First Post – Need some advice. Are copper shower pans a bad idea?
jowwel
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Hi All,
I read on another post that copper shower pans are a bad idea and not up to code. Can someone tell me if that’s true and why that is?
I was hoping to get a piece of annealed copper sheeting and hammer and/or bend that sucker into place for my diy shower project. Should I not do that and go a different direction?
Thanks for the help in advance!
Replies
Copper used to be as good as you could get for a shower pan but technology marches on. You can get flexible shower pan material at any home center for not much money. They're easy and inexpensive to put in and will last at least as long if not longer than copper.
substitutes?
florida wrote:
Copper used to be as good as you could get for a shower pan but technology marches on. You can get flexible shower pan material at any home center for not much money. They're easy and inexpensive to put in and will last at least as long if not longer than copper.
That's interesting. I would expect copper to last a long time. Have you seen these old copper shower pans wearing thin over time? I wouldn't expect it to crack from stress or anything. Thoughts?
Also, any recommendations for a copper like material substitute?
Thanks
Yes, all the old copper pans I see are leaking! Of course that's why I see them but they all have corroded through either where they were soldered or in the corners. I think the alkali in the mud probably does it.
I composed something longer but the spam filter refuses to allow it. So let me just say "Boooooogus!"
Yeah, it's not that copper is no good, but there are better/cheaper/simpler options now.
Bad idea if you live in an area with thunderstorms and ever take a shower when there is lightning, might be the death of you.
Mental note made.
junkhound wrote:
Bad idea if you live in an area with thunderstorms and ever take a shower when there is lightning, might be the death of you.
Haha. Mental note. No showers during thunderstorms. I actually did think about that. Seems like something my parents taught us as kids, out of the shower in a Thunderstorm!
Is there a possibility for an interaction between the copper and the cement based mortor bed above it? To the detriment of the copper. I don't know the answer to this, but it seems like a possibility since copper water lines must be isolated from any surrounding concrete slabs/walls.
Maybe I used the wrong terminology...
I'm not actually looking to make a shower pan out of copper, but rather the actual shower floor. The idea is to do something like this: http://www.rachiele.com/images/copper-shower-pan.jpg
So, unless I am really uniformed about the procedure, I don't think I'll be putting material on top of the copper. But I did not know about the copper and concrete thing, so that's a good fact to know anyway!