Should have went all the way up with the kerri as the cost is minimal and it is in the wet zone. Honestly I just don't get using the Kerdi in a regular shower over a roll on waterproofing but it is widely used. Impossible to know what thinnest was used and what's under it. That is the issue I have with it is that it adds a lot more components that can fail.

Love the pan an wish more people would just use a premed pan it eliminates so many issues. Tiles should be spaced off of pan even if just 1/16th.

It looks great love the tile and clean look of pan and glass surround.

This is the only other photo of the job. Does the overall preparation look good? I haven't taken the next step of contacting him yet.

Not an expert but that looks like plan old drywall to me. My contractors used what looked to be a blue material. The removed all the drywall from the wet zones down to the studs. Labour intensive and comes at a cost but it’s to code and have had no issues whatsoever.

following

Schluter approves their product over drywall. Drywall manufacturer does not approve their product in a wet area. (see my previous comment)

Wall board should continue past base flange. Typical contractor error that tile setters see on a daily basis.

Looks like ordinary DRYWALL to me.

"Schluter approves their product over drywall. Drywall manufacturer does not approve their product in a wet area."

That right there is an amazing fact. Why Schluter and the others would approve such an installation method is beyond me.....................

@Mill Fact is correct and schluter specific.. As mayflowers gets caught in the frey.

Drywall was bad enough but then they went right over all the bondbreaking re-emulsifiable drywall mud too. Class act...

Are you referring to the gray mud put on over the Kerdi? I don't remember seeing that on any of the photos I've seen here of shower prep.

I suppose you could argue that the drywall that is covered by the Schluter is not in a wet area anymore.....but that doesn't help with the area above the Schluter. Also what is happening at the area where the wall board meets the shower base? It should overlap the flange slightly, or at least rest on top of the flange and be caulked if it's cast iron and you haven't shimmed things out, does it? This isn't difficult at all. Install CBU on all wet walls, waterproof, tile...........

Just from choice of materials and lack of Schluter in an obviously wet area I would not use this contractor.

Creative Tile pointed out that the wall board should overlap.

No, I don't plan on using him. Thanks for everyone's help.

"I suppose you could argue that the drywall that is covered by the Schluter is not in a wet area anymore." The face of the drywall may be safe. Now what about any moisture/condensation in the wall cavity on the back side of the drywall? A dripping mixing valve or other connection would break down the drywall behind the waterproofing system. No warrantee there:) Cement, fiber or foam board would not have been effected. Consider this. USG produces a sheet membrane shower system and drywall. yet they will not approve this method. I'm not singling out any particular system as there are several that find this detail acceptable.. Just raising a point to consider that has always concerned me.

Good catch TFW. I meant to mention the taping compound but my brain did not connect to my 2 typing fingers. Translation - I forgot.

Don't do it. We apparently had regular dry wall behind the tiles in our old shower and had mold problems coming from the inside.

What about protecting the ceiling?

Doesn't anyone do THAT anymore?

I know my shower ceiling sometimes gets moist... but maybe that's just my house?

No, I think all sub-surfaces in a shower or bath need to be specialized.

Regular drywall is a definite NO.

When speaking with your installer/builder - say NO to them in all capital letters too!

If you're a newbie to construction:

A waterproof type wallboard will always be in a different color than regular wallboard or drywall.

On top of the specialized drywall, a waterproofing membrane absolutely needs to be used! A taping system for this membrane will be available for each system, which will also have a specialized mud for connecting the pieces of membrane. I seriously doubt regular drywall mud would be the thing used here!

This is no place to cut corners!

Tile in showers and baths are a beautiful and long lasting wall cover. However, the GROUT in between WILL fail at somepoint down the line. It will probably take years before this happens, but IT WILL FAIL. At the first signs of failure, the homeowner will save hundreds to thousands of dollars to have these small failures fixed properly.

However, even a tiny grout failure can turn into an unseen disaster if the shower tile was installed on to unprotected drywall.

I believe the shower in question was only slightly protected, and that was only done for 2/3 of the shower!

The top of the wall and the ceiling both need protection. Also - the drywall used did NOT look like specialized waterproof drywall.

