Is it possible to sikaflex shower tiles for a shower? Would this make them less prone to cracking or grout cracks?
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Quote from: Scott Bennett on May 01, 2016, 05:21:10 AM
Is it possible to sikaflex shower tiles for a shower? Would this make them less prone to cracking or grout cracks?
I'm thinking that you'd want to be sure you were getting a watertight seal around all the edges and that the grout was flexible (and waterproof) but once you got that taken care of, it would be a great solution.
It should work if ceramic tile is a surface that Sikaflex can bond to as well as metal. If it can take the stresses of body skins, it can take the stresses of movement around a shower stall and probably be much better than conventional troweled on mastic. Buses do flex a bit.
They make a grout with flex capabilities. I have some left over. Next time up at bus I'll look at label. I used Ge silicon for adhesive.
Scott, you need to careful I did the Sikaflex on some marble trying to cut a corner in a year you could see all my lines where I applied the Sikaflex my wife was not a happy camper ;D, ceramic tile may be different than a natural stone if it is glazed on both sides I don't know for sure
Vinyl tile grout. Have found the clear ge silicon did not bleed thru coarse granite I used in previous conversion and tile came up in pieces(little) with hammer and chisel. The liquid nails brand did show thru granite! Bob
I am certainly no expert in bus conversion construction, but why not just use a liquid nails product? It can be used for multiple surfaces and is easily sealed with the vinyl grout. I would imagine that it is much cheaper than Sikaflex as well.
Scott being I did do tile work when I was a contractor Just one of my things and did the tile in our bus to include a mud bed floor in shower as well as 3 walls. I did it like i would have in a house. Used 1/4" wonderboard over 3/8" ply glued and screwed. Tape the seams with tile web tape and your corners. I used Versa bond thinset (HD) or Flexbond thin set and added latex additive. This will give it enough flexability. Let it set over 72 hours to make sure all water was out of it and grouted with sanded grout and again added latex additive to the grout. My joints are over an 1/8 inch so sanded if less than an 1/8" lines then non-sanded.
We have never had a tile come loose or any cracks in the joints. We lined the floor with grey PVC sheet material and folded all corners then welded them with X-15 to flatten them out and around the drain. Or use a PVC pre made pan. HTH :D
Dave5Cs
Good thoughts here but no general consensus. How heavy would a typical 36"x36" tile shower be? Are we talking majorly heavy?
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Scott, look at http://www.wedi.de/en/products/building-systems/building-board/ (http://www.wedi.de/en/products/building-systems/building-board/) it is light weight and waterproof, it is a little pricey but is easy to work with and has premade pans or you can custom make your own. I have used it a couple times with good luck.
Jason
Quote from: Scott Bennett on May 01, 2016, 05:59:01 PM
Good thoughts here but no general consensus. How heavy would a typical 36"x36" tile shower be? Are we talking majorly heavy?
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Yes it will be very heavy, go to lowes and stack tile, grout,thinset, backer board,etc on a cart and try to pick it up.
Why not use a good quality fiberglass shower, or a shower/ tub combo for you and the children?
Wes
Hey Scott,
I'm with Dave on this one. I tiled my shower (46" x 24") using subway tile, 1/4" Durock and Flexbond. I also taped the seams of the Durock and painted the whole thing with a flexible membrane. I don't want any leaks. Ever.
I've probably driven 5000 miles since completing it, and don't have any trace of a crack anywhere. Some of that driving was on I-95 in South Carolina, which will rattle the fillings out of your teeth, so I have a feeling that if I was going to have a problem I'd have had one by now. In my view, having a nice bathroom and kitchen are two things that really distinguish the quality of a conversion, so I decided to tile it despite the weight penalty. I've not been able to tell any difference in anything, and I enjoy the quality of it every time I step into the bathroom. Just my two cents...
Scott,
Ditto of what Dave and Debo said. --except I used silicone caulk in the corners where the stresses will concentrate. I only have about 4K miles on mine since finishing, but most of it to Key West and back over all sorts of roads and cowpaths!
Steve
Yep one step I didn't mention above was what kind of water membrane I use and that is Red Gard which you can towel or paint on and it is a latex thick water tight membrane. You put it on your board before you put the tile on. It goes on red and turns pink when ready.
