We're in process of rebuilding a tile shower stall in our 30 year old
Florida block home. We ripped all the tile and board off the walls
and ledge, the sliding door is gone (some dumpster diver snagged that
before the trash men could), and we chiseled the tile off the floor.
After we pulled the tile off the floor, we noticed the base, although
hard, firm and intact, is very damp feeling. Wanting to start good we
put down some industrial absorber (like cat litter) and within a day
it was totally wet with moisture. :O/ ???

The shower is in a dropped section of the foundation, the tile base is
built up from that. We'd rather just tile on top of this as it has
the proper slope and drain and we really don't want to rip this all
out. As we read online about shower stalls it appears the base under
the tile is a wet sand/concrete mix and we're not sure if this needs
to be totally dry or could we put the sealer (or shower base) on top
of this and just build.

Does the base layer under the floor tile need to be completely dry?

Thanks in advance for your help and info.

"infiniteMPG" wrote in message
...
We're in process of rebuilding a tile shower stall in our 30 year old
Florida block home. We ripped all the tile and board off the walls
and ledge, the sliding door is gone (some dumpster diver snagged that
before the trash men could), and we chiseled the tile off the floor.
After we pulled the tile off the floor, we noticed the base, although
hard, firm and intact, is very damp feeling. Wanting to start good we
put down some industrial absorber (like cat litter) and within a day
it was totally wet with moisture. :O/ ???

The shower is in a dropped section of the foundation, the tile base is
built up from that. We'd rather just tile on top of this as it has
the proper slope and drain and we really don't want to rip this all
out. As we read online about shower stalls it appears the base under
the tile is a wet sand/concrete mix and we're not sure if this needs
to be totally dry or could we put the sealer (or shower base) on top
of this and just build.

Does the base layer under the floor tile need to be completely dry?

Thanks in advance for your help and info.

I would let it dry out then cover it with a membrane such as Schluter. It is
thin-setted down then the tiles are laid in thin-set on top of it. If you
follow the directions it will fit over a sloped base and will prevent any
water from penetrating futher. Soapy water soaking in over the years must
have punky smell by now. I would want to stop any further absorption.

I would let it dry out then cover it with a membrane such as Schluter. It is
thin-setted down then the tiles are laid in thin-set on top of it. If you
follow the directions it will fit over a sloped base and will prevent any
water from penetrating futher.

Was planning on using the MAPEI AquaDefense before putting down the
tile :

http://www.mapei.it/Referenze/Multim...TDS_EA.pdf.pdf

Soapy water soaking in over the years must
have punky smell by now. I would want to stop any further absorption.

Any hints on how to dry out a big chunk of damp concrete like that? I
put the absorbing material and within a couple hours it's soaked. Was
hoping that would draw the moisture out but seems like I'd need a
truckload to do it that way.

On Aug 27, 6:57*pm, infiniteMPG wrote:
I would let it dry out then cover it with a membrane such as Schluter. It is
thin-setted down then the tiles are laid in thin-set on top of it. If you
follow the directions it will fit over a sloped base and will prevent any
water from penetrating futher.

Was planning on using the MAPEI AquaDefense before putting down the
tile :

http://www.mapei.it/Referenze/Multim...Defense_TDS_EA...

Soapy water soaking in over the years must
have punky smell by now. I would want to stop any further absorption.

Any hints on how to dry out a big chunk of damp concrete like that? *I
put the absorbing material and within a couple hours it's soaked. *Was
hoping that would draw the moisture out but seems like I'd need a
truckload to do it that way.

Tare it out and start over as the base concrete will not be as strong
after it drie,s out , you will also have mold issues for ever as the
mold has grown into the pores of the concrete . Saying that build
the new base then put a fiberglass liner to the whole space and all
your problems are solved . Concrete and tile are the worst showers
going .

The tile is okay, the concrete is the weak link. But there's a cure,
if anyone is interested in doing things a bit differently.

On Aug 28, 7:14*am, jim wrote:

your problems are solved . *Concrete and tile are the worst showers
going .

The tile is okay, the concrete is the weak link. But there's a cure,
if anyone is interested in doing things a bit differently.

Don't mind differently as long as it's not more expensively....