Do you have a problem with a leaking bath tub or shower? Did you know that the problem is rarely a plumbing leak? It is usually water leaking over the sill on the shower spigot side. Onto the floor it spills, and through the cracks at the floor and tub, to continue its journey into the room below. Only a few drops on a regular basis can cause damage to structural wood members. By placing toilet paper in suspected leak areas, you can see where water is going. Replacing caulk where the tub or shower base meets the floor should correct this problem. Scrape out the old caulk with a wood working chisel. Apply new caulk, wipe it down with your finger, then clean the excess off with a wet cloth to make a nice neat joint. Polyseamseal caulk has good working properties.
More serious leak problems in shower stalls result in tiles on the wall loosening and coming off. This is caused by a combination of poor workmanship and improper backer board. Most badly damaged tub surrounds are not worth merely repairing. The reason is that if one place is bad now, you can be sure that another place will be bad in just a few years. If you intend to replace a damaged tile surround, be sure to use cement board instead of greenboard (which is drywall), and to properly apply and grout the tiles. Cement board (or Durock) holds up a lot better than greenboard (or tile backer). It costs more, but in effect gives you a inexpensive insurance policy.
If you are having problems with loose and cracked ceramic tiles falling off the wall, there are a few things you may want to know.
Most leaking tile jobs have a combination of evils. Improper backing material, improper adhesion methods, and improper grouting are the main offenders. You can prove this to yourself by taking one of the tiles off in your hand and looking at the back side. You will see just a few lines of glue here if any. If you have a lot of glue and paper stuck on the back you will know that this is not your problem. Now rotate the tile in your hand, and look at it edge first. In 99% of the tile repair jobs that i have seen there is only a little grout sticking to the shiny front surface of the tile. This is the real defect, a beginners' grout job that could not help but crack and let water in. This softens the drywall and loosens the surrounding tile. In the worst of tile failures the tiles can be plucked off the wall as easily as loose bark comes off of a long dead tree. Good grouting requires that the grout be squeezed fully into the joints between tiles. It must penetrate all the way to the wall.
The main source of failure in tile work can be summed up in one word "Drywall". Although accepted by the uniform building code, the special green waterproof drywall is anything but. Drop a piece in a glass of water and in a few days you will have powder and paper. Many thirty year old tile installations done over drywall are more a tribute to the tile setters craftsmanship than to the acceptability of the material.
Drywall began replacing trowel ed cement walls (mud floats) as an inexpensive solution for mass produced housing. More intelligent builders used it only for tub backs, never for showers. In the past ten years a relatively lightweight cement backer board has come into existence which has most of the advantages of a mud float, at a much lower installed cost.
The cement board (Durock, etc) is nailed to the studs much as drywall would be, but will not deteriorate if exposed to water. Cement board should be considered as inexpensive insurance against future water damage.
Further protection comes with the proper installation of tiles. Tiles should be pressed and wiggled into the cement, or even beaten in with a rubber mallet and beating block. This results in more cement transferring from the wall to the tile.
For a good tile job, line your tiles up and make a few layout lines with a four foot level. Keeping the tiles level insures long straight rows. To keep them lined up, put your level up against a row of tiles, and push the tile up to it.
If you want more information on ceramic tile setting, you should go to your local library. Most advised books by Michael Byrne, published by Tauton Press.
Do you want to get some paint on the walls fast and make a nice professional job at the same time?
There are several basic things you need to know. Always keep your roller saturated, not dripping. This way the maximum amount of paint can go on the wall. Keep your paint pan full, so you never have to be fighting to get paint onto your roller. Most importantly, never push your roller into the wall, trying to get the last drop out of it. It is far faster to dip your roller again.
Most painters find that an extension handle screwed into the roller handle makes for easier painting. This way they can stand back from the wall a bit, and with a loaded roller apply the paint in two dripping lines parallel with the floor. Moving quickly, up and down movements of the roller are made, crossing and recrossing the wet lines, perpendicular to them. In just two minutes a square yard of wall is painted. A painter will never stand on a ladder to roll out a ceiling, it is bad on your back and very slow. An extension handle is recommended.
Most painters and paint stores advise using primer. You don't really need it for interior walls and ceilings, though you may raise the grain on bare wood with water based paint.
An excellent paint job can be achieved by applying paint to one square yard of wall, and then another. Now apply paint right over the first square yard again, and then the second. This one and one-half coat method works because new walls are highly absorbent. Over old paint you may be better to just wait for the paint to dry an give it a second coat. Unless you are painting very rough walls, spraying is no faster than rolling. Spray paint is watered down, and absorbs into the wall more. It raises the grain in the wall board, and illuminates defects in the drywall work. In the only good interior spray job I've ever seen, the walls were first sprayed two coats, then rolled two coats.
Both professional painters and Consumer Reports list Benjamin Moore paint best for good coverage (it also has very little smell). Sears paint also rates highly, followed by McCormick. It's work paying more for paint which covers better.
Do you have holes in your drywall that you're tired of looking at? Here's a quick way to repair them. You'll need some drywall scraps, drywall compound, a 6" and 10" drywall knife, a drywall mud pan, a pencil, a knife, and a drywall (or keyhole) saw.
Start by cutting a scrap of drywall just a little larger than your hole. Cut through the paper on one side with a knife and it snaps easily. Now trace the outline of this scrap on the wall, over the hole. Cut on the inside of this line with a drywall saw. The scrap needs to fit tight, especially if it is overhead.
Mix up some drywall compound with water until it has a consistency of a medium thick milkshake. Apply compound to the edges of the hole and your cut piece. Press the piece into the hole, wedging it with nails if it doesn't stay put.Make sure that it is flush with the wall.
When this is dry, coat the patch with the 10" knife, scraping down the patch before hand to remove bumps and ridges. Be sure that it is wiped off tight where the compound meets the wall, so that there is no edge. Repeat this process until the patch is smooth enough to sand.
For larger patches (2 x 3 feet around) the process is similar. However, you must first nail the drywall ont wood, and apply drywall tape to the joints, before coating them with a 10" knife. To gain nailing for the patch, it is easiest to nail 2x4's onto the existing wood, and nail the sheet rock to the new 2x4.
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