Install a Shower Floor
Installing a shower floor over a slab or plywood is an ideal way to enclose the shower base and prevent leaks. Laying tile in a shower might look pretty, but it doesn't offer the same water resistance that a shower floor does. Installing a shower floor can be as difficult as laying down a liner and a pan, or as simple as installing a pre-fabricated shower floor already prepared and ready for install. If you are looking to finish off a shower under construction and you'd like to know do it yourself, read through the following steps to learn about one way it can be done.
Instructions
1. Make sure your sub-floor has a 5-inch opening for a shower floor drain body. Use a 4 1/2-inch diameter hole saw to cut the hole in the floor. The top of the drain pipe will lie flush with the top of the sub-floor.
2. Apply a layer of 30-lb. felt over the sub-floor. Apply gypsum cement, mortar mix, or drywall mud on top of the felt. Once the shower floor is set in place, the weight will cause the felt and cement to smooth out and fill in any cracks or lines in the sub-floor.
3. Set your pre-fabricated fiberglass shower floor in place. Be careful not to drop it. Make sure it is not damaged before installing.
4. Put some liquid dish soap around the inside and outside of the drain seal before installing. Hammer the drain seal into place. Use a tapping tool, such as a 1/4-inch dowel.
5. Pre-drill two holes into the upper lip through the studs on all three sides of the shower floor. Place 1 1/2-inch galvanized panhead screws through the pre-drilled holes. Snap on the metal strainer.
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