Iam converting from a tub to a shower fixture. Iam converting to a plastic shower drain and will make a cement flooring with a ceramic tile finish. What are important points for converting to a plastic shower drain and leakproofing the cement flooring?
2007-01-19 10:54:08 · 5 answers · asked by berni 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Coat the new shower pan will "dry-lock", available at most paint stores or places like Home Depot or Lowes. Then go ahead and run your tile. Make sure that you use a silicone caulking under your new drain when you install it.
2007-01-19 11:02:52 · answer #1 · answered by puzzledinphx. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would strongly suggest that you get the Tile Council of America guide to building a shower pan. Its not as simple as it seems.You need to slope the pan to the drain at the right pitch and use a product such as Pasco liner or Nobleseal under the cement bed ( I would recommend Custom float for the bed) to waterproof the pan. There are several brands of drains. You should go to a good tile store or better yet a tile distributor to get the right products and the product knowledge for this project. A do it your selfer can do this but it is critical to get it right. Any water leakage at the drain or where the floor and walls meet will quickly ruin your new shower and possibly other parts of your home. Do not use plumbers putty in the drain. The correct drain for your application will have weep holes to take care of properly handling the water. The Tile Council of America can be found on line. Feel free to contact me if I can help with information.
2007-01-19 19:29:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To create a water proof shower base you should install a shower pan. This is a better solution than materials such as dry- lock because this will move as the house shifts and settles instead of breaking a seal if a new crack manifests in the floor! After you remove your tub. Move the drain to its new location. Usually this requires up- sizing your riser out of the p-trap in the floor to 2" pipe. Use a shower flange we call a "two story" it has three pieces. 1. the screw in piece with the grid you usually see on your shower floor. 2. A ring with slots that attaches to the base of the flange.and 3. the base of the flange. You want the highest edge of the flange base flush or just a hair below the concrete of your sub floor. Next use a piece of shower pan material,available at home depot, plumbing supply store, etc..., Get a larger piece than your desired shower by a foot in each direction.length and width. Remove the top two pieces of the shower flange and leave the bolts in the flange but raised. Next lay your shower pan material across the new shower area. Try to center it on the flange so you have excess material to fold up the walls and the curb in all directions. At the flange cut very small slits on the top of each bolt and squeeze them through. Then cut out a circle around the flange hole where the water will drain as even with the circle as possible. Then use a pipe dope such as "great white" between the flange and the pan material. this is what creates the water tight seal. next put the slotted ring (second part of the flange) over the bolts and turn it into position so the bolts will pull it tight to the flange. Tighten the bolts down till they are good and snug. Some of the pipe dope may squeeze out in the process, this is ok. Then start on the longest straight run of the wall and fold the material up the wall into the crease at the wall nailing it into a furring strip or stud at the top of the material. work your way tword the corners. At the corners you will fold the pan into the corner like a hospital corner on a bed. It will help if you have the perpendicular walls straight run nailed up, if even tacked up temporarily, to hold it as you fold the corner. Repeat for all corners folding the corners next to the curb in away from the curb. you should end up with a open top box at this point. Origami with shower pan material is fun huh?! then cut the material at the end of the curb down to the top of the curb and let the piece fold over the curb. Nail it to the front of the curb boards and cut off the excess. Then the "grid" piece of the flange can be screwed in and adjusted according to how high you want to float your shower floor slope.Good luck!!!
2007-01-19 19:56:23 · answer #3 · answered by ender3113 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When installing the drain in the tub make sure you use "Plumbers Putty" between the two pieces of the drain pipe, this will make a water tight seal
2007-01-19 19:03:17 · answer #4 · answered by snowman_80 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try some water-proof caulking
2007-01-19 19:04:09 · answer #5 · answered by ryanp 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