Step-by-Step Walk-In Tile Shower

Measure the width that you want to make the walk-in shower floor in both directions across an area of the floor that has a drain. Locate the drain at the back edge of the walk-in shower or in the center of the shower space. Mark the measurements with masking tape.

Cut out any flooring in the area inside the masking tape. Cut vinyl or linoleum flooring with a utility knife, peel it up and sand any adhesive from the floor’s surface. Use a screwdriver and hammer to chisel up grout between the tiles in a tile floor, use a tile saw to cut into full tiles in the floor and remove adhesive through sanding.

Cut into the floor boards of the subfloor just inside the masking tape using a circular saw with the blade set at the same depth as the width of the floorboards. Use a hammer to pry up the floorboards from the walk-in shower area.

Trim the joists down in the area of the subfloor where you removed the floorboards. Slice into the ends of the section of each joist that appears in the opening of the floor with a circular saw set to a 3-inch depth, and then cut down the length with the saw to remove the 3 inches of wood between the initial cuts.

Take a measurement from one joist to the next to determine the distance between them. Take another measurement along the joist from one side of the opening to the other to determine the distance. Cut enough pieces of wood from a wood board that is exactly ¾-inch shorter than the height of the joists that remain in the floor to place a board every 6 inches between the joists.

Nail the boards that you placed between the joists to the joists. Cut a piece of plywood to fit in the space between the wood joists. Hold the piece of plywood next to the wood pieces you placed between the joists, mark the edges of the plywood where the boards touch and then nail the pieces into the plywood in the location directly across from the marks you made to secure them to the boards.

Put down a vinyl shower liner, find the drain beneath the liner and cut a hole for the drain with a utility knife. Attach the liner to the plywood surface with waterproof adhesive.

Mix mortar according to the directions on the packaging, and spread the mortar into the opening that you created with a flat trowel. While spreading, slope the mortar so that it measures roughly 1-inch in height by the drain and sits at the edge of the floor on the outside edges, minus the height of the tiles, such as ½-inch. Let the mortar dry for 48 hours.

Spread thinset mortar over the walk-in shower base, and place tiles with tile spacers between them over the floor’s surface. Let the tiles dry and apply grout between the tiles and grout around the tile edges. Once the grout and mortar dry, go over the grout and caulked areas of the tiles with waterproof sealant.