How to proceed with re-tiling bathtub wall?

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dosstx

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Hi all,
I recently bought a house (built in 1915) and trying to do a little renovation around the tub area of a small bathroom (2nd bathroom in the house).

Here are some pics:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3-WTAxVdIphd2lvMGk1TkR1UjQ&usp=sharing

I want to re-tile the area that you see where I have removed the existing tile. Behind the faucet, there seems to be a wooden "shelf" area where you can remove the top panel to get to the pipes behind the faucets. I removed the tile and want to re-tile it.

I also want to re-tile the left hand side, hence why I removed the tile there, too. When I removed the tile in the corner, I noticed a hole and it looks to be a plaster wall.

Questions:

  1. Can I use plaster to fill up the hole in the corner and then re-tile that area? Or, any advice on how to proceed before re-tiling?

  2. As someone whom has never tiled before, what is the process for re-tiling ? Can I remove the wood and replace with cement board, apply Hydro ban, and re-tile?
Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!

P.S> I installed my first toilet a few months ago thanks to this forum.
 

Jadnashua

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Sometimes, you get lucky, but wood in a shower is just not a great thing, and none of the industry standards allow it as a direct backing for tile today. Your walls look more like what is referred to as a mudded wall, which is sort of like stucco, more than plaster. That is a good way to make a wall nice and flat and plumb.

Tile and grout is NOT waterproof, so that is the reason why you need something water stable underneath and the wood protected from moisture, either excessive vapor or liquid.

Now that you are refinishing things, it's a good opportunity to replace the tub/shower valve with something that is also up to current codes and will remain easy to get repair parts for into the future. ANd, it likely would have a nice finish on it rather than the worn out one of yours.

You might get by with applying cement board with then taping and mortaring the seams with an alkali resistant mesh tape (looks like drywall mesh tape, but made of something that is resistant to the mortar), and then coating it with something like Hydroban, RedGard, or AquaDefense (choose your favorite supplier!).

For tiling help, as opposed to plumbing, my favorite place is www.johnbridge.com where they specialize almost entirely on tiling things.
 
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