My house was built in 1925, it has plaster walls. The area around the bathtub/shower is only tiled halfway up the wall. We recently hired someone to finish the tiling up to the showerhead, and he placed the tiles directly on the wall. I'd assumed he would cut out the wall and put in cement board or something. It appeared that he did no waterproofing before adhering the tiles. Is this ok? Is it ok to install tile directly on plaster walls in a shower? He also cut a hole into the wall to build a box for shampoo and whatnot, and he did this with wood. I am worried about having moisture problems as a result of this. I hired this tiler in a hurry, and did not do much research. I'm not sure what I was thinking.
Water – Can you tile on finished plaster wall in a shower
moldplastertilewaterproofing
Best Answer
I have repaired tile jobs that were over 20 years old that the tile was applied directly to regular sheetrock and plaster walls. This was back in the 80's. It used to be very common to put tile up on whatever the wall was and seal the the tile. More recently I have seen some contractors still put tile up with out a backer board to save $ for the owner especially for flipping a property. Is it the best way? NO. Will it work? Yes. Maybe several decades if well sealed. All the frame work around showers and tubs I have installed has been wood, again if sealed it will last for quite a while if there is a slight angle to prevent water from pooling on the ledge or box. You should have received a quote prior to the start of work that you agreed to (the law in my state) it should define the scope of work and materials. For what it is worth if cement backer is not included the contractor may be matching the existing tile job.