Retile Shower Floor - tools, materials, and tips

by Pankas
(San Jose, CA, USA)

I plan to remodel my shower floor and now I need to learn as much as I can before going to tackle the project myself. I have no experience with this. I would like to learn from you, the experts.

What are the necessary tools I need for the project, especially the tile cutting tool?
What material can I use for the mortar? Where can I get those materials? Home depot?
What are the tips and tricks for this kind of project?
How long does the project take usually?

If I hire a contractor or a handy man to do this kind of project, how much is that going to cost me?

Thanks

Pankas



Thank you for submitting a Bathroom Shower How To question...


Re-tiling a bathroom shower can be a do it yourself project.... some things that you will need to understand......

First, once the old shower floor is removed, clean the area, and install a shower floor pan. The pan goes gown first.... this will prevent your shower from leaking through the floor.

The shower walls are the next to be completed - you will complete the walls down into the and over the edges of the shower floor pan.

The tile will be laid inside the shower pan.... the mortar that you will use is thinset - this can be purchased at any home improvement store such as Lowe's or Home Depot.

For cutting the tiles, you can use a variety of tools from a snap cutter to a wet saw. A wet saw is used to make straight line cuts and curves. These tools are pretty expensive, so it is best to rent them at a local rental place.

If you are not sure exactly how to lay the tile yourself, but are sincerely interested in doing it yourself, I recommend you check out this video series... Tile Made Easy.... it is a step by step video series that answers all of the questions that you have plus gives some great tips for the do it yourselfer.

You can easily tile a bathroom shower floor in one day... the prep work may take a little longer.

As far as how much it would cost to have a professional tile the shower for you, you would be better getting quotes form professionals in your area...

Goof luck on your bathroom remodel!