Learn how to build a custom-sized, waterproof shower pan for a curved shower enclosure by following these clear, detailed photos and step-by-step instructions. The size of grout lines for tile is something that comes up on almost every tile installation. The secret no professional will tell you is there is really no set or. Stone veneer that installs without the mess of mortar is rapidly growing in popularity among DIY’ers. Rather than mixing batch after batch of mortar and troweling. Nails too low in shower. What good does it do to run you shower pan liner 3? If you see nails below the curb.How to Build a Shower Pan. Building a traditional shower base. Photo 1: Draw the floor. Redi Base ® shower pans come in over 100 standard models with a variety of shower pan sizes and drain locations. Find My Redi Base Browse Redi Base Models View All. Update: Several readers have noted that the membrane installation method described in this article (which is a flat membrane installation) is no longer recommended as. How to Fix a Leaky Shower Drain photo tutorial. Clean the shower drain, install new rubber gasket and shower drain body to complete the repair. KBRS shower pan kits with linear shower drains are easy to install and add a modern flair to your custom tile shower project. Draw the outline of the shower floor on the subfloor to use as a pattern for setting the mortar forms. Nail an 8d nail next to the wall and strike a 6. Before that was possible, pros had to build a shower pan base by mixing and applying mortar, troweling it flat, and laying ceramic tile. Although fiberglass units make the job quick and easy, they lack the elegance of a handcrafted mortar and tile floor. So if you’d like to install a tile shower and are willing to build your own shower pan, you’ll be able to tile it to match the walls. And with a mortar and tile floor, your shower can be any shape. The downside is that instead of just plugging a manufactured unit into the opening, you’ll have to do a lot more work. You’ll need a couple of days to form and tamp in two layers of mortar, deal with some tricky vinyl membrane liner work and then install the tile. This isn’t a project for winging it or taking shortcuts. A poorly installed base will leak, and the only correct way to fix a poor installation is to rip out not only the base but also the shower walls. Don’t let the complicated shower floor featured in this story scare you (the floor is designed to complement the story on How to Install a Glass Block Shower). The fundamental techniques are the same for even the simplest shower, so pay attention—even if you’re installing a shower the size of a phone booth. The professional who helped us could have completed our floor in less than a day with an assistant if we hadn’t slowed him down by taking these photos. If you have experience with cement and some basic trowel skills, you should be able to do almost any size shower floor in less than two days, excluding tile work. CAUTION! This shower weighs upward of 1,0. If you live in an older home with 2. If you’re unsure, consult a building inspector. And if you have a house that was built in the ’7. Cut the top of the drywall at 6 ft. Toe- screw 2. Rip the siding to 3- 1/2 in. Toe- screw 2x. 4s for straight curbs and cut off the excess hardboard after forming (toe screws are easier to remove after the mortar work is done). Nail in permanent 1- in. Save aggravation and get it all at a store that specializes in ceramic tile. It’ll not only have everything on hand, but also help calculate how much of everything you’ll need. Bring in a scale drawing of the shower to make the job easier. Here are the basic materials: An 8. The maximum width available is 6 ft. If you need to go wider, you’ll need to consult the manufacturer’s instructions for lapping and welding seams. Enough galvanized expanded metal lath to cover the floor, with an extra 1. Be sure to buy the heavy- duty type for use with thinset mortar, not the light, self- adhesive type used for taping drywall. Enough 2. See Pro Tile Tips for more information.)Anatomy of a Mortar Shower Floor. The first layer, called a sloped fill, is simply a mortar subfloor. It’s sloped toward a special two- piece clamping- type drain (available at any home center) that is made specifically for a mortar bed shower floor. The sloped fill slants from the drain toward the perimeter of the shower with a slope of 1/4 in. Since our shower had an average width of 3 ft., we sloped up from the 1/4- in. This vinyl liner is turned up at the edges to create a waterproof membrane in the shape of a shallow pan. Water that works its way through the grout and the top layer of mortar will flow down the slope to be drained through the weep holes of the drain. On top of the pan is a layer of expanded galvanized metal lath to reinforce the mortar. Over the lath a sloped mortar bed is laid using the same 1/4- in.- to- the- foot slope rule we used for the sloped fill. Shower curbs help by containing water in areas that aren’t bordered by walls. If a drain becomes blocked, perhaps by a washcloth over the surface, a curb buys you time. It will dam the water within the shower for a while before it lets it run over onto the bathroom floor.