How to Make a Wet Bed Shower Floor

Measure the section of the bathroom floor where you want to install a shower. Include a floor drain inside the measured area in either the center or toward the back of the shower. Use masking tape to mark the perimeter of the shower floor.

Cut into a floor to a depth of 3 inches at the inside edge of the masking tape with a circular saw to make a wet bed on a wood floor. Remove the floorboards by taking out the nails with hammers, and then cut away the top section of the joists to the 3-inch depth.

Measure the height of the joists that you cut down inside the removed flooring section. Trim wood boards down to this same height. Measure the distance from one joist to another and cut several trimmed boards down to this size.

Install the boards that you cut every 6 inches between the joists inside the section of flooring that you trimmed down. Screw the boards to the joists in the floor. Cover the joist and board structure with a piece of ¾-inch plywood, securing the plywood to the joists and boards with 1 ½-inch wood screws.

Mix one part Portland cement with approximately three parts sand in a bucket with a drill mixer. Add enough water to hold the mixture together and use the mixer to thoroughly combine the mix.

Spread the cement mixture on top of the cut wood floor, or directly on top of a concrete or cement floor, with a trowel. Make the depth of the cement mix approximately 1 inch deep around the drain and slope it upward to approximately 2 inches at the perimeter. Build a wall approximately 1 inch high and 3 to 4 inches thick around the perimeter.