I'm 27 yrs old and I'm really into home renovations. I have to say most of your videos, You have done each step properly and done it as it was your own. I really do hope to maintain my quality in any work I do. step by step process. the way you've shown in all your videos. good job
That is good to hear, there are too many installers that just wing it and don't follow proper methods and standards. Being young as you are with an attitude like that you are bond to succeed. You should look into the TCNA www.tcnatile.com/products-and-services/publications/218-english-publications/188-handbook/934-2016-tcna-handbook-for-ceramic-glass-and-stone-tile-installation.html and the NTCA tile-assn.site-ym.com/ if you do a Schluter class they will givee you a TCNA handbook free along with a bunch of other stuff and most importantly; knowledge.
Thanks for the help Sal. I just completed my master bath restoration. I stripped everything to the framing and went from there. I ended up with a beautiful 30”x48” walk-in shower and beautiful tile floors. I’ve worked in carpentry for years but never did tile work before. I wish I could share pictures here. Your videos guided me to a beautiful and leak free finished product. Thanks again
That depends on the kind of backer you use, but generally when I install the backer I don't let it sit on the pan at all, The backer should not touch the pan, so there would be no point to caulking it. Also I usually waterproof the mud and lower part of the walls (if I don't waterproof the whole thing) to minimize or eliminate water penetrating into the pan.
This is gold , thanks for posting have done lots of tile but doing my first shower pan for brother in law. You make things clear and very easy to understand. Thanks again
This is a very useful video for me. I'm installing a tiled shower in my house to the west of Boston. The plumbing inspector told me that I had to use a copper pan liner. It took me a long time to figure out how to do this with a pre-slope! I have the cement board inside the liner, just like you, but it's all covered with Red Guard so that the moisture barrier is on the INSIDE, not behind the wall finish. A lot of sources say that the mud base has to be 2 to 3 inches thick, but I have just 1 3/4 inches from the top surface of the liner to the bottom row of wall tiles, so I want it to be much thinner and I'm encouraged to see that you're putting down only a little more than an inch in this shower.
Boston is the last bastion of the copper pan, I am just North of Boston. If copper pans would go away all together it would actually be a good thing. I have had to deal with them for more than 30 years and I only accept them these days when I have no other choice, I would much prefer, and mostly do, sealed showers systems these days.
Thanks for your videos Sal. My first time doing a pre-slope and mortar bed. Your method worked great for me, but I have to say, you make it look pretty easy. That was work! Thanks again.
Thanks greatly for your advise. Concrete and I have never been friends, but using your technique of the level towers and "just damp" mud, I did my 5.5X5.5 shower base successfully. My drain was in one corner so I had two level walls and two that angled down, but following your guidance worked beautifully.
Thanks Sal.. I'm attempting a new shower pan and just wanted to be clear on the proper procedure. I appreciate your time in answering my questions... Love your channel!
Great video, Sal. I'm about to do my first mud pan and this is exactly the level of detail I needed. You gave a lot of really good tips that I will certainly take advantage of. Thanks!
Interesting to see someone else's way of installing a mud pan. I'm from the NJ/NY area. I mix it until I can make a "meatball", then I know it's good to go. I make "ribbons" which means that I compact the mud completely around before I get started on the rest of the pan. Never used gravel by the weeping holes though. I'd like to try it, but I don't want to experiment on a client's house. Very nice job. Also, your liner corners are perfect, no lumping out. Good plumber, or good tile man.
I also enjoyed the video. I've made about a dozen showers using roughly this technique. I did not approach the quality that Sal showed in this video on my first few. Even now I take considerably longer than Sal does and I certainly learned a few things from this video. One thing I do that wouldn't help Sal much but might be of use to a less experienced person is to use a laser level to place check marks around the perimeter to mark the correct level. I make the curb at the same time I do pan.
Hi Sal. I just want to say thanks for all the advise. The second time round, the topper mix went perfectly. Used the additive with water. Thanks again. Matt
Hey Mattt............. did you use water with the additive? I used straight additive in place of the water and it seemed difficult to finish. Did you tear it out after the first time?
@@keithowens9242 Hi keith. Yes I used a small amount of additive with the water. The first time I used sac crete and I didn't get a good curing. So I took it out and went with quick crete topper mix. Came out great. Not saying anything bad about sac crete but I didn't have good luck with it. Watch Sal Dablasi of elite tile. He gave me great advise. Good luck.👍
Nice job Sal , that's the only way to do it . Never mind all those fancy plastic pre pitched systems ,they just don't give you the satisfaction of a job well done.
Pre pitched such as quick pitch are great if your not comfortabel with dong traditional dry pack. But you must watch out if the drain isnt center or the showee os an irregular shae the lenght of pitch stick will be different giving you an un level perineter that will have all angle cuts wher wall meets the floor. I find that the installations doesnt look very good and its all due to the mud job .
thank you for these lessons Sal, im doing my first shower and Im setting the pan liner tomorrow and I was going to pour the concrete and i just noticed the durock and waterproofing is done first before concrete.
It rarely is--10,000 hours makes a pro. I'm chuckling because tomorrow it will be me finding out that Sal makes it look easier than it will be for an amateur.
thank you Sal DiBlasi that the only ways I think it's the Best Way #1 Mix is OnlyDamp and that is easy to level them right way. most people mix to wet so the got trouble to level and got so messy. Thank YOu So much making this video . you are the best .
Yes, that Is what i Believe it to be. It is a little rich, but works fine for a shower pan. Deck mud is supposed To be 5:1, you could always add some sand If you want to increase the ratio of sand, i will some times do that If i need It to be a Little leaner.
I agree with you, but that all depends on whether there is a vapor barrier behind the backer board or not. In this case i did not install the Durock and the GC put up a vapor barrier before installing the CBU. I don't always have control of how things are done. If you watch a few of my other videos , you will see in most cases i do waterproof the entire surface of the CBU, which i think is the prefered method
@piero serrano Indid not forget it, it is not required nor is it recommended. the purpose of the liner is to direct any water that gets through the mud to the weep holes at the drain. bonding the mud to the liner will only inhibit that function. I also find it doubtful that the thinset would actually stick to the liner.
waao i have 12 year of experince and every day can learn something more littlebe diferent but the same i like your videos thanks you .rigth now im working in arkansas and they work little be diferent
Great video, doing my second bath using your methods, first was a tub... What is min thickness for this mud bed on the liner? I would like to do walk out but already 1" up from concrete and want to match my bedroom floor to bath in the future... trying to not be 2.5" up through the rest of the house... maybe curb is best bet?
