OVERCOMING
BASEMENT
BATHROOM
BLUES
cut without generating a lot of
lung-clogging dust. That’s why Hal
opted for Schluter-KERDI board
instead of concrete board for the
vertical installation. Schluter-KERDI is a bonded waterproof
membrane made of soft polyethylene (similar to rigid foam insulation). Ideal for ceramic and
stone tile, the backer-board
material is covered on both sides
with special fleece webbing to
anchor the thinset mortar.
The Schluter-KERDI offered a
handful of advantages. Being so
lightweight, it was easy to position on the wall and zap in place
with a powered screwdriver—with
no-pre-drilling. And, rather than
kick up a dust-storm by using a
special concrete blade on a circ
saw, the Schluter-KERDI backer-boards can easily be cut in place
with a sharp utility knife. Plus,
the material is printed with a
1/2-inch grid, which provides a
guide to ensure square installation and makes it easy to follow
the lines when cutting.
This printed grid came in
handy when Hal installed a level
ledger board on the Schluter-KERDI above the bathtub.
Following the grid line, Hal nailed
the ledger in place to serve two
purposes. First, it provided support from below for the wall tile.
He began installation above his
level ledger, mortaring row after
row of tile and using tile spacers
between each joint. In some
cases, vertical tile installations
can slide when installed, mis-aligning the layout. However, the
ledger supported the weight of
the tile while the mortar dried,
preventing any movement.
The second purpose of the
ledger was to serve as a place-holder for a row of mosaic
accent tiles that would serve
as a kind of decorative chair rail
throughout the bathroom. The
ledger had been cut the same
size as the accent tiles, so upon
removal it left a perfectly sized
strip to install the chair rail. Bathroom Flooring. To make
the bathroom floor as comfort-
able as possible, Hal incorporat-
ed an electric radiant heat sys-
tem from Warmly Yours. This
easy-to-install system utilizes a
wire-embedded mat that is
installed beneath the finished
flooring. Just route the mat
throughout the floor, staple in
place and connect the terminals
to the system’s thermostat and
power supply. The radiant system
heats on command to provide
a toasty walking surface that’s
much friendlier to bare feet than
cold porcelain.
Hal fastened a ledger board above the bathtub, which kept the tile
installation level while supporting the vertical load as the mortar set.
