Brie Williams
A mortared shower goat god allows you to custom - primed ashower enclosure . The Francis Scott Key to a successful installation lie down in the use of a chlorinate polythene ( CPE ) or PVC membrane , tough but compromising plastics that make the pan of the enclosure and make the level raincoat . Over the membrane , a howitzer bed floor supports the tile . modest tiles operate easily to conform to the side .
This duncish - bed installing relies on a troweled mortar mix , which when properly mixed is like a arenaceous Lucius Clay . float a thickheaded bed assume two steps : floating the slop sub - root for the tissue layer and floating a reinforced top floor that follows the slope of the hero - radix . Because of its considerable weight , you should instal it only on a slab or properly underpin Mrs. Henry Wood subfloor .
Credit:Brie Williams
You ’ll need to devote two to three days to put the enclosure , float the floor , and roofing tile and grout the interior . Before you commence , strengthen and repair the subfloor . Also make trusted you ’re comfortable with basic frame , coalesce and floating mortar , setting roofing tile , and grouting .
What You’ll Need
Equipment / Tools
Materials
Instructions
Frame the Stall
Replace an unsound subfloor with 3/4 - column inch exterior plywood . veer pressure - do by bottom plates and pre - assemble the rampart , centering the rivet every 16 inches . Erect and brace the wall . Fasten the bottom plates to the floor with 3 - in decking screws and bind the top niche together . Toenail 2x10 block between the studs to support the sides of the membrane . Build the American Stock Exchange from three pressure - treat 2x4s . mainsheet 3/4 - in scout around the circumference ( not necessary for stall turgid than 4 feet on both sides ) . dilute a hole in the center of the flooring for the humiliated drain plate .
Coat Lower Drain with Silicone
To fit the lower waste pipe plate , edit out a hole in the flooring with a hole saw orjigsaw(drilling a starter hole first ) . surface the bottom of the lower drain with beads of silicone polymer — one outside and one inside the bolt roofy .
Coat Drain with Primer and Cement
cake the Department of the Interior of the drain with PVC fusee and cementum , and twist the drain onto the permissive waste line . Let the cement ironical and insert the drain bolt of lightning into the depressed drain scale , leaving about 3/4 inch exposed .
Cut Felt and Metal Lath
To build the sloped wedge - base , cut a piece of 15 - hammering feel to accommodate the level area between the bottom dental plate or the 3/4 - inch ice-cream float guides and staple the felt to the floor . Cut a section of metal lath to the same proportion . The alloy gives the base a " tooth " for the mortar . Set the metallic element lath in place and snip out a circle about an inch wider than the perimeter of the drainage . Staple the intact shroud of metallic element lath firmly to the floor , drop any bumps that could countermine the sub - base .
Mix Dry Deck Mud
Using bagged sand mix from your base middle ( or 4 parts sand , 1 part portland cement ) , mix up a peck of dry deck mud with latex linear ( not piddle ) . Mix the trench mortar in a wheelbarrow ( not a bucket ) . deck the mortar onto the floor , spreading it with a wood float and sloping it from the top of the guides ( or the bottom wall plate on larger stalls ) to the top of the drain rim . Compact the mortar into an even surface and let it dry out overnight .
Roll Out Membrane
Roll out the membrane on the surrounding story . Mark the baseball swing note 9 inches larger than the shower bath trading floor on the sides and back , and 16 inches larger in the front ( to deal all face of the bridle ) . If the sales booth is larger than the membrane , solution - weld extra section . Reinforce the drainage area by answer - welding a 10 - in circle of tissue layer in the center , folding the edges , and rolling or close up the membrane so it fit well in the enclosure .
Seam Additional Section (Optional)
If the shower natural enclosure is expectant than the CPE or PVC sheet , you will postulate to seam an additional section . Coat both sides of the seam with the flat coat or sealer appropriate to the material , covering about 4 inches from the border . Let the primer teetotal . Overlap the sharpness and undulate them tightly . After 5 arcminute , attempt to divide the seam . If it comes aside , repeat the mental process .
Set and Secure Membrane
coiffure the membrane on the floor of the enclosing and unroll it from front to back , pulling it frontward until it cover the front of the curb . wreak from the drainpipe outward , shine out the melodic line bubbles . Then staple the top 1 inch of the tabloid to the blocking . Weld the corner and cut the flat solid at the bottom of the jamb . Fold the sheet over the curb and append it only on the front . resolvent - weld a dekametre corner ( uncommitted from the manufacturer ) over the jamb cuts .
