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Ceramic Tile Showers — 3 Tips For Framing The Walls

Ceramic tile showers leak without a liner membrane.  The masonry shower pan usually built to make the shower waterproof must be framed properly to get the right foundation for the tile.  Here are three tips to get the shower framing done the best way.

Tip 1:  Use dry wood.

You may be tempted to use pressure treated lumber around the shower base.  Forget it.  Pressure treated lumber is usually very wet.  That means as it dries it’s going to shrink and move.  That’s a disaster if tile is anywhere near.  Moving in the shower frames is almost guaranteed to crack the finished tile surface.  Use very dry wood everywhere in the shower frame.  Don’t use wet pressure treated lumber.

Tip 2:  Block the base.

The shower pan is almost like a waterproof pool at the base of the shower.  As support for the liner membrane and as bracing, blocks are installed between the wall studs at the bottom of the pan.  That’s as simple as cutting wood pieces to fit between each of the wall studs.  You can use 2 inch lumber.  Often 2 x 10′s are the size boards used.  With the blocks in place, you have a solid wood box where the liner membrane fits.  There’s more…

Tip 3: Notch the wall studs.

The liner sheet goes over the floor and up the walls several inches.  Here’s a trick.  The wall studs should be notched to provide clearance for the liner sheet.  Notch the wall studs 1/8 inch at each stud.  The liner fits back in the notch so the wall boards can be pulled down flush over the liner.  That way the wall boards won’t be bowed out at the bottom over the liner sheet. 

Getting the frame for ceramic tile showers installed properly is half the battle.  The right framing practices makes installing the liner, laying the mortar and then setting the tile much easier.

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