I am looking for as easier replacement material for my shower/bathtub wall
than tiling. We are losing some tiles and I can't seem to adequately fix
the problem. Water always seems to break down the grout and get behind the
tiles. Before long, a year or two, the tiles that I have replaced have
loosened and have fallen back out.

I have seen sheets of material that look like tile but are solid in nature
and appear to be something that you would either nail or screw into a
subsurface. Perhaps these sheet are fiberglass based material? Is some
sort of dry wall an option for shower walls?

I am a geologist and not a carpenter or mason/tile layer so this certainly
does not come second nature to me. Though I am pretty adept at fixing
things I am obviously not good at re-tiling the walls in my shower.

Thanks again for your advice.

Rob

Rob Osborn wrote:
I am looking for as easier replacement material for my shower/bathtub wall
than tiling. We are losing some tiles and I can't seem to adequately fix
the problem. Water always seems to break down the grout and get behind the
tiles. Before long, a year or two, the tiles that I have replaced have
loosened and have fallen back out.

I have seen sheets of material that look like tile but are solid in nature
and appear to be something that you would either nail or screw into a
subsurface. Perhaps these sheet are fiberglass based material? Is some
sort of dry wall an option for shower walls?

I had tile in my shower and after problem after problem with grout I
tore it all down and replaced with culured marble sheets. It's super
easy to clean. I had it installed but after seeing what they did I
think it would be easy to do yourself. You can cut it with a normal
circular saw with a special blade and looks pretty easy to work with.
So, if you can find someone to sell you the slabs you need you might be
able to save a bundle.

Rob Osborn wrote:
I am looking for as easier replacement material for my shower/bathtub
wall than tiling. We are losing some tiles and I can't seem to
adequately fix the problem. Water always seems to break down the
grout and get behind the tiles. Before long, a year or two,
the tiles that I have replaced have loosened and have fallen back out.

1. What was under the tiles; i.e., what is the substrate? Should be
cement board. If it is drywall it may need replacing with cement board.

2. What did you use to afix the tiles? Organic mastic or cementatious
material (thinset)?

3. Did you seal the grout?

I ask these things because (IMO) tile is about as good a material as you
can use. If the tiles are thinsetted to cement board and if the grout
is sealed, they should be good for many, many years. It rather sounds
to me that your problem is a deterioration of the substrate...the bond
to it is therefore failing.

Even done right, one place that can be a problem is the vertical
juncture between two walls...the grout will often crack there. The way
to mitigate that is to use a first rate caulk in the seam between the
substrate of the two walls.
______________________

I have seen sheets of material that look like tile but are solid in
nature and appear to be something that you would either nail or screw
into a subsurface. Perhaps these sheet are fiberglass based
material?

Probably polyester resin...phoney "marble". Applied to the wall with
mastic, joints caulked.
________________________

Is some sort of dry wall an option for shower walls?

By "dry wall" do you mean gypsum board? If so, then no...it will surely
deteriorate in a short time.

However, there are other sheet goods that could be used. Acrylic, for
example (not for the DIY person IMO).
_________________________

I am a geologist and not a carpenter or mason/tile layer so this
certainly does not come second nature to me. Though I am pretty
adept at fixing things I am obviously not good at re-tiling the walls
in my shower.

Heck, if you can use a Brunton compass to determine the strike/dip of
strata or recognize a blastoid when you see it you can learn to tile

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"Rob Osborn" wrote in
m:

I am looking for as easier replacement material for my shower/bathtub
wall than tiling.
...

I installed a shower curtain rod arrangement meant for a freestanding
clawfoot tub in mine. A hack but it's simple, very affordable, keeps all
water off the tile walls and it's easy to clean the curtains. It cuts down
on the shower space a little but that's not a problem in a full size tub.

Doug