remove fiberglass shower and installing ceramic tile?

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JoeFatz

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Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Posts
171
Location
Fort Mill, SC
wondering if anyone has removed their shower and installed ceramic tile.
First question is when the shower surround is removed is there wallboard behind it.
Obviously the norm is to have a solid tile backer, kind of thinking thats some unneeded weight, I understand I may lose a tile or two over time but not really concerned about occasional repairs.
I have already tiled the backsplash, even on the side wall of the stove, the wallboard between that and the fridge was very flimsy and I knew it was a gamble, I've pushed on it, punched it, hit the countertop etc and the tile has yet to move or even show signs of coming loose but, thats a whol lot smaller of an area and wont get the abuse a shower surround will, especially when driving down a bumpy road.
I honestly cannot stand the way this shower surround looks, very dated and kind of yellow not to mention the "beautiful" gold trim on the shower doors, I already have a plan to take them all apart and acid stain them black so I'm thinking while I have it all apart and being I have an abundance of leftover tile it make sense to just pull the trigger and do the surround at the same time.
Suggestions?
 
JoeFatz said:
First question is when the shower surround is removed is there wallboard behind it.
Obviously the norm is to have a solid tile backer, kind of thinking thats some unneeded weight, I understand I may lose a tile or two over time but not really concerned about occasional repairs.

Without waterproof backer board, I would be concerned about water getting behind the tile and causing damage. Maybe you could get by with some liquid rubber sealant that you can apply with a paint roller?
 
I plan on using the Detra fabric for waterproofing, more concerned with the lack of stiffness of the factory walls, if there are even any behind the surround
 
A moving RV is equivalent to a constant earthquake.  How will you keep the tile walls from cracking as the RV flexes going down the road?
 
I have been wondering that same thing.
If you look at the really high end RV's they have tile showers.

I did some research and found out that you need to use a very flexible polymer, or silicone caulk for the thinset.
Then silicone caulk for the grout.
Check out flextile.com

Be sure and post your results\pics.

This is my first post, no signature yet.

Vickie
 

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