Sal, thanks for taking the time to make a video, it is very thorough. If I could ask one question regarding the curb I would appreciate if you could clarify a detail. Does the curb need to go from the plate/wall to plate/wall or do you leave a half inch on either side for the backerboard?
Yes you can, use some kind of bonding agent a little thinset will work. A membrane may be required depending on the condition of the slab and intended use of the deck mud that you are going to install.
Nice video, Sal. One small note, you used regular sharp gravel for weep hole drainage. Pea gravel is required so the sharp edges don't puncture the liner. :)
You ared absolutely correct about that, at the time that I did this install the gravel you see is what I had available to me, I did look at it carefully because that thought had occured to me. I decided that this gravel did not have anything that would be a concern. Sometime I will used some old spacers instead.
@@penknight8532 See I think of the liner as a more waterproof surface so it should cover the board like you say. But I guess if you waterproof the board or use one that has been treated, it may be alright.
i think you should look for new invention on the DIY i use to do it like you back in the days when i start but every job i did i looked for a easy and faster way to do it and dont get me wrong i like it the way you do it too:) good luck
Sal you the man. your video was very informative and if i had the cash I would fly you down to lufkin texas for supervision of my shower. I was wondering if you put the should complete the walls before you put in the mud for the drain? hope all is well Billy Jack
Hi Sal, I have a mystery problem, I haven't seen the job in person, but pictures of 12" X 12" mosaics laid on a poured base show a 12" grid on the floor, for some reason you can see what looks to be a grout color difference around each of the mosaics, from what I was told the grout used had a sealer built in, not sure if that's what was actually used or not, you ever seen this before? Thanks for all the wealth of wisdom you share in your videos!
Not sure if I understand what you are describing, however if the tile is a natural stone, or a very porous ceramic tile, the grout can stain or "Picture Frame" the tile itself. This will usually occur when a dark grout is used with a light tile. While the grout is drying this effect can also be seen with these types of tiles, but clears up when the grout has had time to dry.
The purpose of the shower pan is to stop water that penetrates into the mud bed from going any further. I am assuming that you have a vinyl liner, if it is wet and the water in it is going through the weep holes and down the drain, then it is functioning as designed. It seems to me that your bigger problem is that your backing for the tile is green board, it should be something water safe like Durok. Not knowing any specifics of your shower I would say if the leak is fixed then no need to wait.
Thanks for the videos Sal. I cant tell you how much they've helped. How log should I wait after forming my mud shower floor prior to painting one of the Waterproof membranes on it?Thanks.
Sal, thanks for all the great videos. Just did my first pan and got a ton of help from this one. Quick question: should I waterproof the pan (with redguard or aquadefense or something)?
Relax, the mix in the trash as you mentioned did not get packed and was loose, check your mud floor, if it feels smooth and hard it is fine. If it is loose, then it will be easy enough to take it out without disturbing anything vital and you can start over. Consider it a trial run if that is the case.
Thank you for the video! I have few questions; what is the hight would you recommend to leave for the drainage before putting mud in? Second, should I use water proving system before or after putting mud? And finally, I have 5' by 10' shower so I'm planning raise my perimeter for a pitch 1.25 inches; do you think it is enough? Or what would you recommend?
Sal I guess I don't know how to enable my replies, sorry about that. How do you do the curbs? I don't seem to be able to find a video for that. Do you cover it with the liner and then the backer board? With your guidance our pre slope came out great the second time around...I wish I could send pictures of it! Thanks!
Hey Sal, I know this is a really old video and you've done many many more since then and I will look for your others later, but I just have a question ... what systems do you recommend today where you can do your shower pans without mudding it ? I'm sure you can install a shower without the mudding system, so I wanted to ask your advice or even suggest one of your videos in particular where you did such a thing. Thanks again Sal ... I think I will go your site to buy some tile tools etc.... 😁👍🏽
Sal, Thanks for taking the time to teach us all how to set a shower pan. One question. If floating the walls instead of concrete board would you do the pan and then the float or float first?
Enjoy your videos and work Sal, question regarding the curb; after the floor has been presloped and the vinyl liner has been laid, how are you placing the "inside wall" of the curb so as to not puncture the vinyl. Is liquid nails ok, or even thin set? thanks again.
Okay, confession time. I think I put in too much Portland cement, which I read was good for the mix with the sand topping. I took out the old. It was exactly soft as pie crust, but it did chunk out in 20 minutes. I cleaned up and redid it in sand topping only. You were right, the second time was way easier. Thanks you are awesome
EXCELLENT! how many days the mortar needs to dry after you pour it in to be able to do something with it? I plan to coat it with one of those waterproofing liquid membranes - Red guard I think is what you call it in States. Just poured in the showerpan based on your video and now wondering how long I need to wait, It has moisture plastic membrane under it so I just don't want to seal all the water inside the mortar from all sides by fully waterproofing it from all sides.
It is called " Liquid applied waterproofing membrane" and Redgard is one brand that I actually have never used, Mapei Aquadefense, or Laticrete Hydro ban or even Tec Hydraflex are good ones. You have to wait a few days before you can coat it if you used deck mud.
Awesome instructions. Just did my pre-slope last night and it turned out pretty well. Tonight I am going to install the liner and then durarock and hopefully get the mud floor in. 2 questions: 1) when you are making fine shavings around the drain to accommodate the thickness of the tile, are you also factoring in for the thickness of thin-set? Or should I just neglect that and make it flush? Secondly, after the floor is dry, I am going to use liquid membrane w/ fiberglass roll as demonstrated in another one of your video's. Do the joints between the pieces of durarock need to be sealed with mesh tape and mortar, or can I use the fiberglass mesh with liquid membrane? Or do I need to do both. Thanks Sal. You are saving me a ton of money and allowing me to design a bathroom that is much nicer by saving money on doing this myself.
+tHEDENVERSUN Allow a little for the thinset and also the waterproofing. but when it is all said and done the tile should end up flush or just slightly above the drain. Play it safe mud and mesh tape all joints with thinset, let dry and waterproof.
Can you do a demo with pouring a solid concrete curb and show placing shower liner overlapping curb? my question is I am stumped on what or how to mud over curb...
Sal, excellent video !!!! Do you have video shows how to build/construct the shower wood structure on concrete floor? such as the way the three 2x4 treated lumbers (the entrance to shower) are attached to the concrete floor . Thanks in advance
Sal, I'm going to add a bench across one end of my shower. Should I construct it first and then do my mud bed or lay my first mud bed, build the bench on top of it, and then do the liner and final mud bed? Thanks very much for your videos, they're awesome!
