How to Build Up the Shower Floor

Preparation

• 1

  Use your measuring tape and record the shower floor’s dimensions.

• 2

  Cut three 2-by-4-inch wood boards with the necessary length covering the shower’s front.

• 3

  Stack these boards on top of one another across the shower’s front forming the shower’s curb.

• 4

  Affix the shower curb to the frame of your shower with a nail gun and nails, or drill and screws.

• 5

  Place mortar mix in your bucket. Add water as instructed by the packaging and mix it with a wooden mixer.

The Prepan

• 6

  Cut tarpaper with scissors to the shower base’s dimensions.

• 7

  Lay tarpaper across the bathroom floor where the shower floor will be built up.

• 8

  Staple the tarpaper to the wooden bathroom’s subfloor using a staple gun. If you build a shower base on cement or any other nonwood material, use an appropriate adhesive binding the tarpaper to the subfloor.

• 9

  Use your scissors or snips and cut a hole in the tarpaper where it covers the drain hole.

• 10

  Insert the bottom section of a three-part drain into the drain hole, threading it through the hole in the tarpaper.

• 11

  Using your snips, cut the metal lath to the dimensions of your shower floor. Lay the lath atop the tarpaper. Staple the lath down the bathroom subfloor.

• 12

  Pour some mortar mix on top of the metal lath. Using a trowel, smooth the mortar into a flat, even layer, working around the drain.

• 13

  Add more mortar as needed until the entire shower floor is covered. Let the mortar dry overnight.

The Pan

• 14

  Using scissors, cut the chlorinated polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride plastic sheet to the shower floor’s dimensions. Include enough material to cover the shower curb and all shower walls up to the same height as the curb.

• 15

  Apply shower pan adhesive, usually a laminating adhesive, to the mortar in your prepan.

• 16

  Place the shower pan on the adhesive material, leaving extra material on all sides covering the walls and curb. Place the pan down slowly, moving from the back of the shower to the front to ensure a smooth pan surface.

• 17

  Apply solvent glue to the shower walls up to the curb’s height. Press shower pan material against this solvent. Reinforce the bond with a staple gun. Drape remaining material over the curb.

• 18

  Cut a hole in your shower pan with a box cutter where it covers the drain. Only make this hole large enough to fit the second piece of your three-piece drain. Install the second piece of the drain, using solvent glue binding the drain to the shower pan.

• 19

  Apply a layer of mortar on top of your shower pan.

• 20

  Apply lath and mortar to the mortar atop your shower pan.

The Shower Floor

• 21

  Place shower floor material on top of the mortar. If you’re using tiles, lay the tiles onto the mortar one by one until they cover the shower floor’s entire surface.

• 22

  Cover the shower curb with tiles. Apply them one-by-one until they cover the entire surface.

• 23

  Install the final piece of your shower drain.