Installing a shower can sometimes be very challenging especially when building a shower pan. Having a wooden floor will require you to be very cautious because any leak will result in the growing of mold and rotting of wood. If this will happen, you will have to repeat the procedure all over again, which will be so much of a hassle to consider.
As a novice, you should acquire materials that should cost a little but should save a lot of your precious time. For instance, the fabric system is considered the easiest way of installing a shower pan as it saves a lot of energy and time. All you need to have are the following materials, including polyethylene, staples, wire mesh, nails, staple gun or hammer, backer board, power drill, pencil, screws, mortar pan, cement, trowel, water, sand, thin set, fabric liner material, corner movement profiles, and sheet of cardboard.
1. Polyethylene or Roofing Felt
It is advisable to buy 4ml of polyethylene or 15lbs of roofing felt that can be spread onto a wooden subfloor. You should then put a layer of mesh wire atop the plastic and fasten it with staples or nails. When using a 1-1/4-inch of galvanized nails for roofing, you need to set them at intervals of 6 inches. Then, you can suspend the concrete backer board walls.
2. Measure the Interval Between the Drain and the Wall
Make sure to slope at least 1/4-inch for every foot which should prevent any standing water. Then, you have to measure the wall and draw a line all over the shower stall. Just utilize a level as well as a straight edge.
3. Mixing Up the Mortar
The best way to mix up a mortar is to use 1:4 ratio, which refers to one part of cement to four parts of sand. You simply have to add a sufficient amount of water to enable the mixture to form a ball but doesn’t break even if you drop it. If you use too little water, it will just crumble.
The mortar must be laid from the outside of the border towards the inside by building a ridge at a distance being marked on the frame in which you can slope gradually towards the drain. Just put some mortar all around the drain that should be pressed into place. Simply ensure this to be lower than the one on the outside.
4. Placing the Fabric Shower Pan Liner
You have to put the shower pan liner made of fabric atop the thin-set and smoothen it into place. This fabric contains fleece webbing on both sides and waterproof polyethylene around the center. Ensure that it is watertight by working on it until getting smooth matting.
5. Protect the Fabric
You can protect the fabric by laying down the cardboard when doing the connections from the wall to the floor. Fabric strips can be used to build the waterproofing of the shower pan. Just put the thin-set on the wall and floor as you focus on inside edges. You should be able to press the fabric in place using a trowel on both the wall and the pan.
You can seek the assistance of a professional if you think the processes are a bit complicated for a novice like you to handle.
