The best way to waterproof your shower involves you or your contractor installing a waterproof substrate and shower liner. The substrate is the foundation of your shower. Above the substrate is the shower liner, usually a PVC sheet. Depending on your preference, you lay tile on top of the shower liner and the walls of the shower, or you can attach a shower insert -- a solid piece of fiberglass or plastic -- that attaches to the floors and walls of the shower.
General Waterproofing Techniques
As a general note for waterproofing a shower, Stacey Hunt of hgtvpro.com recommends that you or your contractor slope the bottom of your shower toward the drain to ensure that there is no water pooling on the bottom of your shower. Most local codes require a slope of ¼ inch per foot.
Make sure that the areas where you lay tile are level, even in the areas where the ground slopes toward the drain. Make sure to focus your sealing and caulking in areas where the shower insert meets the tile, if you use a combination of a shower insert and tile. The same is true if you attached the shower insert directly to the substrate and the bathroom wall.
Waterproof Substrate
Hunt, of hgtvpro.com, says to create the best waterproofed shower that uses either ceramic tiles or a shower insert, the substrate underneath the tiles or insert must be waterproof itself. Select a material upon which you will lay your tile or attach your shower insert that is made from a cement backer-board or a fiberglass backer-board.
Do not assume a material is waterproof. Materials like green board, mortar and grout are not waterproof and require treatment to be water resistant.
In some instances you or your contractor may decide to create a laid concrete substrate. If so, make sure that the concrete is properly cured prior to attaching a shower liner and tile over the substrate. Cement must cure for at least 28 days. If the concrete slab already exists from a previous installation, make sure to fill any cracks in the concrete with a crack-isolation membrane.
Shower Liners
Hunt also recommends that you use a shower liner that sits just above the backer-board or substrate and between the shower insert or tile.
Make sure your shower liner is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or chlorinated polyethylene (CPE). PVC tends to be more inexpensive, but can be more rigid.
If you can afford the cost difference of about two dollars per square foot, CPE shower liners are easier to install and crack less easily than PVC.
You can purchase pre-sloped liners, which simplifies the sloping process. When installing the shower liner, make sure to overlap the liner at least nine inches up the framed wall. The overlapping ensures the best means of waterproofing a shower.
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