# Tiling half a bathroom



## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

The first thing I'd recommend to you is to spend a load of time over at the John Bridge tile forum...there's a lot of pro-tillers hanging out there, and the tenor of the community is much like this one, mostly friendly.

As far as the other tile installation, until you remove a tile(s) and reveal the condition of the backer, no one here can or should tell you to move ahead. In addition, there's no guarantee that the previous installer used cement board...you have to remember there's a lot of people that will take virtually any shortcut they can. Take a switch plate cover if there is one where the tile are located, and you may be able to get an idea of whats going on under the surface.

Most likely, you'll damage the existing backer if you chisel them off, so be mentally prepared to replace it. The backer is not the most expensive part of the project and not worth chancing a future tile installation failure.

Something to consider: browse the tile shops, and home centers frequently, some times you can stumble on a tile closeout that will be deeply discounted.


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## jeannieB (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks Rippy,
OK - doesn't sound too promising. I just checked the area where I removed the medicine chest and the wallboard looks like regular wallboard - chalky and crumbly. I'm assuming that concrete wallboard would be hard as a rock. This is disppointing to me. I really don't have the money to replace everything and to gut the whole place. A question though. Why has the tile stayed on all these years if they did it incorrectly when it was built?
Jeannie


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## jeannieB (Jun 16, 2008)

Oh and by the way - Hope you are OK with all those tornadoes, floods, etc.
Jeannie


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## angus242 (May 1, 2008)

Jeannie,

I did answer your question earlier today. I had been busy tracking down a customer of mine that bounced a check....twice.

Check the other thread.


Good luck.


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## angus242 (May 1, 2008)

And now reading your question here, I think I missed some of the situation in the other thread. Now I'm not sure which tile you're asking about. All the tile, just the white tile in the shower or the pink/black old tile not in the shower? The answer will be different depending on which tiles you're removing. 
Tile in a wet location (tub, shower) needs to be waterproofed underneath. Tile can be put over almost any type of wall board but there are special needs in certain places. If you could be more specific about which tile, you can get a better answer.

STILL, you're most likely never going to remove old wall tile without damaging the wall. Your cheap answer to the situation will be DensShield/DensGuard. It's the exact same thing. One is sold exclusively at Lowes and is blue. It is a 100% waterproof wallboard material that can be directly tiled over. In the shower area, you would need to take the further step of waterproofing the seams and screw holes with RedGard. All in all, it's not that expensive of a fix (cost of materials). You'd be saving cost by doing the labor yourself. As suggested, look for special tile deals. I know Lowes (in my area) occasionally has pretty nice tile on special ($1-$2 sq ft). 

You need to read and follow the instructions for all materials used.


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## jeannieB (Jun 16, 2008)

Ok thanks again.
Jeannie:thumbsup:


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## jeannieB (Jun 16, 2008)

Hi Angus-
I just want to replace the pink tile which is NOT in the shower. When I pulled off a few to experiment, they came of easily but left the wallboard looking like a brown paper bag, but nice and smooth. I used tile epoxy to glue a few on and it worked fine. I am worried about the moisture from the shower, etc. Is denshield/densguard something you paint on the wall or is it actual wallboard.
Thanks for your help,
Jeannie


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## angus242 (May 1, 2008)

jeannieB said:


> Hi Angus-
> I just want to replace the pink tile which is NOT in the shower. When I pulled off a few to experiment, they came of easily but left the wallboard looking like a brown paper bag, but nice and smooth. I used tile epoxy to glue a few on and it worked fine. I am worried about the moisture from the shower, etc. Is denshield/densguard something you paint on the wall or is it actual wallboard.
> Thanks for your help,
> Jeannie


DensShield is a waterproof tile backer (wall board). 
It would be a bit of overkill to waterproof your walls outside of the shower. In a perfect world, you'd always like to apply tile to a tile backer board. However, this is not always the case. I have many times been hired to add tile to bathroom walls directly over the existing wallboard. Unless your tile will be in direct contact with water (not moisture), you should be fine tiling directly over the wall board. Although, I'm not too hip with going over old adhesive of any kind. 
You mention that you've added a ventilation fan so with proper usage, that will help eliminate the unwanted extra moisture from the room before it has a chance to seep under the tile and start damaging the wall. 

Good luck


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## jeannieB (Jun 16, 2008)

Thank you so much! I will write back when I am finished (or maybe before with more questions.
JeannieB.


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