This project was an update to a small home in the Crestview neighborhood of Austin, TX, originally built in the 1960s. It had last been renovated sometime in the 1980s, including the bathroom tub/shower combo with plain 4×4 ceramic tile. After more than 30 years, it needed a tile tub surround replacement.
The 1980s tile installer had put the tub surround tile directly over drywall with no waterproofing at all. This was a common shoddy building practice in the 1970s and 80s. And because tile and grout are not waterproof, it ensures that the tile tub surround will eventually dissolve into a moldy mess. These folks were lucky that the tub surround had held up as well as it did. But demo still revealed a pretty grody situation.
The clients wanted to minimize costs by keeping the original tub and not moving any plumbing. But they also wanted to make the basic small bathroom layout somehow feel larger in addition to more modern. They were literally rocket scientists, so wanted a fabu futuristic retro bath with some handmade feel. On a budget.
The good news? Just about anything would be an improvement to the very dated (and not well installed) 4×4-in square white tile tub surround original install. So, challenge accepted!
The Plan
The clients chose to maximize the visual impact of their new tub surround by deciding to tile the entire vanity wall from floor to ceiling. This design trick actually made the small-ish bathroom seem larger by integrating the tub surround visually with the rest of the room.
They also chose a white subway tile with an irregular finish that imitated expensive handmade tile. This was a sneaky way to make the finish look more expensive than it was.
The gloss white ceramic also made the room seem larger by reflecting a lot of natural light from the small-ish window opening. And the rustic handmade tile look (wavy surface, kinda irregular edges) prevented it all from looking institutional.
Regardless of the tile, there are five basic steps to any full bath tile tub surround replacement project:
- Fully demo the entire previous tile tub surround to the studs and repair any legacy water damage
- Install concrete backerboard for the tub surround and drywall for the non-wet new tile areas
- Waterproof the tub surround concrete backerboard with RedGard
- Install the ceramic wall tile and grout
- Install finish fixtures (vanity, toilet, plumbing trim, etc)
Did this job go according to plan? Did it have a happy ending? Read on to find out!
Step ONE: demo and reframing
Removing the existing tub surround tile was very easy. The tile was installed directly on drywall, so after 30+ years of moisture intrusion the tub surround was near collapse anyway. Here is what the wall framing looked like after demo:
The 2×4 framing had some grungy looking dryrot and some legacy termite damage. But fortunately there was no active mold growth. You can expect some amount of water damage anytime you rip out an old tile tub surround. It’s pretty easy to then let everything dry out and correct any framing damage with new lumber, new insulation, and spray-foam sealant to close any remaining small gaps.
This is what everything looked like after re-framing. Proper insulation and framing along with effective waterproofing is what makes a tile tub surround replacement last a lifetime.
Step TWO: concrete backerboard install
Continuous waterproofing directly underneath the surface tile will make a tile tub surround last a lifetime. The best economical tub surround waterproofing system is concrete backerboard seamed with masonry sealant and waterproofed with two thick coats of RedGard. This puts a continuous waterproofing layer directly behind the tile, which makes for a fundamentally dry install.
You can also use Kerdi waterproofing for a tile tub surround to get the same performance. But concrete backerboard painted with RedGard installs faster and therefore is less expense for the same result. This is what the tub surround looked like once everything was waterproofed and ready for tile:
STEP THREE: tile install
And what a lot of tile this was. Remember that the clients chose to extend the tub surround tile to cover one entire bathroom wall from floor to ceiling. This didn’t just add to the tile work. It also complcated the planning, expecially since the clients wanted a pretty complex 1/3 offset design.
You need to plan VERY carefully to prevent unsightly unbalanced tile slivers when installing arbitraily sized tile in a space with dimensions that you can’t change, especially when the pattern is complex.
Here’s an example of how careful planning can result in centered fixtures, full tiles in every corner, and perfect tile pattern alignment with the new inset niche.
Here is a closeup montage showing the trim tile install process around the tub surround niche and window. It takes skill and practice to wrap chair rail pencil tile around a perimeter with perfect grout lines. I was proud of this job.
STEP FOUR: grout install
The clients chose a nearly white grout for their install. Completely white grout is often difficult to maintain, since any soap or oil residue will slightly darken areas that get more shower spray. However, nearly white grout will usually appear completely white when installed with glossy white ceramic tile and yet wear much better:
The slight off-white shade will mask soap residue and therefore keep your shower or tub surround appearance much better.
STEP FIVE: finish fixtures
Careful preplanning is the trick for easy fixtures install. For example, you need to install framing blocking before a wall is closed up so that you won’t need hollow wall anchors to install vanity cabinets and other fixtures.
You also want every fixture to line up perfectly with the tile pattern. Here’s an example of making that all happen:
I neglected to take proper ‘before’ pics for tile tub surround replacement project. You can just imagine a plain boring 4×4-in square ceramic original tub surround with no niche storage and boring plain painted drywall in contrast to this result:
The clients were pretty happy with how it turned out.
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