(For a larger version of this drawing, see Additional Information, below.)Mortar shower details. Design and Layout. Photo 5: First layer of mortar. Remove the top half of the shower drain and plug the drainpipe with a rag to prevent debris from falling into the plumbing. Pack the mortar with a wood float, then screed the first layer of mortar. Use removable 1- in. Work the surface smooth with a wood float and smooth with a steel trowel. Let the mortar harden overnight. Photo 6: Lay in the liner. Tack up scrap pieces of vinyl liner to protect the actual liner from the sharp edges of plumbing or electrical plates. Install the liner, running it up onto the walls at least 6 in., and nail it to the studs with roofing nails at the top edge. Feel the drain flange bolts with your fingers and draw and carefully cut the liner to fit just outside the bolts. Cut off the liner against the curved edge 1/2 in. Run a bead of silicone caulk around the outer edge of the flange, then bolt down the top half of the drain assembly. Cover the top of the drain with duct tape to protect it during installation of the mortar bed and tiling. Photo 9: Attach the tile backer board. Install cement board over the vinyl liner and screw it to the studs with coated cement board screws every 8 in. Cut slots in the cement board to go over curbed areas against the walls. Tape the seams with fiberglass tape and thin- set mortar. First, establish the shape and size of your shower. Our shower had several requirements. We wanted a shower that would comfortably accommodate two people and have two separately controlled shower heads. We also wanted a curved glass block wall on two sides and a drying area that was part of the same shower. The specifications for curving 8- in. After trying several arrangements on the floor using properly spaced glass blocks to help define the shape, we settled on a 2. The size of the dry- off area was arbitrary. We just stood there and pretended to dry ourselves off and decided it was right. Keep these elements in mind when you’re sizing and positioning your shower: The tile layout. It’s easier to determine the size of the shower if your wall tile is selected ahead of time. Since we had 1. 2- in. If your shower will have a door, pick it out in advance to make sure the shower opening will accommodate it. Don’t forget to allow for the thickness of the tile and the cement board. When you’re determining the size of the shower door and the direction it should swing, consider other bathroom doors and fixtures. Plumbing. It’s obviously much easier to hook up a new shower that is located near existing plumbing. Copper water lines, sewer drain lines and vents can be hooked up to pipes at a neighboring bathroom. Our shower backed up to a common wall that contained all the plumbing we needed. If you’re installing your shower in a remote location, it can be tough to get to the sewer drain and still keep the shower drain within the required distance from the drain water vent. You may need to rip out walls or the ceiling below the shower to accomplish hook- ups if the next level down is finished. Sometimes plumbing a new bathroom is more work than building the shower from scratch. Now that the shower is laid out, it’s time to rip out the walls and rough in the plumbing. Cut the drywall out of the shower opening with a utility knife and remove it. We made our cutting line fall in the middle of the glass block. That way the seam between the drywall and cement board would be hidden behind the glass block, and we could easily slip backing boards behind the drywall to support the splice and to tie in the glass block later. After you plan your plumbing hook- ups, cut a hole for the clamping- type drain in the subfloor near the center of the shower so that the bottom flange of the drain rests on the subfloor. You may need to make small notches in the floor to allow for the plastic nubs that protrude from the sides of the bottom flange. Rough in the copper plumbing and drain water lines. Form the outline of the shower floor with 2x. Toe- screw forms to the floor from the outside so you can easily remove them later. Hardboard siding ripped to 3- 1/2 in. The slope fill can be tricky to install because its 1- in. For screeds, use permanent 1- in. After getting the sloped fill tamped into place, we lifted these blocks out and went back and filled in the voids. Don’t worry too much about the finish on the slope fill; just make sure it has the proper slope toward the drain. It just serves as a sloped base for the vinyl liner and as a base for the upper layers. Install the cement board walls by setting them over the liner and on top of the sloped fill. Use hot- dipped roofing nails or the coated cement board screws that are available at the same place you buy your cement board. Tape the seams with fiberglass mesh tape and cover them with either thin- set mortar or mastic, whichever the tile store recommends for setting your tile. When setting the cement board, face the smooth side out. This makes it much easier to spread the tile adhesive and get a flat surface for tiling and for drawing tile layout lines. Cut the lath with a pair of tin snips and lay it on top of the membrane. Be very careful cutting and fitting the lath. Avoid walking on the lath. Its sharp edges can puncture your waterproof membrane. How to get curbs the proper width. Photo 1. 0: Add the metal lath. Cut and lay in galvanized expanded metal lath on top of the liner just short of the cement board edges. Keep the height barely under the form heights. For a curved curb, make a series of slits every 1. Poke a galvanized 1. Photo 1. 2: Cover the lath with mortar. Snap chalk lines against the cement board, making them 1- 1/4 in. Adjust the top of the drain by screwing it up or down until it is 1 in. Pile mortar against the wall and compact it down to the line. Use the packed mortar as a guide for screeding off the mortar between the wall and the drain. Photo 1. 3: Mortar the curb.
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