Is a Wood Floor Safe Under a Shower Stall?

Homemade Shower Stalls

• A homemade shower stall constitutes any shower stall built from the ground up. You can build your own homemade shower stall or hire a contractor to complete the job for you. A solid wood floor provides the ideal material on which to build a homemade shower stall, though only if you build the stall correctly. Skipping installation procedures or improperly building the base can cause water to leak through the floor of a shower stall and severely damage a wooden floor.

Building Up the Base

• The base of a shower stall constitutes the layers that comprise the bottom of the shower, including the shower floor, shower pan, pre-pan and the floor of the bathroom. The pre-pan, which usually contains materials such as metal lath or mortar, provides a barrier between the shower pan and your bathroom floor. The pan consists of a waterproof layer made from a liquid membrane or plastic sheeting such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or chlorinated polyethylene (CPE). This layer prevents any water leaking through the shower floor from reaching your bathroom floor. The shower floor, built from materials such as tiles or molded plastic, covers all of these layers.

Prefabricated Shower Stalls

• Numerous companies manufacture prefabricated shower stalls. You purchase these stalls fully formed and install them in your bathroom by simply lining up the floor drain and faucet and knob apertures with your drain, faucet and knobs. These stalls contain their own shower bases designed to prevent water from leaking from the unit. When purchasing a prefabricated shower stall, always ensure that the unit requires no additional parts, such as a waterproof pan or pre-pan.

The Wrong Way to Do It

• Several companies sell pre-molded plastic shower stall floors made from materials such as acrylic. Oftentimes, these pieces go by the name “shower pan.” However, these pieces are actually only shower floors, not pans or bases. You cannot simply purchase a pre-molded base, place it on the floor and line it up with a drain unless the manufacturer or an expert such as a contractor ensures that the unit resists leaking and needs no further protection. Never install a shower stall in a wood-floored room unless you know no risk of leaking exists. If unsure, contact a contractor. Be wary of installing a curbless shower on a wood floor, since water can easily escape these units and end up all over the bathroom floor.