Tiling an old shower from scratch

[Colleen C]

I'm digging into an old shower in our rental house and planning to replace the classy vinyl walls (which were mortared directly onto plywood) with tile. Here's what I'm imagining my process to be...please tell me what you think, I'd love any advice! There are more questions within each step, too. :)

1) Rip out old caulk and vinyl. Keep plywood. (Ok to keep plywood?)

2) Cover ply with plastic vapor barrier. Is using Tyvek ok? I have lots leftover from a home addition and would love to use it up. Should I attach with staples? Is folding over the corners ok?

3) Deal with a flat "shelf" space that is about 4.5 ft up, across from shower nozzle. The water doesn't spray directly onto it, but it will have water vapor build up. Should I work to make it a slant?

3) Attach cement board. Cover gaps and seams with fiber mesh tape, using thinset mortar.

4) Caulk cement board outer seams.

5) Tile using thinset mortar. Caulk outer seams. Grout. Seal.

Anything else?

[philo]

Not only would it be a PITA to remove the vinyl tiles, it would be even more difficult to removed the adhesive to give your a smooth surface.

That's a moot point as I would not recommend plywood anyway

[Ed Pawlowski]

I assume this is one you are renting out, not living in.

It may be OK to keep, but check for water damage, of course.

Tyvek is not made for that. Poly sheeting is cheap enough,

Is this like the foundation in a raised ranch? I'd build up the wall to be flush. That is what my house is like and the shower is a straight wall It would be nice to have a shelf in the shower but if not done right, it is a source of leaks. If you can put a single piece of tile rather than small tiles it may not be so bad. If you pitch it to drain it would be useless as a shelf.

Epoxy grout. Cost more but eliminates a lot of potential problems. In a rental the tenant may not be so good at cleaning and you can end up with moldy grout when they move out and have a major repair. No sealing needed. What outer seams are you caulking? I have no caulk in either bathrooms.

[gfretwell]

We have 2 horizontal surfaces in out shower, a low one used as a seat and a wide window sill for a bay window. Both are pitched to drain but they are still useful. You only need 1/4" per foot or so. We are closer to 1/2". Just be sure the substrate is sealed well. Using "flex" mortar works better than regular thinset. It has a high plastic content and will not crack. I agree using heavy (6 mil) visqueen is better than the Tyvek but you could use both since you already have the Tyvek. Get some red tuck tape to seal the joints and cover the staples. It is made for sealing visqueen.