Hello to all, esp. looking for people who know something about tile setting:
I need new walls in my bathtub/shower combo, right down to the studs. Can't really afford to have a tile setter do it right now. I found this description of an alternative to tile on a semi-defunct forum on another site. The poster, as stated in his quoted post below, said he had had no leaks for 4 yrs.
My question: Would I be able to get it tiled over at some future time when I had the money to do it? Or would the glossy coating prevent the tile adhesive from sticking? The OP had a picture of it, & it was quite attractive, but since my house was built in the early 1900's it would probably be too much of a modern industrial look on a permanent basis. Do any of you experienced tile setters have opinions?
This is the description:
"I did my showers in Minerit, much like Hardie panel, and it turned out great. Make sure you coat the panels with a cement-type waterproofing agent. Glue them down with a superior construction adhesive. Seal your Durock seams with that "Red-Seal" stuff - it's a waterproofing coating. Make sure you cover your studs with plastic sheeting, and if you really want to go for it, face your studs with self-sticking bituthane before stapling the plastic sheet to it. My showers have been going for two years with not any hint of moisture seeping through.
I used a construction adhesive to mount the boards to the hardie backer - I don't remember which kind, but NOT liquid nails. Go to a good lumber yard, not HD or Lowe's, and talk to someone there.
To cut the board - again, Minerit Lightweight - I used a skilsaw and a diamond blade. Remember to use a straightedge when cutting, don't freehand it.
Before I cut the boards, I sealed them, lying them flat and spraying them with a hudson sprayer, then rolling out the sealer with a fine roller. I used Mason's Select Glazecrete Clear Concrete Sealer, Gloss. No paint because I like the look of Minerit Lightweight which is gray with gold flecks. If you were to paint, I would do some tests to see if the paint would adhere to the sealer. Paint itself is a sealer, so there may be no reason to seal if you were to paint, I'm not sure.
Check out this pic of how I used 1x4's to hold the boards in position while the adhesive dried.
I'll also mention that because walls are never straight, I used strips of 1/8" material and a hot glue gun to create fullscale templates of the wall before I cut the cement board."
OP 2 yrs. later:
"4 years and going strong, no issues at all. "