Waterproofing a Bath | This Old House

At the Lexington Modern house, Richard Trethewey meets with tile installer Mike O’Neil in Caffrey’s bathroom to discuss the dual-function tile prep and waterproofing system being used to create a watertight bathroom with zero-threshold entry to the shower.
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Waterproofing a Bath | This Old House
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[@billdodson207]

Great one thanks folks

[@bengt_axle]

I see a lot of new constructions with a linear drain near the back corner. Is this not a recipe for disaster, to set the drain at the lowest corner of the shower floor? If the seal at the corner fails or if the drain over flows, can the water not creep behind the corner band and cause a leak that may go unnoticed? With a center drain, at least the corners would be relatively more protected from water accumulation and infiltration. And what is the benefit from having a larger drain slot, as opposed to a hole? Is it to capture a larger water volume and prevent slips?

[@Starship007]

I never loved porous grout and porous stone tile. I always stayed with non porous tile and epoxy grout. Epoxy much easier to work with and many colors. Hold ups more so than cement type grout. Your thoughts?

[@Navy1977]

Maybe I missed it, but did they lower the shower floor by removing the subfloor, sistering the joists and adding in new subfloor, 3/4s of an Inch lower? 🤷❔🙋

[@oambrosia]

Being "new" construction it was just framed that way to begin with.

[@Navy1977]

@@oambrosia Thanks, I thought this was a reno?

[@oambrosia]

@@Navy1977 it is, but as I recall the scope of this project was huge so a lot of it was effectively new construction.

[@Navy1977]

@@oambrosia Got it, thanks. 🙏👍👌

[@Starship007]

Curb less showers always look great plus less maintenance

[@gavinorth7294]

So if someone falls or drops something on the ground, does that dent the foam? It would be a very expensive repair.

[@Navy1977]

You mean after it's tiled? Real difficult to dent the foam that way.

[@xoxo2008oxox]

About time about accessible level floor to bathroom. Houses for long living should have floor drains in bath and kitchens. Show me wall repairs of old bath to new tile and waterproofing without demo of entire plaster.

[@davidparker9676]

Show me the money.

[@Navy1977]

I'm missing the connection between long living houses and floor drains in the kitchen and bathroom, although both are on my new house build list.

[@davidparker9676]

@ I think he means building for aging owners. We are all going to get old, may as well prepare with a handicapped toilet, grab bars and a curbless shower.

[@Navy1977]

@@davidparker9676 Agreed, and my last house to be built list has all of the ADA things to allow living longer in place. I just don't understand the floor drains as being part of that approach.

[@davidparker9676]

@ I don't know what the massive benefit of a huge floor drain offers but it does make cleaning simple. I have become a fan of using standardized parts for keeping costs down and ensuring future parts availability. I grew up in a house with a few foreign and designer fixtures that ended up being a major hassle to repair. We had to spend way more money and faced long delays in getting the repair parts just to have something serve a basic function. More than likely, it is just one of the trendy things to do. I'd keep it a bit more traditional with a simple floor drain in the center or in a corner.

[@elvisfreitas3757]

👏👏👏

[@durangodave]

so looks like the weakest link is the tape, so what happens if the tape fails or gets punctured?

[@Navy1977]

Same as any system, it potentially leaks. That's why some folks use vapor barriers, run horizontal and overlapped, behind the Kerdi or whatever system you decide to go with, so you have additional waterproofing just in case. Done right, any leaks drain into the pan.

[@mitchdenner9743]

Booyah.

[@mattsprayberry0]

Yeah I think I'll still take the copper pan

[@Navy1977]

Where do you get those made? Are they one piece or brazed at the corners?

[@mattsprayberry0]

@Navy1977 It's one solid piece of copper And it's put in a gigantic press and pressed into the shape of whatever your shower stall is

[@Navy1977]

@mattsprayberry0 That's what I was hoping for. Who makes those nowadays?

[@mattsprayberry0]

@Navy1977 I'll have to check with the contractor who got mine But honestly any good local plumber should be able to tell you But like I said I'm going to ask the plumbing contractor who he went to and I'll get back to you

[@baxt1412]

I’m scared to think of how much that would cost!!

[@anthonyavila9945]

Kerdi is ancient tech. There are much better methods now. Come on TOH

[@Navy1977]

What methods are much better than Kerdi?

[@anthonyavila9945]

@ I think tile ready is a better product in general. For this particular design (curb less) I’m not sure if they offer that yet though. There have been many tests that show kerdi is not water proof. It’s water resistant and more a water diversion system. I think they’re may even be open lawsuits because they will leak if the system isn’t allowed to dry between use. So maybe it’s installer error, but we need to stop saying water proof because it’s not.

[@Navy1977]

@anthonyavila9945 Thanks for the insight and clarification. I haven't looked at either system for quite a while, but as I remember the Tile Redi was really expensive, but I liked having an actual pan. I'll relook at it when I redo my master shower. 👍👌😎

[@richvisser7563]

I like goboard for the walls and Kerdi for custom shower pans. Goboard is way faster and easier to install and costs less than Kerdi board.

[@caring-assoul_]

There is nothing wrong with Kerdi

[@patmash]

I find installing GoBoard much easier, cheaper and user friendly.