Shower Stall Shower Pans.
Shower Pans For Shower Stalls
And The Materials and Information
To Install Them.
Author: Ed Del Grande, DIY Network
Article Text:
Q: Ed, I am building a tile shower stall from scratch and I have the tile all picked out. Behind the walls I'm going to install the cement board for waterproofing. But what about the floor? I know a water containment set up must be built for the shower floor when installing a tile shower and I'm a little unclear about the best method. Can you give me some information so I can finish my shower plans? - Preston, Atlantic City, N.J.
A: OK, start taking notes. Here are the basics for tile shower stalls:
Yes, you do need a water containment system on the floor for a tile shower stall installation, and here are the three most popular choices:
lAn old favorite of many contractors is a copper shower pan with a soldered-in brass floor drain that connects to the plumbing system. The copper pan is custom-made by a metal worker to fit your shower bottom, usually the pan is about four to six inches deep. Once the pan is in place against the rough studs, the shower walls are installed so that they overlap into the pan. The shower drain is then hooked up to your plumbing system and the pan is water tested for any leaks. Now the tile man comes in to fill the pan with a few inches of mortar, sloping toward the floor drain, and the tile is then installed on the walls and the mortar base. If all goes well, you'll end up with a waterproof shower stall because even if water leaks through the floor tiles it's contained by the copper shower pan and will eventually find it's way down the drain.
lYour second choice is a rubber membrane pan. It's just about the same setup as the copper pan except you'll use a rubber membrane sheet laid over short plywood support walls for a base, and the drain is a special PVC compression flange installed over the membrane drain cut out hole. This is a less costly way of creating a shower pan because a custom copper pan can be expensive.
lFinally, you have a third option, and it's one I really like: a fiberglass shower base receptor. They come in many shapes, colors and sizes and it's basically just a bottom of a fiberglass shower stall that will fit against tile walls. They are much easier to install than a copper or rubber pan and the drain hooks up with a standard fitting. No shower pan is needed since the base itself will contain the water. I recommend buying the fiberglass base first, then roughing in your shower walls around it. One drawback to this system is that the floor will not be tiled, but if you don't mind a standard shower floor you'll really clean up on labor savings!
Q: My grandparents live on top of a hill and the water pressure is low. I have heard of special pressure pumps that can be installed to raise the water pressure and want to explain it to my grandparents, but I'm not quite sure how they work. Can you tell me in simple language how it works? This way I can explain it to them and, hopefully, help them out. Thanks Ed! - Anna, Texas.
A: The system you are describing is a pressure booster pump and tank. And it works much like a well pump and tank except it uses your city water coming in from the street as a water source instead of a well. Remember, well water systems have a pressure switch built into the pump and usually the water pressure on a well is pretty good because you set it to the pressure you want. On city water you have to take what they give you and that can be very frustrating.
With a pressure booster system a pump takes the city water coming into your home and pushes it into a pressurized storage tank until it reaches the set pressure on the switch. (Usually between 50 and 70 psi.) A backflow valve prevents water from going back into the street and, once you have a tank full of pressurized water to draw from, the house water pressure will increase to a comfortable setting. One note of caution is that most governmental codes require house water pressure not exceed 80 psi. Also, a permit is required for this job.
ED DEL GRANDE, A CERTIFIED MASTER PLUMBER, IS THE HOST OF ED THE PLUMBER ON THE DO IT YOURSELF NETWORK. SEND PLUMBING QUESTIONS TO HIM AT EDTHEPLUMBER@DIYNETWORK.COM OR VISIT DIYNETWORK.COM. FOR BUILDING CODE CONCERNS ALWAYS CONTACT YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE OR A LICENSED PLUMBER.
Copyright (c) 2005 The Augusta Chronicle
Record Number: 0511060204
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