[dinah]

I am putting up 6 1/2 by 6 1/2 porcelain stone ware (under the direction of my boyfriend who is a floor guy) in my shower. Should I use mastic or thinset? Also, one of the sides of these tiles looks finished. Does this mean I can use it for bullnose?

 

[Ron6519]

I am putting up 6 1/2 by 6 1/2 porcelain stone ware (under the direction of my boyfriend who is a floor guy) in my shower. Should I use mastic or thinset? Also, one of the sides of these tiles looks finished. Does this mean I can use it for bullnose?

Always use thinset in the shower. Post a picture of the tiles. Odd that 1 side is finished unless you bought bullnose tiles.
What are you putting these tiles over?
Ron

 

[dinah]

Ron, I'm adhering these to Permabase already installed. Hope that was a good product.

 

[Ron6519]

Cement board is the way to go.
Did you tape and waterproof it?
Ron

 

[Bud Cline]

Also, one of the sides of these tiles looks finished. Does this mean I can use it for bullnose?

I've been told that in some tile-glazing operations the spray nozzles tend to spray the front edge or back edge of some of the tiles with glazing material as they progress along the conveyor - hence one edge gets glazed accidently. If that edge is presentable I see no reason not to use it as a bullnose (so to speak) tile.

 

[dinah]

Is permabase waterproof, or do I need to put something else on. We've taped up the seams like you said. Haven't done the corners yet.

 

[JazMan]

Is permabase waterproof, or do I need to put something else on.

It's waterproof as in water won't hurt it. But it will not prevent water from going through it. So, it is not waterproof in the manner I think you meant. It would be smart to apply a waterproofing membrane, on it.

What is the floor and the curb of the shower built?

Jaz

 

[dinah]

the shower basin is one of those standard fiberglass ones. Not what I wanted...but sometimes we have to make compromises. So this is the wall that I'm talking about. I do realize that these things are not meant to withstand a steam room or something. The old one seemed to hold up pretty good. The reason I had to tear it out was because the fiberglass floor couldn't be cleaned and there was leak so we had to take it up to fix that. (Not related to the shower walls) I would go into a some detail about why we took the whole shower wall out, but I won't. So I just want to tile the walls. I have permaboard and now you think I should do a membrane too, correct? Is this membrane in the form of a paint on thing or is it something else? I have read that I don't want to trap the moisture between two barriers. I thought I was ready to tile. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ron6519]

The wall material you tile over(on the wall) should be at least 1/2" thick. Does this material satisfy that requirement?
Ron

 

[JazMan]

Just to summarize:

The CBU is 1/2" Permabase, not the 3/8" Permabase made for floors.

You will be using thin set mortar as the adhesive? Real thin set mortar come ONLY in a bag, it's powder you mix with water or in some cases an additive.

Shower walls are supposed to have a vapor retarder either on the studs or on the surface of the substrate. (Permabase in this instance).

Your CBU is already up, your only, (and I believe best option), is to install a surface membrane. I believe the best product is Kerdi, (the one I use), although there are others that work just as good. Another choice is a liquid aplied membrane such as Redgard or Hydroban. If you go with the liquid, be sure to read about the wet film thickness it should be. It normally takes 2-4 coats for it to work as advertised.

Jaz