How to Build a Mortar Shower Pan

This is Part 1/6 in our Bathroom Build Series. In this tutorial we show you how to build a mortar bed for our curbless walk-in shower with a Schluter drain.

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Supplies

MATERIALS

Vapor Barrier-
Metal Lath- https://homedepot.sjv.io/rn4Qk5 (HOME DEPOT)
Portland Cement- https://homedepot.sjv.io/rn4Qk5 Schluter Drain System- https://homedepot.sjv.io/rn4Qk5 (HOME DEPOT) https://homedepot.sjv.io/rn4Qk5 (AMAZON)

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First you need to lay down a layer of vapour barrier that covers the entire area of your shower pan.

We used a staple gun to secure the vapour barrier in place.

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Next, you need to add a layer of metal lath that covered the entire surface area of your shower pan.

We nailed our metal lath in place.

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Next we installed our Schluter Drain. We glued it to the 2" pipe that is was already installed for the shower and made sure it was level.

Make sure you leave the spacers in place so you have the required minimum 1" of concrete underneath the drain.

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Next we prepared the cement for the mortar bed using a 1 cement: 4 sand ratio.

We started with the perimeter of the shower and working our way in to establish our grade.

The standard slope for a mortar bed is 1/2" drop per every 12" from the shower walls to the drain, how thick you lay your cement around the perimeter will vary depending on the size of your shower.

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Once you've established your grade around the perimeter, you can work your way into the drain in the centre using a long 'trowel' to evenly smooth out your slope.

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