Building shower pans is a great skill to learn or maybe you just want to understand how it's done. If you know how a shower pan goes together, you can talk to the tradesman who works on your shower in a more intelligent way.
Here are the basic steps for building shower pans.
1. Repair damage.
If you're replacing a shower pan, fix damaged places. Usually you find damage to the sub floor around the shower floor pan. Remove and replace rotted material. If water has harmed walls or ceilings in floors below, repair that at the same time.
2. Rough in shower drain base.
Tile floors are not waterproof. They're water-resistant. Exposed grout and mortar absorbs some water. Mix the mortar properly, or it will crumble and fail over time. Also, there are different grades of mortar. It's very important that the shower drain be properly installed. The water that weeps into the mortar must reach the drain. Rough in the drain base here.
3. Build the shower curb.
Build any threshold forms and pour mortar mix to establish the shape. Forms can be built with wood or bricks covered with plaster lath.
4. Build the shower floor pan mortar base.
Build your shower floor slope now. The slope moves the water to the drain which prevents mold, fungus and odors caused by standing water. Build a two inch thick base sloping toward the drain.
5. Shower pan liner membrane and drain top.
A waterproof shower pan liner membrane goes on top of the mortar base. The shower pan membrane is a rubber-like material and is waterproof and resistant to household chemicals. The membrane extends up the sides of the shower wall several inches.
6. Install the second shower pan liner mortar bed.
Install a second layer of mortar over the liner membrane. Some folks just put the membrane down first and then just pour the one sloped layer over the membrane.
7. Install your ceramic tile.
When the second coat of mortar cures, install a coat of thinset.
Then install your tile. Let the thinset cure and then you can install the grout.
Now laying tile is an art, but there are tricks you can use to get your joints even and get your cuts done right.
Tricks for building shower pans:
There are several places to make mistakes and a lot of questions can come up when building shower pans.
Such as:
How do I build a threshold?
How do I get the right amount of fall in the floor?
How is the pan attached to the drain?
What kind of mud is best and how do I mix it?
How do I get the liner in the corners?
How do I run the pan up the walls?
What about making cuts? What kind of saw is best?
Puzzled about how to build a ceramic tile shower? Need more information? Visit our site for hints for building shower pans.
We invite you to visit http://www.installingceramictile.net for answers to your ceramic shower questions.
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