Framing and wall covering for a Steam Shower?

[Mark Rios]

The Realtor that I work for decided that he and his wife need a Steam Shower. I will start doing the tear out of their old shower this week.

I seem to remember, from about 30 years ago, that there is some special needs regarding the framing and the wall covering, behind the tile.

Has anyone had any experience in the building of a Steam Shower?
Is there any special framing requirements as far as materials? I don't believe that regular greenboard drywall is allowable behind the tile in a steam shower. Again, any info?

Thanks very much for any information and advice.

[Brad Schmid]

Mark,
You might want to get the "TCA Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation"

http://www.tileusa.com/steamroom_faq.htm#steamreq

I thought about doing this a few years ago, but decided against it, so i can't help you with experience. It looked like alot of work, especially the membrane, sloped cielings and floor, sealed expansion joints, and venting. Too much for me;)

Good Luck!

[Ed Jolin]

Hi - Try the John Bridge forums - excellent resource for tiling and the like. (it's the SMC of tiling) Lots of pros frequent his forums, and help out with questions; it helped me get through two bathroom tiling projects. (i am not associated in any way)

johnbridge.com


spend a couple hours there and you will probably learn a lot of what you're looking for.

good luck!
-ed

(btw, I am not a pro, but I would not use greenboard anywhere near stuff that is supposed to get wet; my old tub surround was greenboard - and it turned to moldy mush)

[Paul Johnstone]

While you're at the John Bridge forums, read up on Kerdi.. I used it in a regular shower, it would probably work in a steam shower as well (but do your own research to verify).

It's a layer of thin sheet material that you put down over drywall with thinset. Makes the wall totally waterproof. Pretty easy to work with.

[Mark Rios]

Well, I've got an update on the steam shower job.

After looking at the references that were kindly provided and doing a bunch of research, I was able to talk the owner into buying a premade unit. This is the unit:

http://www.ssww.com.cn/en/pro.php?id=36

Hubba Hubba...this is one fancy shower!!! It has spa jets, a dry sauna feature, two seats that put your back in position to receive massages rom massage jets, shower water from bunches of different angles and a fancy, sporty look. It also has hookups for your stereo (speakers are already installed) and a phone setup so that you can make and receive phone calls while showering.

I've removed a 36" corner shower and I've replumbed and rewired the bath for the unit. I'll fill in the missing sheetrock and match the texture and fill in the missing tile on the floor.

Putting the unit together looks to be quite the puzzle. There's not too many pieces but I'll have to be very careful to assemble the unit precisely so as to eliminate the possibility of leaks. The pieces consist of the lower tub section (which houses almost all of the functional stuff), a preassembled front panel section, a preassembled rear panel section, a two piece roof section and the side panels. The side panels need to be assembled in place and they look to be the tricky section to get leakproof. Here is a pic of the back panel of the upper rear section:

62405

Customer/ technical support from this company (actually the distributor) is top notch. The manufacturer is in China and the instructions have been (badly) translated and are somewhat incomplete. But the tech support from the distributor (located in Southern California---meaning native english speaking folks, YAAAAHHH) is VERY friendly and very knowledgeable about their product. The power requirements are pretty significant. The unit used to be produced needing 220v power but they changed it to requiring two 110v circuits (for North America anyway); One 20 amp and one 30 amp circuit.

All in all, it's pretty impressive. I don't know what it cost but the owner is a person of some means and is used to paying for quality. A very nice man to work for. :D :D :D