonna clean this up and get the massive amounts of caulk off. Someone went crazy with that stuff. LOL. Also, damaged boards feel pretty solid.
New plan is to secure plastic to the walls to prevent concrete boards from touching wood, run that down and secure it to the flange. Cementboard will go over that and still have a 1/4" gap from the tub lip to bottom of board. I think the surround rests on the tub or with a 1/8" gap. Instructions for that surround don't mention it. I doubt we will even get to surround installation today. My friend hasn't responded to messages yet so he's probably not awake yet. He went to sleep before I could go over and talk to him yesterday. My HD and Lowes orders are ready though. Got a call from Lowes this morning apologizing that they were out of the 1x4 pvc board but they want to replace with 1x6 at no extra cost to me. I said that will work fine. Worst case I can trim them down. If it overlaps the sides a little, I don't really care. We will make this work. LOL.
The good news is, if the adjacent bathroom has planks behind then I have blocking for grab bars.. Gonna clean this up and get the massive amounts of caulk off. Someone went crazy with that stuff. LOL. Also, damaged boards feel pretty solid.
New plan is to secure plastic to the walls to prevent concrete boards from touching wood, run that down and secure it to the flange. Cementboard will go over that and still have a 1/4" gap from the tub lip to bottom of board. I think the surround rests on the tub or with a 1/8" gap. Instructions for that surround don't mention it. I doubt we will even get to surround installation today. My friend hasn't responded to messages yet so he's probably not awake yet. He went to sleep before I could go over and talk to him yesterday. My HD and Lowes orders are ready though. Got a call from Lowes this morning apologizing that they were out of the 1x4 pvc board but they want to replace with 1x6 at no extra cost to me. I said that will work fine. Worst case I can trim them down. If it overlaps the sides a little, I don't really care. We will make this work. LOL.
Do you have 2x4 vertical wall studs behind those termite infested horizontal boards?
Yes. We can see where they are nailed to the studs & feel that its more solid there. The wall panel next to my toilet peeled back a bit and I can see the same type of boards but without any damage. I'm hoping that was the only section that had damage.
We got a late start. I had to wake my friend up and give him time to get moving before I picked him up. Takes an hour to get there from my house. Of course my phone sucks so the HD app wouldn't work to check in. I had to go inside to tell them I had a curbside order and I couldn't get the app to work. It had some sort of error.
Had to grab more tools from friend's house and then unloaded cementboards and a few of the items once we got back to my house. Removing the rotted plywood took the most time. Tried chisels but that didn't cut it so I got the oscilatting attachment and my friend had to cut the bottom of the plywood just above the flange. The tub slopes downward slightly to the right and the side walls slope away as they go up. So, the composite shims I got will be needed.
Removing the tub spout took some time. Stupid thing had pieces break off when I tried. Friend got the "I'm not asking" pipe wrench. Thing is massive. I'll have to get a picture. Opened the closet and cut the old pipes off and yanked stuff out. Marked for new holes. Decided to be lazy on the tub spout hole and put it through the diverter hole that was slightly above the tub spout. The showerhead will go above the cement board and through pvc board.
After my friend got the plastic up I realized I desperately needed to clean the flange and tub edge to get rid of old caulk residue and dirt. Tried scrubbing with water, then alcohol. Then I made a paste from baking soda and vinegar. Slathered that all over and will scrub the hell out of it tomorrow.
I will have to get more pictures when my back stops screaming at me. This is what I have thus far:
I trimmed the plastic down to make it more manageable and closer to what we need for when it will get taped to the flange. Went in several times throughout the day to scrub the tub edge trying to get the old adhesive off. Hand started hurting and I got overheated so I had to take breaks. I had to use a chisel to scrape stuff off. There's some that is not visible but I can feel it on there so I kept scraping. I discovered that rubbing alcohol softened it and made it come off a bit easier. So, last session in there I just squirted a bunch of alcohol out all over the area that needs to be cleaned. I haven't removed the paste on all of it yet. Squired the alcohol on that and hope it soaks through. Smell got a bit strong so I am letting it soak and evaporate. I have a fan blowing on the area now.
Just for fun, this is part of the old wall panel that used to be on the back wall. It originally had a realistic sketch of ducks or swans swimming in water and then had the little blue swans at the bottom. I didn't remember them.
This is a string of caulk I peeled off. Its hard to tell in the picture but it is very thick.
My paste cleaning solution on the edge. I put it everywhere that had the reddish brown adhesive residue.
After several sessions of scrubbing the hell out of it and using the chisel to scrape stuff off:
Back section that I started working on:
Just for fun, this is part of the old wall panel that used to be on the back wall. It originally had a realistic sketch of ducks or swans swimming in water and then had the little blue swans at the bottom. I didn't remember them.
This is a string of caulk I peeled off. Its hard to tell in the picture but it is very thick.
My paste cleaning solution on the edge. I put it everywhere that had the reddish brown adhesive residue.
After several sessions of scrubbing the hell out of it and using the chisel to scrape stuff off:
Back section that I started working on:
Lots of elbow grease. Good job!
Now, try to keep your brother's grubby paws away from it!
Now, try to keep your brother's grubby paws away from it!
Its so cluttered in there that he won't even set foot in the bathroom right now. I think I'm going to refrain from telling him when it is finished.
The next step will be to tape the plastic to the flange (it will need to be trimmed more). I was thinking of attempting it myself but I am a total monkey with tape and always get it stuck to itself or to me. When it is closer to time to work on it, I will get plastic taped inside the tub to protect it. I don't want to leave any adhesive on too long though.
I need to figure out what type of staples my pneumatic staple gun uses to staple up the L-bead trim.
The next step will be to tape the plastic to the flange (it will need to be trimmed more). I was thinking of attempting it myself but I am a total monkey with tape and always get it stuck to itself or to me. When it is closer to time to work on it, I will get plastic taped inside the tub to protect it. I don't want to leave any adhesive on too long though.
I need to figure out what type of staples my pneumatic staple gun uses to staple up the L-bead trim.
Zanne goes where angels fear to tread!
