Were Do I Buy A Shower Pan?
I have found that Lowe's Department stores have the shower pan you will need,
They also have the glue and the three piece drain.
How Much Will The Shower Pan Cost?
It depends on the size shower you are building.
The most command size is a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 foot shower pan.
It should cost about $40.00
A Copper Pan could cost over $200.00 easy.
What Sizes Do The Shower Pans Come In?
The most Command size shower pan is 4x5, this should be big enough
for a 3x4 shower stall.
What Is The Best Shower Pan Material?
In The 60s and 70s the best shower pan was a copper pan, but as time went we
have removed lots of these pans.
They seem to decay with time.
The best shower pan I have found is the rubber pan.
What Are Custom Shower Pans.
Custom pans are when you have to glue two pans together to make a pan large enough
for you shower,
Some people build showers as large as 8x8 with shower heads in each end,
this calls for a custom shower pan.
Lowe's also has the glue for making these custom pans.
"Be sure to test the pan after gluing it."
Shower Floors That Are Raised And Shower Pans.
When building a shower stall on a Raised Foundation you will need to build the shower pan
after you install hardy backer board on the shower floor.
Try to use just one piece of backerboard, if it takes two then be sure to tape the joints and use the screws for the job
How To Remove Ceramic Tile.
Removing ceramic tile can be a massive job.
To remove the tile on a shower floor you will need a small jack-hammer.
Try to save the wall tile if you are not wishing to replace it.
To do this you should remove the grout first and then remove remove any wall tiles with a small chisel.
Laying Out A Floor.
Laying out a large floor is the same as a small one.
You should take a little care in laying it out because in
larger areas you will have more cuts to consider.
One way is to start in the middle of the room, this would
insure that the cuts are all the same but at the
same time you will be having a lot more cuts if the rooms
it is easy when you understand that you can lay it out just to meet your needs,
such as looking at the room as your quest would and looking at the entry that
would be used the most, this is called quest view.
So starting on the longest straightest wall and then
centering the quest view may be ideal if you are trying
to avoid a lot of cuts and wasted tile.
Can I use ready-mix for the shower floor mud?
The problem with using pre-mixed concrete is it has small rocks in it.
These rocks will cause a lot of trouble, there is no way to get the surface smooth with the pre-mixed concrete.
Be careful with these shortcuts they can cost you more in the long run.
Install tile around your fireplace.
One way to install your tile around your fireplace, would be to first cut the sheetrock
from the wall were you intend to install it and replace it with the hardy backerboard.
Using a level to make a plumb line, this way you can be sure not to cut into the sheetrock
were the tile will not be installed.
The hardy backerboard will come in 1/2 inch and that should flush up to the sheetrock.
The other would be to install the tile onto the sheetrock, this is done most often and it
also works well, just be sure to use the ceramic tile Glue and not the thinset.
Do I use grey or white thinset?
Both thinsets will do the job equably.
If you are planing to grout your ceramic tile with white grout then I would use the white thinset, this way if any of the thinset bleeds though while you are installing the ceramic tile it will not show as much.
However the white thinset does dry just a little slower than the gray, giving you a little more time to work with it.
What Type Drain Will I Need?
You will need a 3 piece drain, these shower pan drains come in PVC and in cast iron.
Try to use the PVC when you can this way you will need to hire a plumber.