Do it Yourself Shower Floor

Custom showers leave room for design flexibility.

A shower floor is also known as a shower pan because it's designed to box in and contain all the water. The drain hole and pipe should already be affixed in the shower floor area and the plywood subflooring should be well supported and very firm. If you are building on a concrete slab you should follow the same steps but use pressure treated wood wherever there is contact with the concrete and use a drill and anchor mollies and screws to attach the galvanized mesh.

Things You'll Need

• 2 -by-10 lumber
• 2-by-4 lumber
• 10d nails
• Hammer
• Felt paper
• Flexible wire mesh
• Stapler and staples
• Drain assembly
• Cement sand mix
• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Trowel
• Level
• Vinyl lining
• Screwdriver
• Mortar mix
• Tile
• Rubber faced trowel
• Tile cement
• Grout

Instructions

1. Build the base perimeter of the shower pan using 2-by-10 lumber standing on end at the walls. These boards should be flush with the surface of the framing walls. Use three 2-by-4 boards nailed flat on top of each other for the entry border.

2. Install a slip-sheet on top of the plywood subfloor that can be roofing felt, a plastic sheet or garbage bags. Staple or nail down galvanized metal mesh on top of the slip sheet. Screw down the bottom flange of the clamping drain assembly.

3. Mix a bag of ready-made cement called sand mix with water in a wheelbarrow and trowel a sloped surface inside the shower pan draining down to the central drain. The thickness should be about 3/8 of an inch around the drain hole. Let the cement cure. It should take approximately one day.

4. Lay down a thick, vinyl shower pan liner after the cement has cured. Fold the vinyl over the edge of the 2-by-10 boards and staple on the backside of the boards. Cut out the vinyl for the drain and its screws and screw down the drain cover.

5. Mix the cement for the final cement layer, which is called deck mud, using four parts sand and one part Portland cement. If the cement crumbles in your hand, the mix is too dry. If it forms a ball without sticking to your hands, then it is the correct consistency.

6. Apply the deck mud cement mix so it is packed down firmly and slopes with a minimum of 1/4 inch per linear foot towards the drain. Allow a 1/8 inch thickness for tile at the edge of the drain cover.

7. Prepare a batch of premixed mortar mix concrete for the shower pan curb. This should be applied with a wet consistency, unlike the deck mud. Coat the entire shower curb with this mix. The top of the curb should be about one inch thick and the sides about 1/2 an inch.

8. Apply tile cement and new tile after the concrete has cured. After the tile cement has dried, mix the grout and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before applying with a rubber trowel. Wipe away excess grout with a clean sponge and cloth after it is almost dry.

References

• Home Building Manual: Construction Glossary
• North American Tile: Shower Floor (Shower Pan)