How to Do Shower Mud Floors

When tiling a new shower, there is a crucial stage that comes before the actual laying of the tiles: installing the mud floor. This provides you with a smooth, solid surface onto which the tiles can be set without fear of losing the draining slope or creating uneven patterns. You can easily do your own mud floor, but you need to use special shower mud, which you have to mix first.

Things You'll Need

• Clean sharp sand
• Portland cement
• Trowel
• Rubber float
• Level

Instructions

1. Mix 5 parts clean sharp sand with 1 part Portland cement to make the shower mud mix.

2. Add a little bit of water at a time tp the mix until the correct consistency is achieved. When you roll a clump of sand into a ball, it should take the shape well but still be easily broken apart.

3. Calculate the slope of the mud floor by adding 1/4 inch of height for every 1 foot of shower floor. If you have a 4-foot shower floor, you need a 1-inch slope to the drain.

4. Mark on the wall around the floor at the height you need your slope to be. If your shower floor needs a 1-inch slope, mark off 1 inch up from the ground on the wall.

5. Drop the shower mud onto the floor of the shower. Push it all the way up to the wall all around the shower, using a trowel.

6. Smooth the mud from the mark on the wall down to the drain in the middle of the floor. Run a rubber float over the entire mud floor to level it out and keep it smooth.

7. Set a level on the mud floor. Check the angle from each wall down to the drain. Make sure the levels are all consistent.

8. Let the mud dry for 24 hours so it cures completely. Tile over the mud once it has cured.

Tips & Warnings

• You can buy a premixed shower mud mix, but make sure it only contains Portland cement and clean sand.

• Do not let the wet shower mud mixture sit any longer than 30 minutes or it will dry out.

References

• Floor Elf: How to Make Deck Mud
• Installing Ceramic Tile: The First Mud Layer of Tile Shower Pans
• John Bridge: Deck Mud