Tub Surround- Hardi, Redgard, subway tile- Socal- Exterior wall insulation?

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OnlyinCali

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Working in a 1950s house that has no insulation. Redoing the shower (which had no insulation) with hardi, Redgard, and ceramic subway tile. I usually throw unfaced fiberglass insulation between the hardi and the exterior facing wall, nothing on interior sides.

The contractor pulled it out and said he'd rather leave it uninsulated because "none of the house has insulation and insulation behind showers can cause mold issues, no need to risk it here if the there's no insulation in the rest of the house".

Location- Socal - warm weather, few rainy days a year.

Will this cause an issue later? What's the "right" way here?
 

Jadnashua

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Is there a vapor barrier beneath the siding? What's on the outside?

I'd check over at www.johnbridge.com for advice building a shower.

Redgard can work, but the tub/wall junction is the harder thing to get right. All joints on the walls need to be filled with thinset and alkaline resistant tape applied and cured prior to the installation of the RedGard. The use of a wet film thickness gauge is highly recommended. Achieving the proper actual thickness isn't as easy as painting a wall. It's important to get the thickness between the min/max, and to wait for things to be cured properly prior to the installation of the waterproofing.

Had you considered just using something like KerdiBoard, or one of the knockoffs? Those panels are both your surface for tiling, and waterproofing at the same time. Saves probably a day of waiting for things to cure. They just screw to the studs, you tape the seams and penetrations, and no need to wait to start tiling. The foam-core panels would add a bit of insulation in the process. Check out www.schluter.com for videos showing how it's done.
 
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