I am finshing my basement and installing a bathroom with a stand up shower. I purchased a 3 piece Lasco shower, from Home Depot. When I was at the store the "resident" plumber said I didn't need to Sheetrock the walls and the unit can be installed directly onto studs. My question is how would you sheetrock around this? Does the sheetrock overlap the nailing flange and you tile & cork? Also do you have to build up underneath the bottom with sand or cement?

Hi Tommy:

Lasco makes a nice shower, for sure!

Install the shower base in a bed of mortar or structolite... level from front to back and from side to side. Do not step in the shower until the substrate dries completely.

Lasco showers attach directly to the stud wall. You can fir out the wall around the nailing flange using some firring strips or you can rip a bunch of studs down to 3/8" and tack those up around the nailing flange so that the drywall will come down straight over the flange. Do not let the drywall actually drop down or touch the shower unit directly...leave a 1/4" gap and fill it with plaster or joint compound.

I attached an image of how it works on a concrete wall (ignore that part)...you would just be going against the stud and then shimming flush to the flange as drawn.

Hope that helped...

MARK

I usually caulk at the joint where the sheetrock comes close to the shower, so you could go a little less then a qaurter, but Mark as a perfect pic above. You still have to use sheetrock compound, so I get a "rip strip" for the end of the sheetrock - then mud to that. It is a plastic white strip that you staple to the sheetrock at the edge of that side. REally easy to finish the edge that way. Then, when the mud is dry - you gently "rip" off the plastic edge.
You find this piece at the sheetrock section, along with corner pieces , etc. Slick.

I always use shims too. Without them, the installation wouldn't look neat. Continuous shimming material like he states works perfect.