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WirelessNut
 
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Default Shower Tile Wall Collapse! Now what?!

Check out my problem:

http://www.704westjoppa.com/ba1.gif
http://www.704westjoppa.com/ba2.gif

After losing my balance in the shower and putting my weight against the
left wall of the shower, the whole wall flexed. Uh oh. The tiles peeled
off the wall like stickers, and there was little left of the original
green board behind the tile, except, of course, for lots of nice black
mold.

I've owned the house for just 10 months and this has been the biggest
of my surprises.

I obviously have to redo the entire shower: three walls surrounding the
tub plus the ceiling above the tub. I'm looking for suggestions as to
the combination of materials to be used here. Special considerations go
to the window (1-yr old full vinyl) since it is hit directly by the
shower spray (what were they thinking when they installed this here?!).
There is also a light in the shower ceiling.

Here's the current plan:

1. Replace insulation (studs seem to free from rot)
2.15lb roofing felt stapled over studs
3. 1/2" Durock backerboard
4. 6x6 ceramic tiles laid with thinset mortar

Obviously this is an oversimplification, but I just want to make sure
no big steps are missing here, particularly with the moisture barrier.
We just redid the entire kitchen right below this tub and I need to be
100% sure I am not going to get any leaks from either the walls or the
window. I can't afford drywall repairs in the kitchen! So what part of
this doesn't make sense or could be done better?

This will likely be a DIY project, although I may split the work with a
local tile guy who has done small jobs for me before. I would do the
demo and hang the new board. He would do the tile install. With little
tile experience, what are my biggest challenges?

Thanks for any help! It's a small bathroom, but a big pain for me!