Love your videos! I am working on a neo angle corner shower and am not sure how you finish the curb. Do you have a video on your process for putting the cement board around the curb? I haven't seen you use lathe and mortar and wonder what your method is. Thank you!
I don't think I have that, but i have uploaded over 330 videos, so i just might not remember. The important thing is to make sure you waterproof the curb thoroughly. most leaks will occur at the curb if it is not treated properly.
I completed my pre-slope using what you have shown and it worked great, thanks. I noticed you have put in the Durock over the liner before doing the final mud floor. I'm using a product called DensSheild for the walls. Is it OK to install the walls over the liner before doing the mud floor (as you did with the Durock) or would the DensSheild wick up water through the mud floor? Also how thick shoiuld the mud floor be? I'd like it to be thinner than your showing so would 1.5 inches be OK? Thanks again for such good instruction.
Barry Straughan Denshield is not something i like to use, and try to stay away from it, however a GC that i do a lot of work for insists on using it, that is why you will see it in some of my videos. You will be much better off with Durock. !.5" is fine.
Yes, but my understanding is that it's OK because that's exactly what cement boards are designed to do and why they are used in this application. Don't fall in the trap of thinking that the tiles are waterproof. Everywhere in the shower that water hits the wall, it can get through the grout into the wall finish. It can get no further due to the vapor barrier, therefore it stays in the wall until it evaporates back out through the grout lines where it got in or drains down to the pan liner. This is just (as far as I know, I'm just a DIY guy) how tiled showers work. So, the situation where the cement board goes into the mud is basically the same as everywhere else. What's behind the tile must be able to withstand being wet and behind that there must be a barrier so that the water cannot pass any further. In the pan, that barrier is the liner, which should be sloped to direct the water down the drain.
Depends on the kind of shower system, "water in, water out" if it is a sealed system, or some combination. the vapor barrier can be behind, or the waterproofing can be on the surface, but not both, there are multiple ways to install a shower system. This one had a vapor barrier behind, so no waterproofing on top besides the seams and corners. not the way I like to do it, but dictated by circumstance.
My husband and I have watched a number of videos on how to install mud in a shower floor. They were quite confusing until we found yours. Love the direction you give. At the home improvement store we were told we could start with the sub floor; then hardie backer board on the floor; use redgard waterproofing on top of that as the membrane; then use thinset and tile (no vinyl pan liner). What is underneath your vinyl or do you have a different video for that? We've tiled many showers, but never a floor.
The rubber liner is the gray thing with the writing and the lines on it. you can spray water if you like but it is not necessary, the mud will set if it is mixed correctly.
Sal great video ... if I am going to be preparing mud shower pan on my concrete floor do I first place liner on concrete floor then mud over liner and slope... The reason I ask is I notice you do it differently along with some different steps when working with a wood base thanks
Vinyl liner needs a preslope before installing, so watch these two videos for a full understanding of how and why. th-cam.com/video/p8xsx3316IU/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/Fjm_6A6lj5Q/w-d-xo.html the drain is different in this one but the steps are the same.
According to the cement board manufacturer, the cement board is supposed to be 1/4" above the mud bed and sealed with a caulk of some kind. I instead keep the cement board off the shower line. I also waterproof the entire mud pack. This is how I have done it for thirty years, you are of coarse free to do it any way you like.
Sal, your commitment to quality Is inspiring! Using your videos I am making a mud shower floor. How much drying time between steps? From pre-slope to membrane and shower floor, then shower floor to liquid waterproofing???
Depending on how you do it and what method you like. Preslope, if it is mud, the liner can be installed the next day, if the preslope is something else like a foam tray, then no down time. Final mud bed can be tiled the next day, if you want to waterproof it, then probably 72hr unless you use a sheet membrane or a fast drying liquid. Not a simple answer.
@@SalDiBlasi Thanks for your response! The pre-slope and final mud bed will be dry-pack mortar (Quickcrete Sand Topping Mix). I will waterproof the walls and floor with Mapei Aquadefense using the membrane at seams, edges and corners. In this case, do I wait 3 days to apply the waterproofing to the final shower floor?
Thank you Sal. I had a leakage, but it was fixed already, My question was referent Shower Pan. I removed the green board because it was damaged by the leakage. After i removed the boards, i felt the Shower Pan wet, i touched it on sides and it was humid. My question was: "if I have to remove the shower pan or can I wait until it dries out." Leakage fixed.
I was told that you can have a mud mixed on the try side. Once you finished, you can sprinkle water on to the mud pan to make the cement harden. Is that a good way to do it?
Hi Sal, fantastic how to videos, however I have a question. I'm second guessing myself on my pre-slope attempt. It has a good slope on every side and is quite hard and sturdy with no visible cracks, however it is also sandy on the top and has two small visible craters "which i think will not hold water cause of the slope". I laid it 15 hours ago and used Sakrete. Will this affect the membrane liner when when i place it? Thanks Frank...
Sounds like it might be OK, fill the small divots with thinset and maybe skim coat the whole thing as well. Pay more attention to the shower floor mud base.
Hello Sal, I poured the preslope about 3 inches thick against the step (5 inches tall) and I have installed the liner. How thin can the next cement layer be? I've got 2 inches maybe 2.25 inches max to put the next layer of cement and then thinset and tile. I was thinking I could also just build an exaggerated slope from the step to the drain if I didn't have enough room to work with. Thanks for the response in advance!
Thanks for these videos and looking forward to you coming to see what you can do for our project. One question: if you have 1/4' per foot slope, and you have a level perimeter, what happens with a rectangle? What happens if you measure from the corner to the drain? How is it that it all comes out to 1/4" per 1' ?
Hello Sal. Great video series. I've been watching them for a couple weeks now. I'm getting ready to attempt my first shower pan. What is your take on adding Quikrete Acrylic Fortifier to the Quikrete Sand/Topping mix? Is it beneficial, or completely unnecessary?
master at work! I have always used kerdi pans and tried a mud pan once, when i came back the next day large craters formed and the pan had alot of loose sand on it still. any idea where i went wrong?!
Hi Sal. Thanks for all the help you're given me! On my top layer of mud, I goofed and set my drain a little too low. I had to do a little grinding around the drain with my cement disk on a grinder so I could unscrew it. The cuts were about 1/4" deep and were right up against the plastic (square Oatey drain). Can I fill these depressions in with thinset, or should I mix up a small amount of sand/portland cement to fill them in up to the proper level? I like the idea of packing them in with sand/portland cement but will it bond to mud that has set up? Thanks again!
