We were told by a tiler to do our wall first then he would come in and mud the floor of our

Laura M
by Laura M
We were told by a tiler to do our wall first then he would come in and mud the floor of our shower for the slope and tile on top. So should have our floor done first? I am so confused but I want our shower done right. We were also trying to determine how far down the wall the backer board should be placed. The man who is tiling our floor said and inch and a half from the floor. We don't know if the floor will start at the bottom of the 2x4 or the top of the 2x4. Since we do not have the mud on the floor yet. What do you suggest.
  5 answers
  • You can do the wall first if you want, but leave the very bottom row of the tiles missing (the row that would be against the floor). That will allow any "wiggle room" that is needed. Plus, the wall tile should be on top of the floor tile (or to put it another way the floor tile should run under the wall tile), that is so that water running down the wall goes over the floor tile instead of between it and the wall tile. What sort of backer board are you using? It should be a cement board such as Durock (a brand). In that case run the board all the way down to the floor, don't leave a gap.
  • Paul M Paul M on Feb 13, 2012
    Dan is absolutely right and for that reason I would always do the floor first. If you do the floor first then your chance of error is about 0.
  • I 2nd Dan's comment. Floor first. And when doing so the rubber membrane or lead if its being used. needs to go up behind the wall and at least a few inches above the curb level. And that cannot be done if the walls are already in place.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Feb 14, 2012
    I would have to re-think hiring this particular tile setter....what he is recommending is contrary to "standard practice". This just has me wondering if his skill set is up to par.
  • Jaime L Jaime L on Feb 20, 2012
    Another system to consider is a Schluter Kerdi shower system. It comes with a styro drain pan with seperate curb and a waterproofing membrane that all installs using thinset. After the "bones" are installed you can completely tile over everything. The nice thing is that if you are a fairly confident DIYer you can install this and the tile because the drain pan is already formed and it comes with the drain as well. But as the others have said start with the floor tile.