I am doing an addition to my own home and will be adding a new master bathroom. I have done a fair amount of floor tile work, but have never built a shower unit. I am concerned about the correct way to ensure a waterproof floor. Are there any good resource/books out their to get me started?
Thanks
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Replies
yes there is. try the taunton book. I think " setting tile" by Byrne. At your good box stores near you.
All you need to know can be found at the Schluter website. Go to http://www.schluter.com, and follow the links to get to the Kerdi shower system.
Schluter sells preformed pans, the drain, the membrane, all kinds of edging and finishing parts, and they have all the installation videos right there at the website.
It is likely because we are so close to Schluter's stateside distrubution center, but every single tile pro I know here has switched to Schluter's products for all tub surrounds and shower installations.
The Michael Byrne tile book is good. There is also a good tile web site: johnbridge.com.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Seconding Gene Davis, I'll say go with the Schluter system. The membrane is an awful lot easier to install than a lead pan (do they even sell them anymore??), and the pre-formed pan itself will save you the trouble floating a mud bed with the proper slope and all.
Schluter has a free DVD available which shows the entire process. Your tile supplier ought to have them if he distributes their products.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
don't get a copper shower pan as it is hard to get it to sit flat on the sub floor without it buckling. Get the kerdi at home depot and be done with it.
One more vote from me for the Schluter Shower kit. A breeze to install. I took a course from the Schluter fellows and we lined a cardboard box with Kerdi (as you would with a shower stall) and proceeded to fill it with water. No leaks, no seepage. The pre-formed pan and drain is really sweet too. Good luck.
As a complete novice a couple years ago, I followed Tom Meehan's step-by-step from Fine Homebuilding issue #141 (and reprinted in the Taunton book "Renovating a Bathroom.")
It seemed really quite simple, and allowed for a completely custom installation, in terms of size and shape. The only specialty product I had to buy was the vinyl membrane and adhesive, both available locally at a tile shop.
Allen
I strongly recommend the Schluter system as others have done. I built two showers in the past year without any previous experience, using a mortar base and the Schluter membrane system. I recommend the Byrne book as well as the John Bridge website. John Bridge has two good books available. One is "Tile Your World" and the other is an e-book available as a download from his website titled "The Kerdi Shower Book". With those resources you should be well equipped to take on the job.