How to Build a Shower Base - 5 Tips

Learn how to build a shower base and the rest issee from the shower floor. The other is buried down
easy. Traditional masonry construction still beats morein the mortar of the floor. That's the one that
modern shower construction methods ii several ways.catches the water that makes it to the membrane. It
Get it right though or you have a terrible expensiveis a two layer drain and that's key to a waterproof
mess. Here are 5 tips for understanding the basics.floor.
1. Shower pan liner membrane.4. Mortar basics.
Shower floors leak because the grout isn'tMost of the floor you make with mud. That is called
waterproof and many tiles aren't either. It is a mustdeck mud as well as several other terms. Make it
to build in a waterproof barrier or you really don'twith just sand, portland cement and water. It just
have a shower pan. The really waterproof part oftakes the right proportions of each. Curb mud is
the floor is one layer built into the masonry. That is adifferent, but all the floor mud is the same.
vinyl sheet and the water stops there.5. Walls too.
2. Slope the base.Since it's wet everywhere, showers need help on
The base means the first masonry layer. One layerwalls too. That's why it's so important to make a
goes down and over that goes the membrane. Overbarrier behind tile walls too. A waterproof liner keeps
the membrane goes the top masonry layer. It is vitalmoisture from moving into the walls. Liner is a must
to slope the base layer to help the liner move theand so is using the right material for backing for the
water toward the drain. Leave the liner flat and youtile.
just created a pool for mold and mildew to grow andLearning how to build a shower base means
fill the shower base with goo.understanding each layer. Each is simple, but layers
3. All drains aren't the same.must be there or leaks are sure to follow.
Tile shower drains work on two layers. One layer you