[Greenbuilding] Greenbuilding Digest, Vol 5, Issue 18

[Stephen Collette]

Hello Frank and all,

I would look into magnesium oxide board as a backerboard. It's neat stuff, which is pretty strong, doesn't have paper, typically has a smooth and rough side, so one for mortar and one for wallboard, can't grow mould and is pretty easy to use. You could use bentonite maybe for joints, if you wanted to go to extremes when putting it together, and even coat the whole thing in bentonite maybe. I'm not sure how the mortar would hold to bentonite, but I suspect it would be ok, that said, it might suck the water out of the mortar. Hmm. Now this line of thinking, has me thinking. 

If you don't want plastic you could use a metal pan as an alternative. But properly installed tile will last a long time. Improperly installed tile makes for soggy bits behind the wall. I see that heaps and heaps. 

Stephen

Stephen Collette BBEC, LEED AP, BSSO
Your Healthy House - Indoor Environmental Testing & Building Consulting
http://www.yourhealthyhouse.ca
stephen at yourhealthyhouse.ca
705.652.5159
> 
> 
> Nick, I checked out the Sunfrost shower design on the website.  What I'd
> like to get my head around, coming from the more naturalist camp, is how to
> design a wall with natural materials for a shower.  My building design
> knowledge set is not very developed, though I have some of the skills to put
> the pieces together once I understand how.  Learning natural building like
> anything takes experience which I am trying to develop, but for now I would
> ask anyone for some advice on how to make walls for a shower without using
> plastic or fiberglass or the like.  Can anyone point me to a design for a
> shower wall using natural building materials?
> 
> If I were to use ceramic tile, what would I put underneath for the structure
> or the thermal mass for instance?  Could I use a wooden frame for a surround
> shower with simple tiles over top?  Would all contemporary shower designs
> require some sort of manufactured product to prevent water leakage to abide
> by codes?
> 
> ~Frank

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20110113/087abaa9/attachment.html>