Therefore, I would tell the builder to rip it all out and start over on ALL the showers and baths in the house.

It is too bad these things weren't caught BEFORE the tile went up.

Oh, and I agree with the other poster that there seems to be a large gap between the wall and the shower pan (shower floor). This is one of the first places the grout will fail, so cutting corners here is just a disaster waiting to happen. And in this case, it might happen sooner than later...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

But, it will probably cost less to fix these issues now, than later.

Plus, nobody wants mold growing behind the tiles and then creeping over from one drywall section to another.

Good Luck Mayflowers!

And GOOD FOR YOU for asking questions!

The drywall prep looks good and no problem with the drywall cut just above the flange.

I think the company did a good job.

I would not worry about people complaining about the wall might leak here or there. Water takes the path of the least resistance. As long as you inspect your shower annually and fix any places that have missing grout your shower should last a long time. Also don't for get to take the shower handle trim plate off to inspect the valve for leaks every year.

We usually use aqua board (green or blue drywall). Schluter in our opinion is just a gimmick. As soon as the people the make changes to the building code say we need to use Schluter or similar then we will change.

Thanks. This isn't my shower and I'm not using this contractor after reading previous replies.

If my contractor gave the answers given by Bath Surgeons I would not have employed them as they are not code in my state. Greenboard is moisture and mold resistant drywall and Blueboard is used for veneer plaster, neither are code for wet areas where I live in the USA. So be sure to comply with local building codes. Here's my local code for shower wall construction for tile.

2509.2 Base for Tile

Glass mat water-resistant gypsum backing panels, discrete nonasbestos fiber-cement interior substrate sheets or nonasbestos fiber-mat reinforced cement substrate sheets in compliance with ASTM C 1178, C 1288 or C 1325 and installed in accordance with manufacturer recommendations shall be used as a base for wall tile in tub and shower areas and wall and ceiling panels in shower areas. Water-resistant gypsum backing board shall be used as a base for tile in water closet compartment walls when installed in accordance with GA-216 or ASTM C 840 and manufacturer recommendations. Regular gypsum wallboard is permitted under tile or wall panels in other wall and ceiling areas when installed in accordance with GA-216 or ASTM C 840.

Drywall is perfectly acceptable when covered wit Kerdi. It is completely waterproof and will last forever. Go forth and sin no more....

Sure, put a waterproof membrane on drywall and it won't get wet in front, but be careful of the insulation and any included vapor barriers behind if you are in a cold climate. Also in my state an inspector would not allow the drywall in a shower or bath surround so whether it can be made to work wasn't my point, it is not to the building code. So make sure you comply with local building codes. Drywall in showers will be against code for any jurisdiction adopting IRC 2015.

With a Surface Applied Membrane on the tace, you do NOT want a vapor barrier behind it. This can create a "mold sandwich."

If you have any questions regarding the use of the Schluter Kerdi or Kerdi-board systems for waterproofing a shower, I suggest that you direct them directly to Schluter at https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/contact

They respond quickly to your questions and always provide rationale relating to the answers. (EG Drywall behind Kerdi is more suitable than plywood especially on an exterior wall because the expansion/contraction of drywall is less than plywood). We only use Schluter systems now as they have proven to be most reliable and simple to use. Be sure to have the contractor provide 1/8in slope on the curb(s) for the shower as that will make a huge difference in performance. Good luck

Check your local building codes...plywood on shower walls would not meet code in my state. Like drywall that's probably historic as it would definitely not work in the older system with a vapor barrier behind the wall. Those codes will get you the basic construction requirements and then sheet and topical membranes can be applied per manufacturers specs. In my state CBU plus a membrane on the front or poly behind or one of the Kerdi-board type products seems to be ok for for a tiled shower enclosure. Maybe you could get drywall plus sheet kerdi past an inspector, but why risk it? Plywood is ok on the bathroom floor outside the bath/shower, but when I had my bathroom done a crack isolation and waterproofing membrane was added. So today I would expect any good tile setter to use something like Ditra (or Nobleseal TS or CIS for small format tile) on the floor substrate before putting the tile down.

What is the height of that shower head?