I thought I’d post a couple pictures of a tile surround I completed a couple weeks ago.  Somewhere along the way, the homeowners had added the shower to an old bath-only and had put painted faux-tile paneling around it on the walls.  I wasn’t exactly waterproof and was beginning to show some damage.  It was time to do it right.

I tore off the paneling and found old plaster walls underneath.  It was in good shape and would actually make a good foundation for the tile, however, it would not stand up to moisture.  To handle this, I coated the walls with a layer of Schluter System’s Kerdi membrane. 

The Kerdi membrane is completely waterproof and is the product I like to use when tiling showers.  It’s so good that Schluter says you can use it right over drywall, even in wet areas!  It’s installed over a thin layer of unmodified thinset mortar.  After it drys you can lay the tile right over the top.  Great stuff.

This shower surround uses standard white 6″ square tiles.  Nothing too fancy, but a classic look that is versatile and very popular.