Make sure to use composite shims.
How to make a shower pan for ceramic tile.
Make the cement board flush with the tile lip of your shower pan by using shims behind the board to bring it out to the desired thickness.
1 i like to lay down a layer of felt paper on the subfloor first.
Measure the distances between the studs on your walls where you plan on building your shower pan and write them down.
If you have a standard sized stall you can buy an acrylic or fiberglass shower pan though you lose the aesthetics of an all tile shower.
Remove all shower accessories and hardware.
The first step of understanding how to tile a shower is preparing your work area.
Although fiberglass units make shower pans quick and easy they lack the elegance of a handcrafted mortar and tile floor.
Frame out the shower pan using 2 by 6 inches 5 1 cm 15 2 cm boards.
Mix up a 50 50 solution of vinegar and water in a pump sprayer.
Embedding the tile backer board into the top mortar layer provide structural stability of the shower walls and allows for proper water runoff from the shower walls onto the shower floor.
Despite what you may think water can and will penetrate all the way through the tile mortar and concrete above the shower pan making its way down to the shower pan.
Leave the shower pan in place if possible covering it with a blanket or towel to prevent damage.
Only a few companies make these foam or plastic trays so they may be difficult to find.
Before that was possible pros had to build a custom shower pan by mixing and applying mortar troweling it flat and laying ceramic shower floor tile.
Pre sloped pans made for using with tile eliminates the need to mud or calculate the proper slope for drainage.
The pre slope is a slight slope of the floor draining toward the shower drain created with dry pack cement before the shower pan is installed.
The more traditional method involves building a shower pan frame pouring mud into it and waterproofing the area before adding tile.
2 now install the rubber membrane.
You simply cannot let water get to the wood.
Your shower pan and stall must be impervious.
Prior to placing the top mortar layer of the shower pan install the tile backer board so that it will be embedded into the shower pan top mortar layer.
Pressurize the sprayer with the handle and coat the shower tiles as well as the pain with a coating of the mixture.
Once you established your drain setup you ll want to buy a shower pan drain as shown in the video.
How to make a shower pan a mortar shower pan is so much nicer than a store bought fiberglass unit.
How to make a shower pan by a real professional.
