I have an American 1950's home. It appears the previous owner covered original plaster walls with an inexpensive glue together shower panel system. Most of the homes in the area were built with tile bathtub/shower walls, but mine seems to have never been tile. I am considering removing all the original plaster down to the studs, then recovering with cement board and plaster.
I looked around here, the best post I find is How to better waterproof the shower area? which points out it does not matter much what you cover the wall with it is what is behind that matters. I searched google a bit and found several walls that seemed to be plaster.
What is the recommended approach for plastering walls in a shower? Are there any specific products or practices that I should or should NOT use?
Best Answer
What you cover the walls with certainly does matter if it can be damaged by water, as many forms of plaster can--such as modern gypsum plaster, which softens and disintegrates in the presence of water. The only way I can imagine a plaster shower working is if you perfectly waterproof the cementboard with a paintable waterproofing membrane like RedGard (preferred) or poly sheeting behind the cementoard, and then use old-fashioned lime plaster, and then paint the lime plaster with multiple coats of a waterproof but vapor-permeable silicate mineral paint or some other type of vapor-permeable waterproofing agent.
But this is a totally non-expert perspective; I have never built a plaster shower and the whole idea sounds risky and ill-advised to me. If you want to go with this approach, you should probably bring in a pro.