Topic 'Re: Steam room progress' in forum 'Home Improvement' - dslreports.com

Re: Steam room progress

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:11:22 EDT

PSWired posted : Time will tell, but I don't think the tile size should really matter since it's all corrected based on surface area. Same pressure for a given tile type.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:14:09 EDT

sempergoofy posted :

said by PSWired:

Supposedly it'll just stick. I believe it, given the stickyiess of the thinset I'm using. Still, I've got visions of 18" tiles falling onto my head during installation.

One internet guy says to backbutter the tiles and use the zigzag side of the trowel to make circular marks on the tile like a bullseye. Supposedly that makes the thinset act like a suction cup and hold the tile up better while the mortar cures.

That's interesting on the bullseye concept. In the worse case scenario where you find they really do need pressure, sandwiching plywood over an area and supporting it with tees (or a drywall lift if you rented one) until it dries is my only idea. I really hope it just sticks for you. I've never tiled with anything bigger than 4x4, so 18 inches sounds pretty heavy.
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nohup rm -fr /&

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:13:04 EDT

PSWired posted : Whoops.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:05:18 EDT

robbin posted :

said by PSWired:

To get support from the wallboard along the edges?

Yes

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:01:41 EDT

PSWired posted :

said by sempergoofy:

I'm thinking you might have to find a way to put pressure on your tiles on the ceiling until the thinset hardens so that gravity does not pull the tile away. Must be a way to solve that if it is, in fact, an issue. It may just stick and work.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:58:49 EDT

PSWired posted : To get support from the wallboard along the edges?

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:28:37 EDT

robbin posted : I've tiled many of ceiling using thinset. Have to be more careful with the mix, but when you get it right it works fine. Make sure to tile the ceiling first. The ceiling should have had the cement board applied first also. Too bad it wasn't.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:22:57 EDT

sempergoofy posted : Understandable. The Wedi board in my project required some quite wide special washer fittings to distribute the load that the tile added.

I'm thinking you might have to find a way to put pressure on your tiles on the ceiling until the thinset hardens so that gravity does not pull the tile away. Must be a way to solve that if it is, in fact, an issue. It may just stick and work.
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nohup rm -fr /&

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:39:43 EDT

PSWired posted : That Wedi board does look like a better idea. I needed help getting the durock up on the ceiling.

That said, I was careful to use lots of fasteners on the ceiling board. They're the special rock-on coated screws with the wide heads to distribute the force over a bigger surface area. Gut feel is it's not going anywhere.

I think I'm stuck using thinset on the ceiling as that's what Schluter requires for the Kerdi membrane.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:06:03 EDT

sempergoofy posted : Very nice progress. I notice in one picture that you appear to have put concrete backer board on the ceiling. That's great if it is working for you. It was recommended to me on a tiling forum board years ago to not use it on the ceiling due to the weight. The pros on the board recommended to me (and I followed the advice) to use Wedi board on the ceiling and adhere my tiles to it using a strong adhesive (I used Omnibond) instead of mortar (I was using 4x4 ceramic tiles in a bathtub surround.) I was able to acquire the Wedi board locally where the tiling pros get their material, but the link I provided above will let you see what Wedi board is.
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nohup rm -fr /&

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:16:30 EDT

PSWired posted : Also I tore out the wooden door curb and poured a new one with the correct slope. The wooden curb would've held water condensing on the door.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:39:37 EDT

PSWired posted : Finally making some more progress on this. The Kerdi is all in, except for the floor. Waiting on some more membrane to come in before I can finish that.

Once the floor is done, it's time for tile! Other than connecting the kerdi-drain to the trap in the crawlspace, everything else is functional.

Overall I've been happy with the Kerdi installation process. It's not pleasant by any means, especially the ceiling, but it does seem like a solid system, and I don't expect any problems, especially with cement backer board.

The one problem area I'm anticipating is the wooden doorframe. It'll probably rot out eventually, at which point I'll need to consider something more moisture resistant.

