Tile shower pans built the traditional way with mortar work well and will for years. The key to a waterproof shower is getting the waterproof membrane installed properly. For a problem free shower, the liner membrane must be right. One key to the membrane working is the first mortar layer.
Some installers only use one layer of mortar when building showers. The best way though is to use two layers of mortar. Here's why.
MEMBRANE
The real trick to a tile shower is the waterproof liner membrane that's installed in the mortar shower base. Now you can put down the membrane on the subfloor, attach it to the drain and then lay on the mortar base for the tile. Here's the problem...
If the liner membrane is flat or even worse, if it has some sag to it, that's a pool in the making. It's a pool within the shower floor. See, shower floors are not waterproof. Especially the grout in the floor will let water through. That water seeps into the mortar base all the way down to the waterproof membrane. The membrane than routes the water to the special drain.
If the liner forms a pool that's the perfect place for mold to start. Mold can grow and actually fill the whole shower base. Plus, a constantly wet shower base is subject to slowly coming apart. This is a double bad situation.
To avoid water build-up within the shower base, the liner membrane must be sloped to the drain. That way all the water that makes it to the membrane just flows down to the drain and away from the shower.
That's where the two layers of mortar are important.
The first layer of mortar is put down right over the subfloor and is sloped at 1/4 inch per foot right to the lower drain holes on the shower drain. The liner is than sealed to the drain base and you're set. The liner then is at the proper slope and sealed to catch all the water that makes it into the shower base.
The pre-slope masonry layer is critical for tile shower pans that are built to last. It's a simple step and should be part of a shower pan that's properly constructed. Shower floors just naturally allow some water through the floor. The liner membrane is the trick to getting rid of that water. Take the time to get the liner in the right way.
Tile Shower Pans - Pre-Slope Or Else MEMBRANE
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