I am installing a custom shower pan on concrete, do I need to install a membrane. I normally install over plywood, but I am in Florida, and I am making a custom shower over concrete.

I found an article that pertains to your issue and if you are installing ceramic tile in your custom shower you will need the shower pan membrane. I have attached a link to this article. Click on the link below to get you answer.

Installing a Shower Pan Membrane Liner for a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-20-2006-91505.asp)


Good Luck,

Van

I am installing a custom shower pan on concrete, do I need to install a membrane. I normally install over plywood, but I am in Florida, and I am making a custom shower over concrete.
And I'm a Florida plumber so we out of get along just fine, but this thread should have be een moved to the plumbing page where we have plumbing experts. On new construction we rough for a shower and the cement men leave us a shower dap-out in the slab. If you have a dap-out you won't need a shower pan and a regular shower drain will work just fine. However, since you're installing the shower over a poured slab you wiill need a flange type shower drain,(see image) and either a manufactured shower base or a custom shower pan made of Blue Compaseal. If you're planning on forming your own pan do you need instructions on how to fold the pan for a seamless fit? Regards, Tom

Here is my favorite due to the great pic. How to Build a Shower Pan (http://hoagy.org/house/HowToBuildShowerPan.html) I must be getting lazy in old age and do many fiberglass pans that run around $300. Mustee, Swanstone, Laso and many others make good pans and can be installed in a few hours on nearly every sub floor.

If you need a 4"square drain cover, I'll send you one... see the link

Eau tendance: La beauté d'un Drain Carré (http://www.eautendance.com/la-beaut-dun-drain-carr.html)

To form a cement shower pan with a 1/4" per ft. slope and the drain is not in the center of the pan how do you mark the out side perimiter height?

Set you drain 1/4" below desired height (to allow for thickness of tile).
Use level to furtherest corner to find height. Mark level line around wall.
Using fairly firm thinset build a 2 or 3" wide ledge around wall up to line.
Use a straight edge on top of ledge and drain to strike off thinset.

Set you drain 1/4" below desired height (to allow for thickness of tile).
Use level to furtherest corner to find height. Mark level line around wall.
Using fairly firm thinset build a 2 or 3" wide ledge around wall up to line.
Use a straight edge on top of ledge and drain to strike off thinset.
If I do that the slope will be apox. 1/2"/ft.on one side of the pan. Will that be too much?

If your drain is not in the middle of your pan, the only thing that will happen, is your slope will be slightly steapper on one side then the other... thats not a problem. To make your base, you can also use premix bags of cement-sand mix which has the correct ratio of sand to portland cement, you add water until it is just humid anough to be able to make a ball with it. Then you fill in your perimeter which has been mark with a level on your the walls and curb then what I do is put some around my drain. Don't forget to put a rag in your drain or put some masking tape on top of your drain grate. Then you fill in the rest and compact it with a wooden trowel. Once your slopes are all done and your base is compacted, you can use a metal trowel to smooth your surface. At this point, I prefer a trowel with rounded corners, it does a better job. If your cement base is really dry when you try to smooth it out, you can sprinkle some water just to activate the top which should give you a nice creamy surface to smooth out.

If you have any other questions don't hesitate


Brian

Ok, go with a 1/8 slope on the far side. It sounds like that would give you about 1/4 on the near side. You just want a positive drain everywhere. And pay attention to Brian, sounds like he has more experience

Premixed bag of sand and portland cement for shower base. The only thing I can find is premixed mortar but it has lime in it .Is this OK to use?

Are you using a rubber membrane, copper pan underneath your cement or blue skin membrane on top of your cement

are you using a rubber membrane, copper pan underneath your cement or blue skin membrane on top of your cement
I am using the mapelastic hpg blue paint on membrane over cement

That is a great product, and there is no problem using premixed mortar and in addition, you won't have the problem of overlapping thicknesses in the corners and other double-up areas as you would with other vinyl or rubber membranes. You can also use a standard abs/pvc drain assembly just as long as it's well secured in your cement base. What I usually do is unscrew the top part of the drain so that you have about 1" of cement between the upper and lower part of your drain therefore, it will be jammed in your cement. Then, you can install a square drain cover on top of your standard drain assembly and you will have a great looking custom made shower base.