Dry packing shower pan

Advice and installation help at the John Bridge Tile Forums. I have therefore taken a few pictures of the mud I make, and I will explain the process once again. Maybe these pictures will be a little clearer than those previously published, dry packing shower pan. Deck mud is made with clean sand, portland cement and water.

The shower pan is the all-important foundation of a stand-up shower. Water is a merciless foe, so cutting corners here can lead to rapid and expensive failure of the entire shower. In this project guide, get the key practices for building a mortar shower pan after the framework of the shower is in place. Project Tip: Use the Sakrete App to quickly measure, estimate and buy straight from your phone. The first layer of the shower pan is underneath the waterproofing membrane.

Dry packing shower pan

Read This]. View First Unread. I am remodeling a bathroom and building a new 4'x8' shower. Existing floor is concrete slab. I followed all the instructions on this website to make dry pack mortar and installed the pre slope yesterday. I mixed 60 lb bags of Sand Topping Mix and added 25 lbs of play sand to get a sand to cement mixture of close to I dry mixed this thoroughly, then added water slowly to get the consistency described in the dry pack article. I added 6 cups of water, and I got the mixture to pack and hold its shape perfectly, just like the pictures on this web site. My hand was clean, and the mixture crumbled easily, again just like the pictures. I dry missed the mixture, and mixed it with water, in a large flat-bottom wooden trough, using a mortar hoe, so I know I got it thoroughly mixed. I used the pre-pitch sticks to get the slope of the floor correct. With the dry pack mixture, I was able to fill in the sections of the floor between the plastic sloped sticks and screed it cleanly to the top of the sticks. I packed it down with a trowel and a 2x4 end, and I added mix, packed, and screeded until everything was packed and flush with the top of the sticks.

The deck mud depicted above is ready to place and form.

Building your own shower floor from scratch requires shower deck mud, also referred to as dry pack mortar. Deck mud is made from portland cement, sand, and water. The mixture should be approximately 1 part cement to 5 parts sand but anywhere for 4 to 6 parts sand to 1 part cement is acceptable. Be very careful with how much water you add to the deck mud as you mix it up. It's referred to as dry-pack mortar for a reason. Do not add water like you are mixing concrete.

Your bathroom floor has a shower pan that is waterproof and collects water then directs it to the drain. The shower pan needs to be installed correctly to support the weight of the users and keep the underlying layers from damage by the water. The right mortar mix for the shower pan determines how good the pan will be. If you make a mistake with this one, you risk destroying the whole shower floor. The best mortar for shower pans is a mixture of sand and Portland cement, creating a water-resistant barrier that can support the weight of the shower unit and its users. You can create your own with Portland cement and fine sand and 4 quarts water for 80 lb. Mortar is preferred for shower pans over other options such as concrete and cement given that it bonds better to other surfaces and is more moldable. The best mortar mix for shower pans contains sand and Portland cement. This will create a water-resistant barrier that will support the weight of the shower floor and its users.

Dry packing shower pan

Update: Several readers have noted that the membrane installation method described in this article which is a flat membrane installation is no longer recommended as an optimal installation method because water that penetrates through the top layer of tile or grout may rest on the membrane. A pre-slope fill mortar bed installed under the membrane, coupled with the proper method for ensuring the mortar does not block off weep holes to the drain, can better protect the installation from standing water than may not evaporate back through the surface tile and grout. This updated method can be seen in this article at The Family Handyman.

Pyroptosis

This allows tiles to be set directly on the mortar bed instead of requiring additional thin-set mortar. Add more material where necessary and continue packing down. Allow pre-slope bed to cure for 24 hours before moving to next phase. For the final mud deck I will be adding sand to the mix and using less water. Should be the opposite. This can take several days depending on the thickness of your deck mud. Why pay when I can do it myself? Sand Topping Mix. How to Make Shower Deck Mud Building your own shower floor from scratch requires shower deck mud, also referred to as dry pack mortar. The mixture should be approximately 1 part cement to 5 parts sand but anywhere for 4 to 6 parts sand to 1 part cement is acceptable. There's often a little sand left on top when you're done. With the dry pack mixture, I was able to fill in the sections of the floor between the plastic sloped sticks and screed it cleanly to the top of the sticks. Sharp sand or masonry sand, on the other hand, is stored outdoors, and its water content varies with the weather. I agree, if there's any movement and cracking, it will be along those sticks.

It also explains how to properly install a traditional shower floor base. Read on for info about how to properly slope a shower floor pan.

It might also be called concrete sand or torpedo sand. Project Tip: Why pre-slope? Deck mud is made from portland cement, sand, and water. Advice and installation help at the John Bridge Tile Forums. With the dry pack mixture, I was able to fill in the sections of the floor between the plastic sloped sticks and screed it cleanly to the top of the sticks. Similar Threads. I did mine in two batches. Fold cut edges into drain base and install clamping ring and collar bolts. Build Pre-Slope Mortar Bed Dump enough dry pack Sand Mix into the shower base to form a level perimeter around the entire shower pan at your high point mark. Prep for Pre-Slope The first layer of the shower pan is underneath the waterproofing membrane. In making deck mud you want to use only enough water to cause the cement coated sand particles to cling together when compressed in your hand. I deviated from the instructions on this site and followed the instructions in videos for the pre-pitch and quick-pitch tools. No big deal there, sand and cement are cheap. That circle groove should be free of sand and cement. It is also much easier to work than mortars which contain more water, such as brick mortar, for example.