On Sep 1, 9:33 pm, Joel wrote:
My daughter was taking a shower and part of the tile wall fell down.
Underneath there is drywall and it is wet and rotted. The studs are
also rotted.
I plan to rip it all out replace the rotted studs, cover with moisture
barrier, cement board and retile.
Is there a good description / tutorial on replacing studs? I wonder
why builders are allowed to construct bathrooms like this, you would
think it should be against the building code.

Thanks

Boy what a rip. Essentially the same thing happened to me -- owners
before us took out the old claw foot tub and put in a modern tub &
shower - and just slapped tile right on the plaster wall. No hint of
trouble until it just started crumbling. You are on the right track
for how to fix it. A good reference on how to do the tile right is
"Setting Tile" from Taunton Press -- very specific instructions on how
to get the waterproofing right. As for a reference on replacing the
studs, I don't know, I doubt you will find something on that specific
issue but you never know. It is not rocket science though. What is
on the other side of the wall - is it interior or exterior? Basically
the studs (a) hold up the ceiling, etc. above them (which may or not
be important depending on whether this is a load-bearing or non-load-
bearing wall) and (b) provide something to attach the walls to. The
new studs don't necessarily have to be exactly where the old ones
were, except there may be a drywall seam on the other side where both
ends must be supported. You could cut out the rotten parts and just
replace them with new wood, attaching old to new with strips of
plywood or 1X lumber on each side. It's kind of situation specific
and the best course may depend on access, etc. The less banging you
have to do the less chance of cracking the drywall elsewhere.