I'm really lost at this point. And I really want to do this right. This is my first ever DIY project, and it definitely was too ambitious with how long its taken me. Here is the situation:
I'm renovating a shower tub that had cracked and had leaking issues. It was a one piece tub & surround that was installed in an alcove (3 surrounding walls) when the house was first built probably in 1970. I demolished and removed the tub as well as the drywall above the shower on all 3 walls. Beside the ceiling, the alcove where the shower tub was, now showed only framing. After a long time of learning and maneuvering plumbing for the new system, I put white insulation rolls that includes the paper barrier on one side, into the framing crevices and screwed purple drywall on all 3 of the surrounding walls of the alcove above the new tub I had also installed. Now i know that we aren't suppose to use drywall for shower walls rather cement board of some sort, but my mom wanted these supposedly easy to clean shower panels (kohler choreograph) and the instructions show that I'm suppose to use green/purple mold resistant drywall in order to install the panels on them. So i did.
However, in the instructions, it shows a very clean looking drywall installation with very little seams which in reality is not what mines look like even though I tried my best to make perfect cuts. The drywall has seams, and screws were used to screw the drywall up onto the walls. Therefore, I opted to use joint compound and drywall tape to fill those crevices and finish connecting the seams where the drywall panel met each other and especially where the new drywall met the existing painted walls.
The instructions never mention joint compound so I wasn't sure how to deal with those issues, but I did see a Youtube video about waterproofing your shower tub by painting red gard, so I figured that if I use joint compound, I could just red gard that alcove and it should create a barrier that will prevent water from ever reaching the drywall and joint compound. So this is where I am stuck. I am afraid of proceeding because I don't have a definite answer as the man in the youtube video did not use joint compound on his drywall while some other videos do show joint compound under the red gard. I have so many questions and can not find the answers online, so I am turning to this forum hoping dearly that someone could help as I don't know any experts.
1) Should I not have put joint compound?
2) If not, how would I deal with the seams? how would I deal with the tappered edges of the drywall if I glue the panels directly onto the drywall. For example, the part of the drywall at the bottom that is closest to the tub has a tapered edge that recess(inclines) towards the wall. My shower panel is going to come straight down and may not adhere properly to that last 3-4 inches above the tub because of the recessed edge, so would I just fill it in first with joint compound to create some sort of filler, so my shower panel has more to grip on, or will it overall be okay for that 3-4 inches to have a small gap behind it (maybe the construction adhesive is thick enough to fill the gap?)
4) What about where the area where the existing wall blends in with the new drywall. I put joint compound to help them tansition, but how do I finish it?
can I Put red gard on it too for more water proofing? will that effect the look? Do I need to?
5) when do I need to add texture to the new walls in this process. Do I do so with joint compound before I apply red guard, or do I do so with something else after I red gard? (the question for 5) is really how do I deal with blending new wall with existing wall that sits between the shower walls, and when in the renovation process do you do it.
I know I wrote so much. IF ANYONE can help out with ANY of the questions, it would be so helpful. I'm so beat and quite broken down. I have just been very depressed lately because of so many issues that have come up when I first started and plus my life too. I graduated in mechanical engineering and have yet to find a job. With so much student loan, I told my mom I could fix her bathroom so she didn't have to pay $15k for the renovation. The calculation of materials and tools was not even close to that cost, so thats why I opted to do it. However, it's been half a year and this is just where I'm at now. No matter how hard I try, it seems to never work out until the millionth time. But then something else comes up next, and it really breaks me down because I don't have an immediate answer. I just need some wins, but all i'm getting is a lot of downs and losses. I'm trying to be patient and persevere, but I feel like I'm dieing inside. It was just like this in college, and at the end, I don't even know if it was worth it all. I hate my life, but I know my mom is counting on me to finish this, so I do hope someone on here can help me. I really hope so. Let me know if you guys have any questions.
I'm renovating a shower tub that had cracked and had leaking issues. It was a one piece tub & surround that was installed in an alcove (3 surrounding walls) when the house was first built probably in 1970. I demolished and removed the tub as well as the drywall above the shower on all 3 walls. Beside the ceiling, the alcove where the shower tub was, now showed only framing. After a long time of learning and maneuvering plumbing for the new system, I put white insulation rolls that includes the paper barrier on one side, into the framing crevices and screwed purple drywall on all 3 of the surrounding walls of the alcove above the new tub I had also installed. Now i know that we aren't suppose to use drywall for shower walls rather cement board of some sort, but my mom wanted these supposedly easy to clean shower panels (kohler choreograph) and the instructions show that I'm suppose to use green/purple mold resistant drywall in order to install the panels on them. So i did.
However, in the instructions, it shows a very clean looking drywall installation with very little seams which in reality is not what mines look like even though I tried my best to make perfect cuts. The drywall has seams, and screws were used to screw the drywall up onto the walls. Therefore, I opted to use joint compound and drywall tape to fill those crevices and finish connecting the seams where the drywall panel met each other and especially where the new drywall met the existing painted walls.
The instructions never mention joint compound so I wasn't sure how to deal with those issues, but I did see a Youtube video about waterproofing your shower tub by painting red gard, so I figured that if I use joint compound, I could just red gard that alcove and it should create a barrier that will prevent water from ever reaching the drywall and joint compound. So this is where I am stuck. I am afraid of proceeding because I don't have a definite answer as the man in the youtube video did not use joint compound on his drywall while some other videos do show joint compound under the red gard. I have so many questions and can not find the answers online, so I am turning to this forum hoping dearly that someone could help as I don't know any experts.
1) Should I not have put joint compound?
2) If not, how would I deal with the seams? how would I deal with the tappered edges of the drywall if I glue the panels directly onto the drywall. For example, the part of the drywall at the bottom that is closest to the tub has a tapered edge that recess(inclines) towards the wall. My shower panel is going to come straight down and may not adhere properly to that last 3-4 inches above the tub because of the recessed edge, so would I just fill it in first with joint compound to create some sort of filler, so my shower panel has more to grip on, or will it overall be okay for that 3-4 inches to have a small gap behind it (maybe the construction adhesive is thick enough to fill the gap?)
4) What about where the area where the existing wall blends in with the new drywall. I put joint compound to help them tansition, but how do I finish it?
can I Put red gard on it too for more water proofing? will that effect the look? Do I need to?
5) when do I need to add texture to the new walls in this process. Do I do so with joint compound before I apply red guard, or do I do so with something else after I red gard? (the question for 5) is really how do I deal with blending new wall with existing wall that sits between the shower walls, and when in the renovation process do you do it.
I know I wrote so much. IF ANYONE can help out with ANY of the questions, it would be so helpful. I'm so beat and quite broken down. I have just been very depressed lately because of so many issues that have come up when I first started and plus my life too. I graduated in mechanical engineering and have yet to find a job. With so much student loan, I told my mom I could fix her bathroom so she didn't have to pay $15k for the renovation. The calculation of materials and tools was not even close to that cost, so thats why I opted to do it. However, it's been half a year and this is just where I'm at now. No matter how hard I try, it seems to never work out until the millionth time. But then something else comes up next, and it really breaks me down because I don't have an immediate answer. I just need some wins, but all i'm getting is a lot of downs and losses. I'm trying to be patient and persevere, but I feel like I'm dieing inside. It was just like this in college, and at the end, I don't even know if it was worth it all. I hate my life, but I know my mom is counting on me to finish this, so I do hope someone on here can help me. I really hope so. Let me know if you guys have any questions.