Sal, thanks so much for taking the time to make these videos, I've learned so much from watching you. I am in the process of making my bed on top of the rubber membrane. I got all the mud in and let it set over night and when I checked it the next day the top of it is still pretty sandy and I could actually make marks in it. I think I mixed it too dry, is there any way to correct this? I sprayed some water on the top with a spray bottle hoping to engage the cement to harden it but it's still gritty. What should I do? Add a thin layer of wetter sand topping mix to what is there or add a thin layer of thinset over it?
I have heard this countless times from people who have the same problem the first time doing it, so don't feel bad. My advice is start over, you want to get the base right, think of it as a practice run. The good news is that it should be easy to remove, next time make sure it is damp enough and that you pack it down really well.
You dont use the plastic guides for the screed? Just curious are these more for amateurs. Im a tradie, and had to do a 2nd level shower floor recently and the only bit i didnt do was the concrete, but after watching this its actually quite easy.
Not sure what you are asking. If there is a leak it needs to be fixed. If it can't be fixed it will have to be replaced. Some times the connection at the drain can be the problem.
Hey Sal, off topic here. I am remodeling my bathroom and I just found out my floor is a mud job. Can I remove the existing tiles without damaging the mud and install my new tiles on the same mud? thanks for all of your awesome videos and your time.
If you can manage to do that and end up with a solid mud bed, then I would say yes, if the floor is in good condition you can sometimes coat it with a primer like Mapei Ecoprim Grip and then install the tile.
Sal, great video! I am about to do my first ever shower and your videos are the best. One question: When you still work on the mud making sure that the tile is level with the drain do you also account for the height that the tile thinset will add? In the video it looks like you just make the tile and the drain perfectly leveled. Thanks in advance!
What waterproofing roll on guard can go under kerdi membrane. Doing Charity job got disabled vet and wanting to have 2 systems to have a backup. I'm doing sand and cement over plywood. I know you have answer several of my questions but I only have experience with the kerdi not a backup under it. It is a complete wet room so I wanted to make sure that it don't leak. Thanks so much.
waterproofing under the Kerdi ius something I have never considered, as it is not needed, I would imagine any thing like Aquadefense or HydrBan would work, however I am not sure it is a good idea.
It could be very helpful for us (watchers) if you show us how to build a curb. I mean full process wood, liner, durack,mud around. Thank you for your lessons.
Thanks for what you do, Sal. I've been putting in a new shower (my 2nd as a homeowner), and it was all going swimmingly until...I worked an 18-hour day, and in the dark, was installing the Schluter-Kerdi moisture membrane on top of the styrofoam tray. I didn't realize it until the next day, but I didn't iron out all the bumps of thinset under the membrane, so there's a couple of notable humps. I haven't put the tile down on top of it yet, and am racking my brain trying to figure out if there's some trick-of-the-trade fix that I can do to get it fixed, instead of just tiling over it (and feeling those bumps under my feet forever for the life of the house). Any suggestions?
I am curious, is it really necessary to staple the wire lath down and if so how often should it be stapled and how big a staple? How close do you fit the wire lath to the walls? Do you leave some space or do you butt the lathe against the wall? Also is there anything wrong with using self-furring wire lath.
I like the video work also. I want to learn how to speed up work the like you did. What kind of set up do you have, or do you hire out the video work. P.S. I followed your instructions! I have completed 2 nice Shower pans. Thanks.
Sal, I did make my pan just like yours. I am a little worried that I didn't add enough water. I was able to make a snowball with the mix, but I noticed that the mix I threw in the trash never got hard when I saw it the next day? Is that because the pan mix got packed and then sets up? Whereas, the sand mix in the trash never got packed? I am worried my pan is going to crumble now.
great video, i understand the 1/4 per foot but how do you decide the height at the drain? is there any rule of thumb like the mud has to be atleast 1/2" thick at the drain or something?
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I'm 27 yrs old and I'm really into home renovations. I have to say most of your videos, You have done each step properly and done it as it was your own. I really do hope to maintain my quality in any work I do. step by step process. the way you've shown in all your videos. good job
That is good to hear, there are too many installers that just wing it and don't follow proper methods and standards. Being young as you are with an attitude like that you are bond to succeed. You should look into the TCNA www.tcnatile.com/products-and-services/publications/218-english-publications/188-handbook/934-2016-tcna-handbook-for-ceramic-glass-and-stone-tile-installation.html and the NTCA tile-assn.site-ym.com/ if you do a Schluter class they will givee you a TCNA handbook free along with a bunch of other stuff and most importantly; knowledge.
Thanks for the help Sal. I just completed my master bath restoration. I stripped everything to the framing and went from there. I ended up with a beautiful 30”x48” walk-in shower and beautiful tile floors. I’ve worked in carpentry for years but never did tile work before. I wish I could share pictures here. Your videos guided me to a beautiful and leak free finished product. Thanks again
Nice to hear, enjoy your new bathroom.
Man this was so extremely helpful. You missed nothing out. Now I can be confident in my mud pan! Thanks
Been an assistant for a tile guy for almost 3 years..this is high level stuff.Very informative.Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
You link one video with another, the circle drain then the square drain , I like what I see, thank you for good lesson 🙏
You are welcome!
Thank you Sal for an excellent tutorial. I hope my first and probably only shower install goes as smoothly.
Good luck!
That depends on the kind of backer you use, but generally when I install the backer I don't let it sit on the pan at all, The backer should not touch the pan, so there would be no point to caulking it. Also I usually waterproof the mud and lower part of the walls (if I don't waterproof the whole thing) to minimize or eliminate water penetrating into the pan.
Just jack hammered out a mud bass that had the backer into the base like this. The backer board was all rotted out. Should be above the mud.
This is gold , thanks for posting have done lots of tile but doing my first shower pan for brother in law. You make things clear and very easy to understand. Thanks again
If you are interested I also have another video with a slightly different method. How to install mud in a shower floor Method 2
This is a very useful video for me. I'm installing a tiled shower in my house to the west of Boston. The plumbing inspector told me that I had to use a copper pan liner. It took me a long time to figure out how to do this with a pre-slope! I have the cement board inside the liner, just like you, but it's all covered with Red Guard so that the moisture barrier is on the INSIDE, not behind the wall finish. A lot of sources say that the mud base has to be 2 to 3 inches thick, but I have just 1 3/4 inches from the top surface of the liner to the bottom row of wall tiles, so I want it to be much thinner and I'm encouraged to see that you're putting down only a little more than an inch in this shower.