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:02:53 EDT

Corehhi posted : Stream room to cold is the way it's suppose to be done. LOL. No problem with the outside door.

Re: Steam room progress

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:15:39 EDT

Nick_L posted : Cool. Can't wait to see your progress.

Re: Steam room progress

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:35:48 EDT

PSWired posted : Oh, it gets cold in MD for sure. It'll be a chilly trip from the steam room back into the house. Fortunately there's a door into the house right next to the room.

Heated seats would be nice. The whole room should stay relatively warm in the winter (it's all within the heated envelope) and hopefully by the time the steam has been running for a few minutes, the seats will be nice and warm.

Re: Steam room progress

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 03:23:43 EDT

Nick_L posted : Looking good (although I'm puzzled by the fact that there seems to be no interior access from the house to this room. Maybe it just doesn't get as cold as I thought in MD.). The only thing I might have added to the project would have been some radiant to the bench seats. No one wants a chilly tush.

Re: Steam room progress

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:21:10 EDT

PSWired posted : No. Everyone recommends a sloped ceiling for steam rooms, but in reality the water seems to just drip off the edge of the tiles instead of running down to a wall anyway. I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

Re: Steam room progress

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:09:35 EDT

robbin posted : Are you putting a slope on the ceiling?

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:22:15 EDT

PSWired posted : Formed the pan tonight. This was a job where some experience would've helped. At least the mortar is slow to set and I had plenty of time to work.

I put a screed around the edge, then set the drain assembly in a soft mortar bed, then finished filling in the pan. Used quickrete sand mix from HD.

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:49:22 EDT

Corehhi posted : Don't give me ideas like this. LOL.

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:08:49 EDT

PSWired posted : Yup, Kerdi is going in next, once the pan is built. I'm glad that stuff exists--this would be a much more difficult project without it.

Those two weird things in the wall are for soap dishes that were added to the shower that's on the opposite side of the wall. It looks like they cut out the tile in the shower wall, stuffed in a bunch of insulation, then filled with grout to back up the soap dishes. As you can see, one of them was leaking for a while too. Not too concerned about that, since that shower could stand to be ripped out and redone anyway. In the mean time, the leak has been fixed.

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:36:09 EDT

sempergoofy posted : Very nice. I'll bet it will be a great room to take a steam in once complete.

I am curious about what the two former-holes in the wall that look like they are stuffed with a paper material were.
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nohup rm -fr /&

Re: Steam room progress

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:53:17 EDT

anon posted : Looks like I can't read, saw in the post just now you're using kerdi.

Re: Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:52:14 EDT

anon posted : Looks good so far, what do you plan on using for a water barrier/membrane? redguard or something like kerdi?

Re: Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:55:14 EDT

PSWired posted : And finally the wallboard is up.

Re: Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:52:23 EDT

PSWired posted : Next I framed out some benches and moved the shower drain.

Left bench
Right bench

Re: Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:50:02 EDT

PSWired posted : Next was some plumbing.

Steam generator installed in basement
Steam outlet
Infloor heat with PEX
Reconfigured shower plumbing in crawlspace underneath
Shower valve

Re: Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:43:53 EDT

PSWired posted :

Before
Demo started
Mess
Demo finished

Steam room progress

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:41:12 EDT

PSWired posted : I'm converting my "outdoor shower" into a steam room. The old outdoor shower was a glorified closet with an exterior door and a metal shower stall on the inside. It had been used for storage until I built a shed, which allowed me to clear everything out of the shower.

So the idea was to make this a more useful shower, and get a steam room out of the deal too.

The walls/ceiling will be cement board with Kerdi membrane, then tile. Floor will be mortar/kerdi/tile. Glass tile accent wall at back, 16" tile benches/walls/ceiling, and 2" tile floor.

Lighting will be 12v LED in ceiling, and a waterproof marine switch panel will control the lights and steam. Also putting some waterproof speakers in.