Brick Shower Demo

[memphis_mike]

Hi everyone! We've had a bathroom shower that we never use because the previous homeowners decided to use half brick panels, almost like tiles of brick, as the wall's and floor. It gets moldy almost immediately with use, and it is a cleaning nightmare even if we routinely reseal it with a waterproof sealer. We are considering just demo'ing the bathroom down to studs, but had a friend suggest we could maybe just tile over top of it. Such as using thinset to level and apply WEDI board.

Does anyone have experience with these brick shower panels? Seems like it must have been in fashion some years back despite being impractical for water situations. Suggestions for demo vs. coverup?? Sorry if this isn't plumbing relevant enough!

 

[memphis_mike]

 

[MicEd69]

I would definitely tear it down to the studs and do it right.

 

[Twowaxhack]

In the meantime, leave the door to the shower and bathroom open after a shower, turn on or add ventilation. Use a fan to dry the shower between uses.

 

[nebojsa]

I would tear it down. You could try as suggested bye leaving the door open to the shower/bathroom . I also use a dehumidifier just outside the bathroom/shower in the basement.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Having owned a built or rebuilt several, I have my own opinions; opinions formed because I hate cleaning showers, hate soap scum and hate mold. That may sound like a given but a lot of people live with disgusting showers so the cleanliness and mold doesn't seem to bother them.

Porous materials like brick are about the stupidest material choice for a shower. Clearly chosen by the clueless.
Large grout lines are also trouble. Grout is porous like brick and that's where the mold grows. It doesn't grow on glazed tile.
Marble isn't a good choice either. It too is somewhat porous and cannot stand up to many typical cleaning products, particularly those that claim to remove soap scum. If you like the look of marble there are plenty of porcelain tiles out there made to look like marble.
What was trendy for a bit (my own home has it, but it came with the home) is "river rock". I don't like that much either--too much grout on the floor. No matter how much we cleaned it we still got mold growing.
We hired a guy who calls himself "grout rescuers" and he did a serious cleaning using some nasty chemicals (with plenty of ventilation and a NIOSH respirator mask) and then re-grouted the floor. This was a $300 investment instead of thousands to rip up and re-tile the floor. He removed the mold-laden silicone, and made two recommendations: first, get a timer on the bathroom vent and for every shower, run it for 60 minutes. Second, after each shower, use the handheld head and run cold water over all the surfaces, then squeegee and wipe down. Like flossing your teeth daily it was just something you had to get used to. These two things seemed to have solved the nasty shower problem. It's been close to a year and no mold at all and everything remains cleaner.

If it comes up again, maybe we'll hire him for another cleaning and re-grouting.

But regarding your brick shower, @memphis_mike anything other than a tear down and rebuild with proper materials is just a temporary bandaid.

 

[MicEd69]

Clearly chosen by the clueless.

Or by an architect or home decorator. Both of those are usually clueless as to maintenance requirements of their designs.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Or by an architect or home decorator. Both of those are usually clueless as to maintenance requirements of their designs.

Exactly. Many of the local builders here have "design centers" and they work with in-house decorators to come up with the standard list of offerings, not all of which make sense. My home was a spec so they wanted to show off some things, such as the river rock shower base...

...in my last home, the initial home exterior trim was slated to be rough sawn lumber. The designer/decorator didn't like this look; "too rustic". So she switched it to smooth pine. The painter warned the builder about using smooth pine in Michigan as trim, especially when they didn't want to pay for priming.

The builder ended up repainting the trim on every home he built in the first year before they switched back to rough sawn which can hold the paint better. Penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[Twowaxhack]

My shower is roughly 5x5 without a door so it gets plenty of air and the walls don’t even get that wet. It’s Cultured marble.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

My shower is roughly 5x5 without a door so it gets plenty of air and the walls don’t even get that wet. It’s Cultured marble.

My neighbor across the street has a walk in shower, no door and no glass. More builders ought to do this. Best idea yet.

 

[Wrench]

I'd like to have a walk in such as you describe. Easier to clean and if older, easier to get in and out of.

 

[sawsaw]

I'd like to have a walk in such as you describe. Easier to clean and if older, easier to get in and out of.

I had one put in my mother's retirement home. It had a minimal lip, akin to a speed bump, on the floor to contain water and and a sliding curtain for that purpose, also. She was very happy with it, as opposed to a tub.