Boston is the last bastion of the copper pan, I am just North of Boston. If copper pans would go away all together it would actually be a good thing. I have had to deal with them for more than 30 years and I only accept them these days when I have no other choice, I would much prefer, and mostly do, sealed showers systems these days.
Thanks for your videos Sal. My first time doing a pre-slope and mortar bed. Your method worked great for me, but I have to say, you make it look pretty easy. That was work! Thanks again.
Ken Nelson storm door.
Thanks greatly for your advise. Concrete and I have never been friends, but using your technique of the level towers and "just damp" mud, I did my 5.5X5.5 shower base successfully. My drain was in one corner so I had two level walls and two that angled down, but following your guidance worked beautifully.
Thanks Sal.. I'm attempting a new shower pan and just wanted to be clear on the proper procedure. I appreciate your time in answering my questions... Love your channel!
Great video, Sal. I'm about to do my first mud pan and this is exactly the level of detail I needed. You gave a lot of really good tips that I will certainly take advantage of. Thanks!
Interesting to see someone else's way of installing a mud pan. I'm from the NJ/NY area. I mix it until I can make a "meatball", then I know it's good to go. I make "ribbons" which means that I compact the mud completely around before I get started on the rest of the pan. Never used gravel by the weeping holes though. I'd like to try it, but I don't want to experiment on a client's house. Very nice job. Also, your liner corners are perfect, no lumping out. Good plumber, or good tile man.
You should watch this, th-cam.com/video/p8xsx3316IU/w-d-xo.html
I love these videos especially when you speed it up! I like the scratching sound of the tools in high speed! BTW you are very knowledgeable!
Thanks for walking us through and detailing what you are doing and WHY...cheers
I also enjoyed the video. I've made about a dozen showers using roughly this technique. I did not approach the quality that Sal showed in this video on my first few. Even now I take considerably longer than Sal does and I certainly learned a few things from this video. One thing I do that wouldn't help Sal much but might be of use to a less experienced person is to use a laser level to place check marks around the perimeter to mark the correct level. I make the curb at the same time I do pan.
Hi Sal. I just want to say thanks for all the advise. The second time round, the topper mix went perfectly. Used the additive with water. Thanks again. Matt
Hey Mattt............. did you use water with the additive? I used straight additive in place of the water and it seemed difficult to finish. Did you tear it out after the first time?
@@keithowens9242 Hi keith. Yes I used a small amount of additive with the water. The first time I used sac crete and I didn't get a good curing. So I took it out and went with quick crete topper mix. Came out great. Not saying anything bad about sac crete but I didn't have good luck with it. Watch Sal Dablasi of elite tile. He gave me great advise. Good luck.👍
What a great video. I feel semi confident I can pull this off!
lol...
Nice job Sal , that's the only way to do it . Never mind all those fancy plastic pre pitched systems ,they just don't give you the satisfaction of a job well done.
Pre pitched such as quick pitch are great if your not comfortabel with dong traditional dry pack. But you must watch out if the drain isnt center or the showee os an irregular shae the lenght of pitch stick will be different giving you an un level perineter that will have all angle cuts wher wall meets the floor. I find that the installations doesnt look very good and its all due to the mud job .
Sir I appreciate your your time for this video and it looks good job now learning a lot thank you so much
thank you for these lessons Sal, im doing my first shower and Im setting the pan liner tomorrow and I was going to pour the concrete and i just noticed the durock and waterproofing is done first before concrete.
Thanks for these videos. I did the pre-slope today, and it's not as easy as you make it look.
LOL
It rarely is--10,000 hours makes a pro. I'm chuckling because tomorrow it will be me finding out that Sal makes it look easier than it will be for an amateur.
Lol
Sal makes everything look easy!
Glad I could help, I will soon be doing another video showing a second way that I use to do the pans.
thank you Sal DiBlasi that the only ways I think it's the Best Way #1 Mix is OnlyDamp and that is easy to level them right way. most people mix to wet so the got trouble to level and got so messy. Thank YOu So much making this video . you are the best .
Yes, that Is what i Believe it to be. It is a little rich, but works fine for a shower pan. Deck mud is supposed To be 5:1, you could always add some sand If you want to increase the ratio of sand, i will some times do that If i need It to be a Little leaner.
These are great videos! Very helpful commentary and awesome start to finish demonstration. Thank you taking the time to share!
I agree with you, but that all depends on whether there is a vapor barrier behind the backer board or not. In this case i did not install the Durock and the GC put up a vapor barrier before installing the CBU. I don't always have control of how things are done. If you watch a few of my other videos , you will see in most cases i do waterproof the entire surface of the CBU, which i think is the prefered method
@piero serrano Indid not forget it, it is not required nor is it recommended. the purpose of the liner is to direct any water that gets through the mud to the weep holes at the drain. bonding the mud to the liner will only inhibit that function. I also find it doubtful that the thinset would actually stick to the liner.
Hey Sal from one contractor to another your brilliant.
Takes a brilliant contractor to recognize that. 😋
Excellent video! I have viewed a lot of videos on this subject and yours is REALLY done correctly!
Video is ver informative. Only thing is you have to pre-pitch the pan first, then put the shower liner and then final mud bed for tiling. Thank you.
waao i have 12 year of experince and every day can learn something more littlebe diferent but the same i like your videos thanks you .rigth now im working in arkansas and they work little be diferent
Sal, your Da'Man! Thanks for the great vids!!!!
Boy does that bring back memories. I'm sore just watching lol.
😊👍
Great video, the best example I've seen.
Finally old school way this exactly how I do them never a problem or call back
Great video, doing my second bath using your methods, first was a tub... What is min thickness for this mud bed on the liner? I would like to do walk out but already 1" up from concrete and want to match my bedroom floor to bath in the future... trying to not be 2.5" up through the rest of the house... maybe curb is best bet?
Major help for my project! Many thanks for your efforts on the video!
Sal, thanks for taking the time to make a video, it is very thorough. If I could ask one question regarding the curb I would appreciate if you could clarify a detail. Does the curb need to go from the plate/wall to plate/wall or do you leave a half inch on either side for the backerboard?
The man is a master.
Yes you can, use some kind of bonding agent a little thinset will work. A membrane may be required depending on the condition of the slab and intended use of the deck mud that you are going to install.
