Hello
I would appreciate some advice with a problem. First let me set the
stage by letting you know I'm selling this 20 year old house in about
1year (no more than 18 months). Time and money are in very short supply

for this project.I am very comfortable taking on the tiling, even
though I haven't done this as of yet.

I was regrouting my shower/tub in the master bath (which is along an
outer wall) and found the bottom 3 rows of tiles along the length of
the tub were loose. Of course as you figured, water damage to the
backer board. There is serious rotting damage to the lower portion
(about 1.5 ft) of the backer board, however it didn't seep through to
the drywall or studs. It appears that there is a wood frame (2x4?)
around the upper edge of the tub that is attached to the drywall and
that either supported the backer board or is just framing. In any case,

its not damaged either. The upper portion (2.5-3ft) is damp, but the
tiles are sticking very well.

Here are my initial thoughts that I would like opinions on:

While not ideal, and if I were staying I wouldn't even do this, but
replacing the bottom portion with new backer board of the same width,
using rust proof/special screws, filling the seams to seal (not sure
with what, suggestions?) and reusing the same tiles and regrouting.

If I remove the entire 6x4 area (the length of the tub), then I also
have to remove the other 2 sides as well to properly fit this part in,
since it appears that the builder put the long backer board in then the

sides. I'm trying to avoid this at all costs.

Please feel free to email me your suggestions

Thanks
Ben

"Ben" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello
I would appreciate some advice with a problem. First let me set the
stage by letting you know I'm selling this 20 year old house in about
1year (no more than 18 months). Time and money are in very short supply

for this project.I am very comfortable taking on the tiling, even
though I haven't done this as of yet.

I was regrouting my shower/tub in the master bath (which is along an
outer wall) and found the bottom 3 rows of tiles along the length of
the tub were loose. Of course as you figured, water damage to the
backer board. There is serious rotting damage to the lower portion
(about 1.5 ft) of the backer board, however it didn't seep through to
the drywall or studs. It appears that there is a wood frame (2x4?)
around the upper edge of the tub that is attached to the drywall and
that either supported the backer board or is just framing. In any case,

its not damaged either. The upper portion (2.5-3ft) is damp, but the
tiles are sticking very well.

Here are my initial thoughts that I would like opinions on:

While not ideal, and if I were staying I wouldn't even do this, but
replacing the bottom portion with new backer board of the same width,
using rust proof/special screws, filling the seams to seal (not sure
with what, suggestions?) and reusing the same tiles and regrouting.

If I remove the entire 6x4 area (the length of the tub), then I also
have to remove the other 2 sides as well to properly fit this part in,
since it appears that the builder put the long backer board in then the

sides. I'm trying to avoid this at all costs.

Please feel free to email me your suggestions

Thanks
Ben

By backer board, do you mean the green water-resistant drywall? Real backer
board, AKA concrete board, is pretty much rot-proof. You can soak through
it, but it doesn't rot itself. When properly installed, it also doesn't have
drywall behind it.

IMHO, if you are gonna open it up, may as well gut the enclosure, and do it
right. It doesn't really cost much more, since the material is in large
sheets, and I have seen very few successful attempts at patching in tile
without it looking like crap. Opening it all up allows you to find and fix
all the rot, replace wet or missing insulation, ad nauseum. By the time you
attempt to do a spot repair, and get the joints right, you could have the
thing gutted and half done the right way. (reusing old tiles isn't easy-
that stuff is almost impossible to get off the back.) A half-ass repair will
make the next owner curse you, since they will have to shortly redo it
anyway. And a nice fresh pretty surround is a big selling point, especially
if a female is one of the purchasers. If time constraints make you hesitant
to tackle it yourself, split the difference- do the demo yourself, screw up
the backer board, and get a real tile guy in to do the tiling. They make it
look easy.

aem sends...