adhesive for tile shower floor and what type of mortar

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sisyphus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
131
Reaction score
0
hello all, haven't posted in awhile. planning on doing a tile shower floor. have two questions. what type of mortar for the shower pan. and what type of adhesive to use for the tiles. thanks
 
What type of tile are you using and what about the shower pan? How are you planing on making a water tight seal against the wall Are the wall tiles being replaced also?
 
will be ripping out old tile wall and replacing vinyl shower pan. just want to know what type of mortar to use for the shower pan. thanks
 
Your typical meu pan is made with clean sand, portland cement and water. That’s it! Nor magic!

Don’t consider adding anything else. The basic recipe is 5 parts sand to 1part portland cement — 5:1. Some professionals prefer a richer mix of 4:1, but I’ve found that ratio hard to mix and spread. Too much cement and the mortar tends to clump as you mix it. Other pros advocate a 6:1 or even a 7:1 recipe. I think 5:1 can be considered the median of the industry. I think it’s ideal. Richer or leaner mixes do the job, though, so don’t panic if your mud is not “ideal.”

Properly smoothed and sloped, this pan is great for your tile floor. You should coat the pan with an elastomeric product like Red Gard or Dragon Shield for water proofing. Adhere the tile with THINSET.

Have fun
 
thanks. do I need to know what thickness tile I'll be using before this, or is the drain adjustable after the mortar is installed?
 
You have to set the drain to the projected finished floor of the shower, excluding the thickness of the tile.

Do you know how to set the drain? It is the most important thing you do because once the pan is set, it is not fixable.

Watch this video for many good ideas ...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruoWam-ASII[/ame]
 
thanks for the video. But I have another question. he says that the thickness of his mortar is 2.25-2.5 thickness at the wall. my shower will be only 2 foot wide. that's a pretty thick floor for my space. is there a way to figure out how thick my floor should be? thanks
 
You're really making me push that rock uphill ... :D

The minimum pitch of the floor should be somewhere between 0.3" - 0.375" per linear foot of shower radius. This applies to larger showers which assumes a 2.5" outside thickness. The last shower I did was about 2" ...

I would think a minimum of 1.25" - 1.5" thickness would suffice for your project. Remember, this is the bas which will carry the weight of your tile and body.
 
thanks again for your advice. just want to get this right the first time.
 
took out the shower pan and discovered cement board in place. can I just pour the new stuff onto this surface and do I still need to install metal lath in the preslope. thanks again.
 
Back
Top