Nice video, Sal. One small note, you used regular sharp gravel for weep hole drainage. Pea gravel is required so the sharp edges don't puncture the liner. :)
You ared absolutely correct about that, at the time that I did this install the gravel you see is what I had available to me, I did look at it carefully because that thought had occured to me. I decided that this gravel did not have anything that would be a concern. Sometime I will used some old spacers instead.
Is it ok that your backer board is inside the pan liner? Thank you Sal! Am watching to ensure I hire correctly. You are great!
I don't think that is ok.
Most videos I have seen have the liner going up the walls at least 3 inches.
And completely over the curb.
@@penknight8532 See I think of the liner as a more waterproof surface so it should cover the board like you say. But I guess if you waterproof the board or use one that has been treated, it may be alright.
Thanks Sal, your videos are the ones I follow! Very informative! Thanks!
hey im just messing with you bro im 40 yrs old now ive been around this all my life since 1983 u do good work I like your style
i think you should look for new invention on the DIY i use to do it like you back in the days when i start but every job i did i looked for a easy and faster way to do it and dont get me wrong i like it the way you do it too:) good luck
Great video thanks so much. How long does the mud need to dry before you can proceed with tiling?
Sal
you the man. your video was very informative and if i had the cash I would fly you down to lufkin texas for supervision of my shower. I was wondering if you put the should complete the walls before you put in the mud for the drain?
hope all is well
Billy Jack
+Billy jack You were coherent up until you asked the question, then i lost you, can you rephrase.
Hi Sal, I have a mystery problem, I haven't seen the job in person, but pictures of 12" X 12" mosaics laid on a poured base show a 12" grid on the floor, for some reason you can see what looks to be a grout color difference around each of the mosaics, from what I was told the grout used had a sealer built in, not sure if that's what was actually used or not, you ever seen this before? Thanks for all the wealth of wisdom you share in your videos!
Not sure if I understand what you are describing, however if the tile is a natural stone, or a very porous ceramic tile, the grout can stain or "Picture Frame" the tile itself. This will usually occur when a dark grout is used with a light tile. While the grout is drying this effect can also be seen with these types of tiles, but clears up when the grout has had time to dry.
Thanks Sal
The purpose of the shower pan is to stop water that penetrates into the mud bed from going any further. I am assuming that you have a vinyl liner, if it is wet and the water in it is going through the weep holes and down the drain, then it is functioning as designed. It seems to me that your bigger problem is that your backing for the tile is green board, it should be something water safe like Durok. Not knowing any specifics of your shower I would say if the leak is fixed then no need to wait.
Thanks for the videos Sal. I cant tell you how much they've helped. How log should I wait after forming my mud shower floor prior to painting one of the Waterproof membranes on it?Thanks.
Sal, thanks for all the great videos. Just did my first pan and got a ton of help from this one. Quick question: should I waterproof the pan (with redguard or aquadefense or something)?
Relax, the mix in the trash as you mentioned did not get packed and was loose, check your mud floor, if it feels smooth and hard it is fine. If it is loose, then it will be easy enough to take it out without disturbing anything vital and you can start over. Consider it a trial run if that is the case.
Thank you for the video!
I have few questions; what is the hight would you recommend to leave for the drainage before putting mud in? Second, should I use water proving system before or after putting mud? And finally, I have 5' by 10' shower so I'm planning raise my perimeter for a pitch 1.25 inches; do you think it is enough? Or what would you recommend?
Sal I guess I don't know how to enable my replies, sorry about that. How do you do the curbs? I don't seem to be able to find a video for that. Do you cover it with the liner and then the backer board? With your guidance our pre slope came out great the second time around...I wish I could send pictures of it! Thanks!
Hey Sal, I know this is a really old video and you've done many many more since then and I will look for your others later, but I just have a question ... what systems do you recommend today where you can do your shower pans without mudding it ? I'm sure you can install a shower without the mudding system, so I wanted to ask your advice or even suggest one of your videos in particular where you did such a thing.
Thanks again Sal ... I think I will go your site to buy some tile tools etc.... 😁👍🏽
Sal, Thanks for taking the time to teach us all how to set a shower pan. One question. If floating the walls instead of concrete board would you do the pan and then the float or float first?
Walls first, but if you have never floated walls, you might be taking on more than you might think.
Enjoy your videos and work Sal, question regarding the curb; after the floor has been presloped and the vinyl liner has been laid, how are you placing the "inside wall" of the curb so as to not puncture the vinyl. Is liquid nails ok, or even thin set?
thanks again.
Okay, confession time. I think I put in too much Portland cement, which I read was good for the mix with the sand topping.
I took out the old. It was exactly soft as pie crust, but it did chunk out in 20 minutes.
I cleaned up and redid it in sand topping only. You were right, the second time was way easier.
Thanks you are awesome
EXCELLENT! how many days the mortar needs to dry after you pour it in to be able to do something with it? I plan to coat it with one of those waterproofing liquid membranes - Red guard I think is what you call it in States. Just poured in the showerpan based on your video and now wondering how long I need to wait, It has moisture plastic membrane under it so I just don't want to seal all the water inside the mortar from all sides by fully waterproofing it from all sides.
It is called " Liquid applied waterproofing membrane" and Redgard is one brand that I actually have never used, Mapei Aquadefense, or Laticrete Hydro ban or even Tec Hydraflex are good ones. You have to wait a few days before you can coat it if you used deck mud.
Awesome instructions. Just did my pre-slope last night and it turned out pretty well. Tonight I am going to install the liner and then durarock and hopefully get the mud floor in. 2 questions: 1) when you are making fine shavings around the drain to accommodate the thickness of the tile, are you also factoring in for the thickness of thin-set? Or should I just neglect that and make it flush? Secondly, after the floor is dry, I am going to use liquid membrane w/ fiberglass roll as demonstrated in another one of your video's. Do the joints between the pieces of durarock need to be sealed with mesh tape and mortar, or can I use the fiberglass mesh with liquid membrane? Or do I need to do both.
Thanks Sal. You are saving me a ton of money and allowing me to design a bathroom that is much nicer by saving money on doing this myself.
+tHEDENVERSUN Allow a little for the thinset and also the waterproofing. but when it is all said and done the tile should end up flush or just slightly above the drain. Play it safe mud and mesh tape all joints with thinset, let dry and waterproof.
Can you do a demo with pouring a solid concrete curb and show placing shower liner overlapping curb? my question is I am stumped on what or how to mud over curb...
