Shower wall repair

Pistol Pete

Something or somebody hit the tiled shower wall, making a big hole. It looks like the tile was on green-board, and there's a broken out section about 1 1/2 feet wide and the same high. The rest of the shower looks OK, so I'd just like to fix the bad part.

I can get to the studs, so I can securely fasten some kind of tile backer pretty easily, but I don't know what to use - I'm thinking cement board. Any suggestions?

Also, what should I use to seal between the new piece of backing and the old green-board? Behind the hole there is a plastic sheet vapor barrier which was not damaged, then insulation.

I really hope I can fix this without tearing out and re-doing the whole shower. Thanks in advance for any and all advice and suggestions.

Bud Cline

The way to do it is to remove more tile than it takes to fix the hole. This way the seams in the wallboard can be addressed and waterproofed with liquid waterproofing. Replace (whatever) with cement board. I would suggest Denshield for this repair. Once the seams are filled and taped and waterproofed the tile can go back in.

Problem: What tile?

TrapperL

Denshield is all we use in showers now. We use RedGard over that to provide an additional waterproofing. I've torn out enough Hardicrap to last me a lifetime. Not that the Hardi went bad, but the failure of the waterproofing behind it. Builders here use felt, like as if that was going to survive a construction environment. Structural damage has been extensive. Denshield or nothing for me.

Pistol Pete

Luckily, no tile was broken. I have them all and they cleaned up nicely and can be reused.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll let you know how it goes.