I am so upset and scared... :(

I worked from 7am to 3am yesterday and this morning putting 1/2" Hardibacker (36" high) along the perimeter of my bathroom walls in preparation of my wall tile; I now realize that I did not hang it according to "the specs".

I was supposed to leave 1/4" between the board and the floor, but I basically laid it right on my subflooring. The other thing I did, was nail the corners anywhere from 1/2" to 3/4" from the seam and the specs say it should have been 2"... I used 2" roofing nails approx 12" apart (specs say 8") and used A LOT of Liquid Nails to adhere the board to my studs...

We are putting in a claw-foot tub; no shower enclosure. The tile on my walls will be set at 42" and 72" on the walls closest to the tub. The framing of my walls are mixed - some studs being original and some new construction.

I guess my question is, am I really looking at my tiled walls being destroyed over time because of this? Also, should I put more nails in at this point being that the tiles are not laid yet? What about nailing more nails with the liquid nails back there?

Thank you for you help in advance...

What part of the county are you in?

I guess the more pertinent question is how much "movement" do you experience with your home / foundation? AND what do you expect the moisture level to be like on and around this tile?

I think the more movement and the more moisture you have / will have, the more you might think about re-doing all or part of you project. If you don't experience a lot of settling / movement, and the tile will mostly be cosmetic and not have a lot of water directly ON it (like it would be in a shower, for example) I'd think you'd probably be OK.

Well, the home was built in the 1920's so I imagine it is pretty well settled in. The moisture level should be pretty low except for shower steam (we have claw foot tub, no shower enclosure) but we have a good exhaust fan. No water will be "splashing" on the tile at all.

Gangelo...

You will be fine in this case. You can still install silicone at base of cement board if concerned... but I'm confident it will not be a big deal.

If this were a shower.. you would have been in trouble!. *whew*.

And if cement board didn't crack at the corners don't worry about the 2" rule.
You could also add some more nails... up to you!

Good luck...

MARK

What part of the county are you in?

Oh sorry, I am in New Jersey.

You can still install silicone at base of cement board if concerned...

THANKS SO MUCH! YIPPIE!

P.S. What would be the purpose of the silicone?

Just to keep the cement board from ever getting wet say in case tub overflowed or something... would help to keep any moisture from getting behind wall or getting trapped under/within cement board. One of those... just in case... ;)

With minimal settling and minimal moisture, I would think you'd be all right.

I don't know if this will make you feel any better... I know this isn't what you're doing - or trying to do...

We own rental properties. We buy stuff in pretty rough condition frequently, and fix it up to keep it for long term rental. We try to do stuff fast and as cost effective as possible. I've watched my guys hang hardi-backer and I've NEVER seen them measure distance from the floor and from the corners, etc. They just slap it up there and go. As far as what kind of nails... If you feel like it's securely fastened into the studs, then I wouldn't worry about it too much (again, esp if it's going to be more "low" moisture.) I don't believe it would hurt anything to add a few additional nails either. If it would make you feel better.

Aw man, I feel SO much better; this is our only bathroom; we're living at a friend's home and my wife is due with our first baby Nov. 13th, thanks so much!

Congratulations!

Enjoy your new bathroom!

Great news and best wishes to you and your wife gangelo!

TY Much :)