Sal,
excellent video !!!!
Do you have video shows how to build/construct the shower wood structure on concrete floor? such as the way the three 2x4 treated lumbers (the entrance to shower) are attached to the concrete floor .
Thanks in advance
Yossi Khalon Sorry i don't have that.
Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Sal, I'm going to add a bench across one end of my shower. Should I construct it first and then do my mud bed or lay my first mud bed, build the bench on top of it, and then do the liner and final mud bed? Thanks very much for your videos, they're awesome!
Jerry Ingraham I usually have the bench in before any mud goes in, and waterproof the heck out of it.
Love your videos! I am working on a neo angle corner shower and am not sure how you finish the curb. Do you have a video on your process for putting the cement board around the curb? I haven't seen you use lathe and mortar and wonder what your method is. Thank you!
I don't think I have that, but i have uploaded over 330 videos, so i just might not remember. The important thing is to make sure you waterproof the curb thoroughly. most leaks will occur at the curb if it is not treated properly.
What is the best way to waterproof the curb?
This might help you How to waterproof a bathroom shower stall part 5
I completed my pre-slope using what you have shown and it worked great, thanks. I noticed you have put in the Durock over the liner before doing the final mud floor. I'm using a product called DensSheild for the walls. Is it OK to install the walls over the liner before doing the mud floor (as you did with the Durock) or would the DensSheild wick up water through the mud floor? Also how thick shoiuld the mud floor be? I'd like it to be thinner than your showing so would 1.5 inches be OK? Thanks again for such good instruction.
Barry Straughan Denshield is not something i like to use, and try to stay away from it, however a GC that i do a lot of work for insists on using it, that is why you will see it in some of my videos. You will be much better off with Durock. !.5" is fine.
Great videos. You are very good and I learned I lot of good tips. Subscribed.
Your tile work is awesome! !! Why do you let durarock sit in your mud bed?
So that the shower wall can be tiled all the way down to the finished shower floor.
yes
Will the durarock hold water if it sits in the mud
Yes, but my understanding is that it's OK because that's exactly what cement boards are designed to do and why they are used in this application. Don't fall in the trap of thinking that the tiles are waterproof. Everywhere in the shower that water hits the wall, it can get through the grout into the wall finish. It can get no further due to the vapor barrier, therefore it stays in the wall until it evaporates back out through the grout lines where it got in or drains down to the pan liner. This is just (as far as I know, I'm just a DIY guy) how tiled showers work. So, the situation where the cement board goes into the mud is basically the same as everywhere else. What's behind the tile must be able to withstand being wet and behind that there must be a barrier so that the water cannot pass any further. In the pan, that barrier is the liner, which should be sloped to direct the water down the drain.
Depends on the kind of shower system, "water in, water out" if it is a sealed system, or some combination. the vapor barrier can be behind, or the waterproofing can be on the surface, but not both, there are multiple ways to install a shower system. This one had a vapor barrier behind, so no waterproofing on top besides the seams and corners. not the way I like to do it, but dictated by circumstance.
My husband and I have watched a number of videos on how to install mud in a shower floor. They were quite confusing until we found yours. Love the direction you give. At the home improvement store we were told we could start with the sub floor; then hardie backer board on the floor; use redgard waterproofing on top of that as the membrane; then use thinset and tile (no vinyl pan liner). What is underneath your vinyl or do you have a different video for that? We've tiled many showers, but never a floor.
I got the answer to my question elsewhere, but is my question not visible?
The rubber liner is the gray thing with the writing and the lines on it. you can spray water if you like but it is not necessary, the mud will set if it is mixed correctly.
My grate that screws into the base seems too loose …is it meant to be loose because it’s square or should I use some Teflon tape or pipe dope?
Sal great video ... if I am going to be preparing mud shower pan on my concrete floor do I first place liner on concrete floor then mud over liner and slope... The reason I ask is I notice you do it differently along with some different steps when working with a wood base thanks
Vinyl liner needs a preslope before installing, so watch these two videos for a full understanding of how and why. th-cam.com/video/p8xsx3316IU/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/Fjm_6A6lj5Q/w-d-xo.html the drain is different in this one but the steps are the same.
According to the cement board manufacturer, the cement board is supposed to be 1/4" above the mud bed and sealed with a caulk of some kind. I instead keep the cement board off the shower line. I also waterproof the entire mud pack. This is how I have done it for thirty years, you are of coarse free to do it any way you like.
You are the man Sal!...But I'm kind of surprised that your walls are not Mortar also..
Sal, your commitment to quality Is inspiring! Using your videos I am making a mud shower floor. How much drying time between steps? From pre-slope to membrane and shower floor, then shower floor to liquid waterproofing???
Depending on how you do it and what method you like. Preslope, if it is mud, the liner can be installed the next day, if the preslope is something else like a foam tray, then no down time. Final mud bed can be tiled the next day, if you want to waterproof it, then probably 72hr unless you use a sheet membrane or a fast drying liquid. Not a simple answer.
@@SalDiBlasi Thanks for your response! The pre-slope and final mud bed will be dry-pack mortar (Quickcrete Sand Topping Mix). I will waterproof the walls and floor with Mapei Aquadefense using the membrane at seams, edges and corners. In this case, do I wait 3 days to apply the waterproofing to the final shower floor?
@@mikeroe8 Yes. best to let it cure that amount of time.
@@SalDiBlasi Thank You for taking the time to share!
Thank you Sal. I had a leakage, but it was fixed already, My question was referent Shower Pan.
I removed the green board because it was damaged by the leakage.
After i removed the boards, i felt the Shower Pan wet, i touched it on sides and it was humid. My question was:
"if I have to remove the shower pan or can I wait until it dries out."
Leakage fixed.
I was told that you can have a mud mixed on the try side. Once you finished, you can sprinkle water on to the mud pan to make the cement harden. Is that a good way to do it?
I have seen it done that way, but never actually tried it
Hi Sal, fantastic how to videos, however I have a question. I'm second guessing myself on my pre-slope attempt. It has a good slope on every side and is quite hard and sturdy with no visible cracks, however it is also sandy on the top and has two small visible craters "which i think will not hold water cause of the slope". I laid it 15 hours ago and used Sakrete. Will this affect the membrane liner when when i place it? Thanks Frank...
Sounds like it might be OK, fill the small divots with thinset and maybe skim coat the whole thing as well. Pay more attention to the shower floor mud base.
