Kerdi shower pan - drain not centered; is it really a problem?
We're prepping to redo our shower in a few weeks and are gathering information and supplies so we're ready to go when the time comes. We're currently going back and forth about whether we actually need to move our drain.
Our current shower is (about) 32" x 36" with a (sortof) centered drain - the drain is about 17" off of the back wall and 17" off of the right wall.
We'd like to expand the shower a little bit so the Kerdi pan (inside of the curbs) will be about 32" x 42", which would mean the drain would need to be moved to the left about 4" if it were to be centered.
We have a 48" x 48" Kerdi pan, so we'll be cutting some off of all sides. If the drain were centered, we'd cut 6" off of the length and 16" off of the width - splitting both of those in half to make sure we cut the same amount off of opposite sides (so 3" off opposite sides and 8" off opposite sides). I understand that, because the pan is sloped, there will be a slight discrepancy on the edges that can, hopefully, be hidden with tile and grout.
However, if we didn't center the drain and just left it where it was, I could cut almost the same amount off of 3 sides and just not cut the 4th side at all (I'd cut 7" off of the back and right wall and 9" off the front side).
I'm not sure if you can see what I mean from my drawing here. The top sketch is the shower layout and the bottom sketch is how we would cut the Kerdi pan.
It seems to me it would be better to have three sides with similar heights and just need to deal with one side that might be off by about 1/8", so I can't think of any reason why this would be a bad idea:
- I wouldn't think there'd be a problem with drainage because the drain is still the lowest point
- I'm using small, hexagonal mosaic tiles, so I should have some wiggle room and I won't have straight grout lines
Is there a reason that I'm not thinking of that we should move the drain over 4"?
Thank you for any help. I've been reading a lot about Kerdi here (and have seen Mongo's epic thread) and am learning a lot.
Comments (8)
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
7 years ago
dianey
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Correcting a shower pan slope & drain height
Comments (16)Thanks, gardenweb. We really appreciate the frank input on our shower trainwreck. To answer the specific questions: 1. There's a custom fabricated copper pan under the mud, which was installed by the plumber. This is in a a basement, and the copper sits directly on the slab with nothing else underneath it. 2. Yes, we may have forgotten to pull a permit. This turns out to be a pretty forgetful town. I'll deal with the plumber who caused this mess, but priority #1 is keeping this project on track. 3. There is no corresponding cement board on the interior of the curb, yet. It's just exposed copper right now. I'm planning to attach durock there, but please let me know if that's a bad idea. 4. The attached picture shows the "corrected" mud job. We spent a good deal of time measuring and fabricating a form which would allow us to achieve a good slope, and I'm pretty confident this will drain (and plan to test before tiling). So I've at least got one vote for ripping it all out and starting fresh from live_wire_oak. Frankly, that scares me a little, and I'd appreciate any further thoughts folks have about the pros and cons of tearing it out vs proceeding with the added mud. Please don't be shy if we need a little tough love here. Here is a link that might be useful: Corrected mud job...See Morecurbless shower: drain and Kerdi questions
Comments (11)I have built two curbless showers with in the past year and a half. Both where built using Ditra, Kerdi and Red Guard. I have been having more and more clients ask for trench style drains and have spend about 8 months researching these beauties. Quick Drain USA has a nice channel (trench) drain with excellent tech help and a wonderful website. ACO now imports to North America from the UK and I have found that their drain can fit on top of a Schulter drain rough in (this can not be done without modifying the stock unit and I'm sure it will void any warranty). All that said I should have much more answers to this specific question in roughly 3 months time. The more I look at the trench drains and the more we explore the options it creates it's no wonder the channel drain is the hottest look of any new shower. As far a a nice clean looking curbless shower with a simple Kerdi Drain the entire bathroom needs to be waterproofed. Toilets should not be placed too close to the shower entry because a typical floor mount toilet is the biggest weak link in a wetroom floor. A better option is installing a wall mount toilet or small covered curb (i.e. pony wall, glass block wall, frameless glass on low curb) that separates the toilet location from the wet zone. Make sure you pipe your new curbless with at least a 2" drain line (with properly sized vent line) your design and polumbing package might need a 3" drain line so even though you want the new channel drain you may need to install a standard drain in addition to the floor drain. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks - Push your builder or tile guy to research harder. Be prepared for extra costs. Framing changes, concrete work and structural engineers may need to be used. I designed my last two around standard framing and raised the transition from the hallway to the bathroom to 3/4" - 1" (Solid hardwood reducer at doorway) and pitched everything back to a single Kerdi drain....See MoreKerdi Drain Theory
Comments (24)Thank you again for your replies! The Kerdi over a Mud Base thread is great!! I have looked at the work of both contractors. The shower base and the grout lines done by the contractor who uses the Kerdi tray were excellent!! The only complaint I have is that he had very small tiles at the end of every other row. I think it could have been planned better. The tile work and grout lines done by the contractor who did not use the Schluter base were also good. The problem I have with his work is that the shower base was sloped toward the drain, but within inches of the drain, the slope increased dramatically. It looked like a hole, rather than the gradual slope of the Kerdi tray. In another install by this contractor, there was a noticeable bulge at the bottom of an outside corner. the other tile work looked great. This contractor is about $1000-$1500 less expensive than the other contractor. Can I mention my concerns to him and see what he says to address them? The following are shower floor dimensions excluding the curb: One shower will be roughly 36"x36". The other shower will be a Neo-angle about 34"x48". However, the 24" door will be on the angle with one side being about 19" and the other side being about 33". Can they or should they use the Kerdi tray as per Mongot's reply? Am I better off with a properly constructed mud base? I hope you can follow my explanation. Thanks again!!...See MoreKerdi Shower Pan
Comments (5)My son researched the Kerdi pan, bought it and wants to install it himself. My brother is a self-employed professional tile man for 30 years and he doesn't recommend it. On one hand my son is willing to try something new and on the other hand, a pro doesn't want the liability of a failed shower pan and prefers the tried and true. So, does the Kerdi have the 100% track record to last 50 years; half of its claimed lifespan?...See More
PROCreative Tile Eastern CT
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agodianey
7 years ago- PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
7 years ago - PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
7 years ago MongoCT
7 years ago
MongoCT