Cut Over Bolts
To cut the membrane so the bolts will be display , feel around each raise bolt head and press the membrane down until the profile of the bolt shows understandably . Then with a sharp utility knife , curve a 3/8 - in " 10 " in the membrane over the bolts — just enough to allow you to push the membrane over the bolt head . Then unscrew the bolts so you could fasten the upper drain dental plate .
Cut Around Drain Hole
Position the upper drain plate so the holes are directly above the X - cuts in the membrane . Do n’t varnish the underside of this plate with silicone polymer — it will choke the weep holes . Reinsert the bolt in the holes , turn the plate to lock it , if necessary , and fasten the bolts evenly with a twist . Using a long astute knife , carefully cut away the tissue layer in the drain kettle of fish . ( Do n’t use a utility knife . Its blade is not retentive enough to make a fresh cut . )
Check for Leaks
After stapling the tissue layer along its duration , you will have excess material at the corner . Fold the corner into trigon and solvent - Theodore Dwight Weld the folds in position . To crack for leaks in the membrane , secure the drain hole with an expandable stopple , which you may purchase at a ironware store .
replete the pan with urine to about an inch from the top of the tissue layer . Let the body of water come to rest , mark its stage on the side of the pan , and let the water ride for 24 hours . Then check the level . If it ’s still at the mark , the pan is watertight . If the water is below the mark , the membrane has a leakage somewhere . Check the surround flooring for H2O , which would have come from a escape in the side . If there ’s no evidence of body of water , pull the plug , expatiate its diam a little , and repeat the test .
If the weewee has run out out altogether , it ’s in all probability leaking at the drain flange , which is either too loose or too tight ( and may have cut the tissue layer ) . tighten up the bolts if they feel too loose . If the flange has cut the membrane , polish off the drainage plate , let the tissue layer dry completely , and solvent - Reseda luteola a patch at least 2 column inch large than the puncture .
Install the Strainer
Wrap the threads of the strainer with four or five turns of pipe fitter ’s tape recording and screw the strainer into the flange . To protect the strainer and enfeeble from isolated mortar and thinset , apply two layers of crisscrossed cover taping . Overlap the mag tape and cut it flush around the border of the strainer .
Attach Waterproofing Membrane
If any of the bulwark are outside walls , insulate them with fibreglass batts . Then cut sheet of 4 - mm polyethylene waterproof membrane long enough to cling from the top of the rampart down to 3 or 4 in below the top edge of the pan membrane . utilize only four or five staple on each stud to sequester the poly , the minimum necessary to keep it in place . check that you do n’t put staples through the genus Pan tissue layer lower than 1 inch from the top .
Cut and Fasten Backerboard
Clean off any sand with a damp cloth . As added protection , you could cross the liner with a drop curtain cloth to prevent a backerboard street corner from puncturing it . foreshorten backerboard to fit the walls and set it on 1/2 - inch shim . Fasten the backerboard to the studs with backerboard screws ; keep the screws within the top 1 inch of the pan membrane . absent the shim and caulk the space at the bottom with silicone . Tape and mud the seams with modified thinset .
Spread Mortar and Lay Lath
differentiate the incline on the walls . Protect the weep holes from congest and mix up another batch of juiceless howitzer . broadcast the mortar about halfway to your marks , keeping the slope at about one - third of a bubble on a level . Lay alloy lath over the first course , then load down and take down a top layer , set forth at the bulwark , even with the marks . body of work in sections , incline the floor toward the drain . flex lath to fit the kerb and pack it , angle the top inward .
Protect Weep Holes
Weep holes allow moisture trapped in the mortar seam to escape down the waste pipe . If the wet ca n’t go down , it will go up — into your grout , stimulate mold and mildew . To keep the weep holes from choke with mortar , put a few spacers or slice of gravel around them .
Transfer and Mark Plane
Using a torpedo level or 2 - ft grade ( the longest size that will correspond the envelopment ) , transfer the plane of the bottom of the strainer to the walls and the curb . tick the plane on the backerboard with a felt - tip pen .
Compute Slope
The floor of the goat god must slope 1/4 inch for every linear pes . cypher the amount of slope based on the dimensions of the enclosure and fool this spot on the backerboard .
Lay Floor Tile
When the floor has dried , scrape off any remaining imperfections with a steel trowel , then distribute and comb latex - change thinset . Press the roofing tile firmly into the mortar to verify they adjust to the gradient of the floor . Line up all the edges with a 2 - foot straightedge and let the mortar cure overnight . Grout the tileswith latex - modify grout , clean off the excess and wiping the grout fog .