Dave;always bow to experience of a tradesman. This being my last last coach I erred on the side of conceived less chance of any problems(I'm not doing again) I have had 2 plastic shower stall walls fail over time cracked or spider webbed/(2 different coaches ) I attribute them to temp swings. Being in single digits in winter storage to 140 in hot sun. Expansion and contraction is/was my main concern. That was my point of concern. Please feel free to rebuff. I'm old and pretty dense in the head but still am open to education. This is a needed topic and can effect cost and longevity for anyone's build . Bob
We have had to fiberglass acrylic showers in the past, and we just did not really like the quality or the field. I definitely agree with another poster hear that the quality of your bathroom does affect how to coach feels. I like to enjoy my shower experience and having a nice tile shower I think would be nice
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Tile can be great and with many choices really nice to look at but if not done right in a bus that moves and flexes you can have leaks causing mold and decay. We went with a heavy acrylic/fiberglass 36"X36" unit with a very nice door has built is shelves I put a marine water proof light in it and have had no issues in five years. Wife wanted tile so we put it on bathroom floor and as a back splash around vanity sink and in kitchen counter back splash.
I have toyed with the idea of a more house-like bathroom myself, but after seeing the effects of bus flexing over the years, I think having bathroom walls anchored to the sides and floor create more opportunity for cracking. If the bath were built as a free standing structure adjacent to the wall but not anchored to it, but only to the floor, I think it might stand a better long-term chance. What is everybody else's opinion?
Our MC5C has had a tile shower and floors since 1989 when it was converted. Not a single crack anywhere. Buses don't flex that much.
JC
I think the flexing discussed is more along the entire length and width of the coach and very minute. Not much flex in the area of a 1 square foot tile :) or even a small shower floor
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Counter-tops floor with saltio tile pavers and shower also on floor and 3 walls
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1264.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj493%2Ffltmr2000%2FInteriorworkingandfixingjpg26.jpg&hash=b87df64bc06aaf72d8f851bf86283767e61616a4) (http://s1264.photobucket.com/user/fltmr2000/media/Interiorworkingandfixingjpg26.jpg.html)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1264.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj493%2Ffltmr2000%2FBathtileandfinishjpg1.jpg&hash=bf91b52e830905a938ed83c770ba19c0e5494186) (http://s1264.photobucket.com/user/fltmr2000/media/Bathtileandfinishjpg1.jpg.html)
Mud pan over 25mil PVC sheet with tile overlay. Bus doesn't even feel the weight. Dave5Cs
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1264.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj493%2Ffltmr2000%2FCabinetandTilejpg56.jpg&hash=e596b7ace725e33e8a32a83c86d2646501520c3e) (http://s1264.photobucket.com/user/fltmr2000/media/CabinetandTilejpg56.jpg.html)
Kitchen counter-tops and walls are porcelain tile over red gard and backer board and 3/4" plywood marine type. HTH :D
Dave5Cs
I have seen several buses that have Corian showers stalls with molded pans and tops to match the ceiling line, they really look good but I bet it is big $$$$$
Also Cultured marble panels. They can make them to fit.
Dave5Cs
Once up on a time there was shower stall manufacture in Ca that did custom stalls that advertised in the Bus Conversion Magazine. They were reasonable in price and were thick well built not like junk like H/D and Lowes sell.
I remember paying 600 bucks back in the late 90's for the shower in the Eagle with the top to match the roof line same size as the stall, that out fit could still be around
Cliff, We have done several corian shower stalls in homes, they are nice and easy to clean, you can even route patterns in it to make it look like tile but they $$$$ the last one we did was $9g lol
Jason
9 grand for a shower? People do realize a shower is a waterproof place to stand and wash grime off your body.....not feeling the whole $9 grand thing. Yikes. I do like to keep weight issues in mind Because it can add up fast. Our MCI-9 completed weighs in at 33,320 lbs with a full 100 gallon freshwater tank and 90 gallons of fuel. 3/4" wood floor and 3/4" knotty pine walls. Full wood cabinets in kitchen and a lot of stuff. That's actually pretty light these days with some bus conversions tipping the scales in the 50,000 lb range. Here's my latest weigh in about a week ago:
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160506%2F627a5daff253703e8bff9b2e69647f67.jpg&hash=1af19a2b8b7c83e79833be31d45dc633d7549d17)
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Expensive showers and related items can explain how someone (with deep pockets) can spend $500,000 on their conversion and have it currently for sale for $89,000. To each their own, but living within one's means is still a priority, and I do thank the people who spent money on my coach before I bought it.
Quote from: DoubleEagle on May 06, 2016, 06:32:18 AM
. . . I do thank the people who spent money on my coach before I bought it.
So do I!
;)
My tile work and materials was free. Leftovers from big jobs and my labor. Our cabinets were free off Craigs List. People giving away their old cabinets when they remodeled their kitchen. I cut them to make them fit and re saned and stained them to match a few that were there. ;D
Dave5Cs