Hello Sal, I poured the preslope about 3 inches thick against the step (5 inches tall) and I have installed the liner. How thin can the next cement layer be? I've got 2 inches maybe 2.25 inches max to put the next layer of cement and then thinset and tile. I was thinking I could also just build an exaggerated slope from the step to the drain if I didn't have enough room to work with. Thanks for the response in advance!
Thanks for these videos and looking forward to you coming to see what you can do for our project. One question: if you have 1/4' per foot slope, and you have a level perimeter, what happens with a rectangle? What happens if you measure from the corner to the drain? How is it that it all comes out to 1/4" per 1' ?
+Dan Albert The 1/4" per foot is from the furthest wall, the shorter distances will be at a steeper slope, Minimum needs to be about 1/4".
Hello Sal. Great video series. I've been watching them for a couple weeks now. I'm getting ready to attempt my first shower pan. What is your take on adding Quikrete Acrylic Fortifier to the Quikrete Sand/Topping mix? Is it beneficial, or completely unnecessary?
master at work! I have always used kerdi pans and tried a mud pan once, when i came back the next day large craters formed and the pan had alot of loose sand on it still. any idea where i went wrong?!
JVanO100 usually that happens if the mix is too dry or it was not packed down enough or both.
Ah ok, I could see that it might've been too dry, I was nervous when mixing as i was always told very little water!! lol Thanks Sal!
Hi Sal. Thanks for all the help you're given me! On my top layer of mud, I goofed and set my drain a little too low. I had to do a little grinding around the drain with my cement disk on a grinder so I could unscrew it. The cuts were about 1/4" deep and were right up against the plastic (square Oatey drain). Can I fill these depressions in with thinset, or should I mix up a small amount of sand/portland cement to fill them in up to the proper level? I like the idea of packing them in with sand/portland cement but will it bond to mud that has set up? Thanks again!
Thinset i think would be the better choice, so tgat it will adhere to the existing cement.
***** That sounds good. I'll even things up with some twinset. It's not a big volume that I had to remove. Thanks for all of your help!
Sal, thanks so much for taking the time to make these videos, I've learned so much from watching you. I am in the process of making my bed on top of the rubber membrane. I got all the mud in and let it set over night and when I checked it the next day the top of it is still pretty sandy and I could actually make marks in it. I think I mixed it too dry, is there any way to correct this? I sprayed some water on the top with a spray bottle hoping to engage the cement to harden it but it's still gritty. What should I do? Add a thin layer of wetter sand topping mix to what is there or add a thin layer of thinset over it?
I have heard this countless times from people who have the same problem the first time doing it, so don't feel bad. My advice is start over, you want to get the base right, think of it as a practice run. The good news is that it should be easy to remove, next time make sure it is damp enough and that you pack it down really well.
You dont use the plastic guides for the screed? Just curious are these more for amateurs. Im a tradie, and had to do a 2nd level shower floor recently and the only bit i didnt do was the concrete, but after watching this its actually quite easy.
The plastic guides are for anyone that needs them, but I don't think you will find a professional tile setter use them.
Not sure what you are asking. If there is a leak it needs to be fixed. If it can't be fixed it will have to be replaced. Some times the connection at the drain can be the problem.
Hey Sal, off topic here. I am remodeling my bathroom and I just found out my floor is a mud job. Can I remove the existing tiles without damaging the mud and install my new tiles on the same mud? thanks for all of your awesome videos and your time.
If you can manage to do that and end up with a solid mud bed, then I would say yes, if the floor is in good condition you can sometimes coat it with a primer like Mapei Ecoprim Grip and then install the tile.
it is a pretty thick bed, probably 4 inches. I will take my time and give it a try. Thanks again for your time and input my man. Best Regards.
Sal, great video! I am about to do my first ever shower and your videos are the best. One question: When you still work on the mud making sure that the tile is level with the drain do you also account for the height that the tile thinset will add? In the video it looks like you just make the tile and the drain perfectly leveled. Thanks in advance!
What waterproofing roll on guard can go under kerdi membrane. Doing Charity job got disabled vet and wanting to have 2 systems to have a backup. I'm doing sand and cement over plywood. I know you have answer several of my questions but I only have experience with the kerdi not a backup under it. It is a complete wet room so I wanted to make sure that it don't leak. Thanks so much.
waterproofing under the Kerdi ius something I have never considered, as it is not needed, I would imagine any thing like Aquadefense or HydrBan would work, however I am not sure it is a good idea.
It could be very helpful for us (watchers) if you show us how to build a curb. I mean full process wood, liner, durack,mud around.
Thank you for your lessons.
I will see what I can do.
Your curb looks so nice compare to mine:)))))
Thanks for what you do, Sal. I've been putting in a new shower (my 2nd as a homeowner), and it was all going swimmingly until...I worked an 18-hour day, and in the dark, was installing the Schluter-Kerdi moisture membrane on top of the styrofoam tray. I didn't realize it until the next day, but I didn't iron out all the bumps of thinset under the membrane, so there's a couple of notable humps. I haven't put the tile down on top of it yet, and am racking my brain trying to figure out if there's some trick-of-the-trade fix that I can do to get it fixed, instead of just tiling over it (and feeling those bumps under my feet forever for the life of the house). Any suggestions?
You could try cutting out the humps, smooth everything off and then install another layer of membrane to get it all waterproof again.
I am curious, is it really necessary to staple the wire lath down and if so how often should it be stapled and how big a staple? How close do you fit the wire lath to the walls? Do you leave some space or do you butt the lathe against the wall? Also is there anything wrong with using self-furring wire lath.
Thanks for showing. How high usually does the curb rise from the floor? Looks like your curb is all concrete.
Curb can be anything you like, usually 6" but does not have to be.
I like the video work also. I want to learn how to speed up work the like you did. What kind of set up do you have, or do you hire out the video work. P.S. I followed your instructions! I have completed 2 nice Shower pans. Thanks.
Simple video editing.
Sorry if I missed this, but don’t you need some wire mesh in there to stop it cracking?
Sal, I did make my pan just like yours. I am a little worried that I didn't add enough water. I was able to make a snowball with the mix, but I noticed that the mix I threw in the trash never got hard when I saw it the next day? Is that because the pan mix got packed and then sets up? Whereas, the sand mix in the trash never got packed? I am worried my pan is going to crumble now.
Sal, nice work, Sir.
great video, i understand the 1/4 per foot but how do you decide the height at the drain? is there any rule of thumb like the mud has to be atleast 1/2" thick at the drain or something?
excellent question the minimum thickness at drain should be 1" ive been building showers for 32 years