This first picture is a little taste of the finished product. Be sure to check out Bathroom Remodel Part 1 first. I am going to start by detailing the construction of the shower. There are different ways to build a walk in shower however I chose to build my own custom pan and tile the walls and ceiling. You can buy pre-made shower pans which you just set in your opening, hook up the drain and tile the walls, pretty easy and saves a lot of time. These pans are one piece and typically feel spongy or hollow if they are not set in concrete. There is also a company called Schluter and the make a whole shower system which consists of the pan materials, drain and waterproofing for the walls. The link is here.
SCHLUTER-KERDI. This product was just coming onto the market when I did my shower but is now very popular and I would not hesitate to use it. Like I said I chose to make mine totally from scratch. I mixed concrete for the base, added a waterproof liner, put cement board on the walls and tiled. This is more work but the end result if done right is a shower that will not leak and will last a long time. The book at the top of the post is one that I myself own and could not recommend more. I used the book and the author's website extensively throughout the project. I will give you very basic info but the book gets into great detail. The link is below. I just checked the site and he now has a book exclusively on the Schluter shower system.
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| DRAIN AND BLOCKING |
The shower construction starts with a few important elements that are sometimes overlooked. Do you see the blocking in between the studs? You need that to tack the top of the pan liner to secure in properly. Also the drain height is crucial and needs to be raised up off the plywood deck to accommodate the thickness of the wire mesh and first layer of mud. You can also see the curb or step at the entrance to the shower which is made by stacking 2X4's and securing them properly.
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| TAR PAPER AND WIRE MESH |
This is a shot of the tar paper and wire mesh laid down over the plywood deck. It is cut to fit, slipped under the drain and tacked in place with a hammer stapler. This mesh allows the first layer of mud to adhere to the plywood and gives it strength. Don't skip this step or it is sure to crumble.
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| PRE SLOPE DECK MUD |
The next step is the first layer of what is called "mud". The mud is mixed very dry almost like wet play sand and packed down. This first layer is formed to give you your slope of 1/4 inch per foot so the water heads for the drain. It will be about two inches thick around the edges and taper down to less than an inch near the drain. The fact that it is so thin at the drain is why you need the wire mesh. This photo is actually of the shower I built in our new master bath but it is the same thing.
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| PAN LINER |
Then comes the pan liner which is a 40 mil PVC material, there are many different manufacturers but mine was made by Oatey. They also make the drain assembly. The liner is cut to extend up the walls at least nine inches, neatly folded in the corners and wrapped over the curb. It gets tacked in place with staples ONLY at the top edge and the outside of the curb. Any staples down low or on the inside of the curb and it WILL leak. One thing missing in the photo are little pre-made corners that go on the curb and are sealed with PVC cement. The exploded view link gives a very nice picture of the steps involved in making a water tight shower pan, check it out!!
Shower Pan Construction-Exploded View
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| CEMENT BOARD AND FLOOR TILE |
It is at this point that the cement board is put on the walls and is run down over the pan liner to just shy of the first layer of mud. Now you are ready for the top layer of mud which is mixed a little wetter than the first. This is troweled on over the liner and follows the same slope created with the fist layer. This layer will hold the cement board in place at the bottom since you can't use screws on the lower nine inches. The level is brought up just below the top level of the drain to allow for the tile thickness as you want the top of the tile even with the top of the drain. After the tile is down if all was done correctly there should be no pooling of water anywhere in the shower, pooling water means mold development. This is what it looks like after the tile is down. The red stuff is a waterproofing material which is used on the seams of the cement board after they are taped and cemented.
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| NICHE AND SHEETROCK |
I decided to add a niche to hold soap, shampoo and the many products my wife clutters the shower with. Again this had to be thought out prior to construction as the opening had to be framed out. This was a pre-formed unit made of an molded plastic and is recessed into the wall and flush with the cement board. I purchased this from Tile America in West Hartford and is made by the Noble Company. I also installed a small bench made by the same company, however I don't have any pictures of it being installed. Basically the bench is screwed to the wall, filled with mud, sealed and tiled. You can see it in the finished photos soon. The link below shows all the shower product the Noble Company makes. You can also see the moisture resistant sheetrock installed.
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| WATER PROOFING |
In this photo you can see the niche with the waterproofing applied and the inside tiled. Also the wall tiles are starting to be installed as well as I had put paint on the bathroom walls.
These are few photos of the finished shower including the bench. The final post on this bathroom remodel will be all the before and after shots. These will include fixtures, floor tile and finishes. Stay tuned.
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| BENCH WITH LIMESTONE SEAT |
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| TILE CEILING AND SHOWER HEAD |
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| TILE FLOOR WITH DRAIN AND LIMESTONE THRESHOLD |
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| COMPLETED TILE |
This first picture is a little taste of the finished product. Be sure to check out Bathroom Remodel Part 1 first. I am going to start by detailing the construction of the shower. There are different ways to build a walk in shower however I chose to build my own custom pan and tile the walls and ceiling. You can buy pre-made shower pans which you just set in your opening, hook up the drain and tile the walls, pretty easy and saves a lot of time. These pans are one piece and typically feel spongy or hollow if they are not set in concrete. There is also a company called Schluter and the make a whole shower system which consists of the pan materials, drain and waterproofing for the walls. The link is here. SCHLUTER-KERDI. This product was just coming onto the market when I did my shower but is now very popular and I would not hesitate to use it. Like I said I chose to make mine totally from scratch. I mixed concrete for the base, added a waterproof liner, put cement board on the walls and tiled. This is more work but the end result if done right is a shower that will not leak and will last a long time. The book at the top of the post is one that I myself own and could not recommend more. I used the book and the author's website extensively throughout the project. I will give you very basic info but the book gets into great detail. The link is below. I just checked the site and he now has a book exclusively on the Schluter shower system.
