Framing walls for tile

I this video I'm truing up the walls to be able to hang substrate for tile and drywall. The West "left" wall was 1 1/4" out of plumb and I had to build out the bottom plate. I added a strip to the sill and sistered 2x3s to the existing studs. The North (right) wall was 3/4" out of plumb leaning the opposite way. The existing framing in the corner was hobbled together with multiple boards some of them partial.
one of the wedges I cut on my shop bandsaw, and had to rip a 2x4 down to 1 1/2" x 1 1/4" (dimensional). I use the circular saw to cut a half inch notch out of the bottom plate extension.
I'm showing my technique for sistering studs, shimming with custom cut 2x4 wedges and using drywall shims to set myself up for plumb walls and a successful tile job.
Watch my previous videos to see the process I take to make a beautiful shower.

[@timothycogdill9548]

Good job! One question. Why not just use a table saw with a 12" blade to cut your sisters? Seems like having to plane them down is extra work, and it doesn't come out that good anyway? Table saws nowadays are light, portable and even a Craftsman will cut a straight line. Keep up the good work.

[@Mat-W-1TFandF]

Hey there Mr Cogdill. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment. It's been quite awhile since I made this video. I believe you are referring to the 2x4 that I cut at a diagnal. That was in a very specific spot where the glass would be attached to the wall once everything was put back together. My first instinct WAS to use the table saw. I would have had to make a jig for the table saw out of some long stock. It would have taken a lot of time to set that all up to be able to make a safe cut. I chose to freehand it on the bandsaw to get it close then power plane to save time. I felt that freehanding it on the bandsaw was a way better idea that trying to freehand it on the table saw (super sketchy). I don't know anyone who has a 12" table saw (I have two 10" table saws one is portable). I appreciate the compliment! I have some great plans ahead for this year. The big project I'm working on now is a deep dive into sheetrock repair. I am working on the content over the next several weeks. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment. -Mat W/1T!

[@mandingoteck]

Just so that I am clear, is the reason why you had to extend the sill plate out due to the wall leaning in from the top about an inch and a quarter? I guess the other way to look at it is that the bottom of the wall was back an inch and a quarter. However, that would be very strange, because usually the sill plate position is the base for any wall. Therefore, you would just assume that the wall was built leaning in out of plumb at the top.

[@Mat-W-1TFandF]

Hey there Mandingoteck! You are exactly correct. The wall was "leaning in" an inch and a quarter on the top. It was due to the wall being installed out of plumb during original construction. If you look at the first video in the play list regarding this shower, the installer before me followed the wall and every vertical grout line was off by about 1/16 of an inch or more. The other wall "right side of the corner" was out of plumb by 3/4" "leaning away from the room". If I didn't want to deal with making the wall plumb, I could have cut each of the tiles to follow the taper, but I would have buried them in the inside corner and made all my vertical grout lines line up. I would have started at the bottom and would have had to cut every tile that ran into the inside corner. Ultimately, the install would have looked "off" when completed. I had to demo the shower down to the studs anyway. While I was there I went ahead and straightened the wall using shims as seen in the video. Every install is a little different. The more plumb the walls are and level the floor is the easier it is to install the actual tile (tile corners being 90 degrees). The installer before me was selling himself as a professional and completely botched the install costing thousands of dollars in materials. I hope this answered your question. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help anyway I can. That's why I made this channel! I sincerely appreciate the comment and thank you for watching. -M@ W/1T

[@mandingoteckdailey5235]

@@Mat-W-1TFandF I just saw your comment. Thanks for responding. How would you fix things if the base plates were not square too? I'm assuming that you have to choose one wall to be the reference wall ,right ? What wall would you choose and then how would you make sure that the "other" wall becomes square to the wall that you have chosen to be the reference wall?

[@Mat-W-1TFandF]

​@@mandingoteckdailey5235 Hey there! Wanted to start off by saying THANK YOU for subscribing! I've been thinking about your dilemma. It's hard to make a definitive answer without seeing the actual layout of the bathroom, but I'll give my "opinion". You know what everyone says about opinions.😉 Finding your anchor wall is really dependent on many factors such as; exterior walls, plumbing, venting and electrical. Depends on if the shower tray extends from a corner to corner. Are your studs plumb? Are you installing glass on top of the curb? Is the glass custom or is it a prefab kit? What tile are you using on the floor? There are a ton of factors to consider. If it's just a wall surround over a tray or tub then you only need to worry about the walls being plumb and flat. That being said, I'd personally try to plumb and square everything off the wall with the mixing unit (faucet) and shower head if possible. Along the same lines as what I did in this video, I'd extend the base plate out using a wedge shaped shim (tapered piece of 2x), and/or actual shims depending on how far out of square the walls are. Then sister boards to the existing wall studs making sure the sisters are plumb. If this isn't an option... The most noticeable effect of on your tile will be with the longitudinal grout lines. There are ways to hide slightly out of square rooms and still have a beautiful curbed shower. It's my "opinion" that the shower needs appeal from the "outside" looking in. One doesn't really care what a shower looks like while they are taking a shower (although I personally notice little flaws and imperfections in my own shower while I'm in it, but I'm also a tile geek). 🤓 If the walls are only a little out of square, it's pretty easy to hide that in the curb side grout line. The only time you'd really see it would be inside the shower looking out. Remember that the floor goes down first; there will be about 3/8" to 1/2" on all four sides of the tray/pan that will be overlapped by the wall tiles. I hope this helps. Again, it's hard to make a decision of what to do without all the facts. It might be a good idea to get a consult from a contractor. I'm personally willing to help DIYers figure out the best course of action at no charge (if I have the time available). I would guess that there are other contractors out there that are similar. THANK YOU for watching and subscribing. Please feel free to ask more questions and/or email direct. -M@

[@mandingoteckdailey5235]

@@Mat-W-1TFandF Yeah, it is kind of hard know what to do when you don't know all the variables. However, thanks for the information that you did give. I appreciate it. keep up the good work.