A bathroom’s gonna get wet. Kids are going to splash (and I’m talking about the toilet, not just the shower). So you have to be prepared and do more than just good tile.
NOTE: Skip back if you want to see an overview (including “the before”) or previous steps we’ve already completed, or skip ahead if you’re looking for a different step in the process.
STEP 9: Waterproofing
In our case, we opted for a combination of two things: waterproofing sealant and a specially designed floor mat that is the perfect base for tile. Research your materials because there’s no point in doing all of this if your tile’s going to crack the first time you drop something. We used Schluter DITRA on the floor (the bright orange) and RedGard for the shower walls and ceiling. You can probably skip the ceiling if you don’t have a caped side like we do, but it does offer more protection when your kids are shaking their wet hair around pretending to be a (1) lion (2) rock star (3) lion rock star or something else. My son also developed a game of being a whale which basically means he gets a ton of water in his mouth and sprays it against the ceiling as hard as he can. I say this (mostly) to further illustrate the importance of waterproofing.
The waterproofing membrane for the floor gets sealed together and mudded just like drywall or concrete board (wait, I’m STILL not done with mudding?) on any pieces that are edge to edge as well as — most importantly — against the wall and tub.
RedGard smells REALLY bad to use, so let me emphasize the importance of ventilation. Even in a mask, Hubs had to take like 3 breaks just to do the four areas that were in our shower. It’s intense stuff. Don’t be irresponsible. Read the labels and follow the instructions. ANYWAY, the funny part about RedGard is you can see it dries a deep red, but it goes on like SUPER neon fuchsia, the color your Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper use to be. I tried to rile up my sons by telling them this super-bright-pink was the color we picked, thinking they’d hate it, but they were excited.
At this point, you are ready to enter the tile zone. Take a deep breath.
