Tiled base or fiberglass insert for stand up shower?

3 years ago

I am building a two story colonial-style home and am on the master bathroom.

The bathroom is on the second floor and underneath is will be the dining room.

Now my question is would it be safe to tile the base/floor in the stand up shower or add fiberglass insert? The reason I am asking is because I know the tiled floors tend to leak easily.

any help is greatly appreciated!

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Comments (16)

admiirny
Original Author
3 years ago
The bathroom floors and shower wall will also have tile. Sorry!
PRO
Skippack Tile & Stone
3 years ago
Be sure to hire knowledgeable people that will do the proper steps and use the correct materials. Tiled areas, shower floor and main floors don't leak "easily" if done correctly; most can outlast the house.
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Pete summarized the main points nicely, though I'd disagree that solid surface pans are all ugly. Plain, perhaps, but I don't think they necessarily detract from the look of a beautifully tiled shower. But in the end, aesthetics are a personal opinion, so only you can decide if it matters to you. One more thing no one mentioned: pre-fabs are idiot-proof. If tiled floors (and all the stuff that goes underneath) are not installed correctly, you can end up with a mess on your hands. But you don't often see GW horror stories entitled "my contractor screwed up my solid base shower!" :-) My sister has a tiled shower floor and complains of discolored grout. That's what drove me initially to do a solid surface pan. Ease of install and idiot-proofness were bonuses for this DIY-er. And I like it fine. We're done with all the bathrooms in our house, but now that I'm much more informed about shower construction, I'm likely to try a fully tiled (and kerdi'd) shower in a future bathroom project, should it materialize someday.
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In part, he's right...... if they're not put together properly. I just did a project about 2 months ago. Someone up here had an absolutely beautiful master shower put together, but the owner started having problems with mold growth and the pan not drying out, including the first course of tile. This woman was forever running a dehumidifier in her bathroom, as well as squeegeeing the heck out of the shower every time it was used. I told her there was no way this was right. The whole reason for ceramic tile is that it makes whatever it covers, virtually maintenence free! I made the suggestion to her that some time in the next year, she may want to think about gutting the shower and redoing it, because although aesthetically speaking, the installer did a terrific job, mechanically, I could guarantee what she'd find, that being a flat bottom pan and most likely plugged weepholes at the base of the drain. In addition, if she'd put a higher CFM fan just outside the shower, or even INSIDE the shower, and vent it to the outside, she wouldn't have to worry any more, and certainly wouldn't have to run the dehumidifier. About a week later, she called, and asked when we could start. Once I got in there and tore the shower apart, I found alot more than I thought. First, it WAS a flat bottom pan-- a copper one. As for the weepholes, I was wrong about that-- they weren't clogged, they just didn't exist. Also, there were two benches in this shower (it was a double his and hers shower), and both had been built inside the copper pan. However, neither bench had been AT ALL waterproofed, nor were the bench tops sloped properly. Actually, there was a slight slope back toward the wall, and there was about 3" of standing water inside each one of them. Matter of fact, I sopped it up into a bucket, and within about a half hour, they filled right back up agan from water that was still in the mud pan! Once we pulled everything apart, I took a drill and popped some weepholes into the base of the drain stem, and basically went from there, as if there was no copper pan there, building a "pan within a pan" using a urethane waterproofing goop called Ultraset from Hydroment. I did my preslope, "gooped" up the pan, and then floated it, building a conventional shower pan. Once the shower was all put back together, I told her not to worry about squeegeeing, and to let the vent fan run for about 5-10 minutes after using the shower, and see what happens. I got a call about 3 weeks later, just as these people were closing up the house to head down to Marco Island in Florida for the winter. She thanked me saying this shower was now a dream to use-- no smell, no wet joints any more, no cracked corners, and NO MORE SQUEEGEE! It's all in how it's put together.
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First, if you've got that much of a difference, it's the ceiling that's out, and you're going to need to cut it in. If you start on top of the shower unit, 21" would be full tile, so even at the biggest spot you'd be cutting it in, and no one would be any the wiser. Also, it's up to you, but subway tiles are meant to butt together. No need for that big a grout joint, unless you like the look of it.
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"Oatey" usually refers to a shower pan liner. Sloped mud (preslope) gets installed over the flat subfloor, the Oatey goes over the sloped mud, so now the membrane itself is slope to the drain. Then more mud goes over the Oatey and tile goes on top of the second layer of mud. Wall waterproofing will be independent of the Oatey liner. "Kerdi" is a surface applied membrane, most often it comes in sheet form. Kerdi can get applied over a sloped foam Kerdi tray on the floor (or to save money, omit the Kerdi Tray and use sloped deck mud), and if your shower walls are already drywalled or covered with cement board, Kerdi membrane can be applied directly to the drywall/cement board on the shower walls. Tile goes directly on the Kerdi. With Oatey, the Oatey liner on the floor combined with (for example) 6-mil poly sheeting behind cement board on the walls will usually give the least expensive installation. Many showers have been built this way and properly detailed, they perform well. The downside? On the walls the tile, grout, thinset, and cement board can theoretically all get wet. On the floor the tile, thinset, and top layer of deck mud can all get wet. Once the mud base wets, it usually remains moist over the life of the shower. With Kerdi (or most any other surface applied membrane), there is less wetting of the shower structure. Because the tile is adhered directly to the membrane, the only thing that can get wet is the tile, grout and thinset. You can usually save money using Oatey and 6-mil poly. You can better control moisture with Kerdi (or another surface applied membrane). You can save money over a typical Kerdi installation shower package by not using a manufactured Kerdi Tray on the floor and instead using sloped deck mud.
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just_janni
3 years ago
I am installing a Kohler shower base in my new build. I was SUPER impressed with the rigidity and quality of this unit - not like some of the springy el cheapo tub / shower combos or other bases that I have seen. Finish is exceptional and it's HUGE! Highly recommended if a cleaner aesthetic is your thing and you don't want the decorative aspect of a tiled floor that coordinates with the walls, etc.

https://www.us.kohler.com/us/ballast-66-x-36-shower-base-with-center-drain/productDetail/shower-bases/429199.htm?skuId=415819&brandId=914773
Jc Nash
3 years ago
I also highly recommend the Kohler shower base. We added a huge one in our master bath and we love it! No dirty grout to clean and it always looks spotless. We had the plumber add a 5 gallon bucket of compound underneath for added support.
BT
3 years ago
Many times you do not have a choice: non standard area and / or curbless.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
I would select a preformed shower base and not add any tile to the floor. Why make problems for yourself.?

https://www.us.kohler.com/us/browse/bathroom-showering-shower-bases/_/N-2d8rZ1z141vg?Nr=AND%28product.language%3AEnglish%2CP_market%3AKPNASite%29
Sherrie
3 years ago
We installed the Kohler Purist cast iron shower base. We love it. Clean up is easy and I don't worry so much about a leaky tiled shower floor. We used marble on our bathroom floor and I read a few too many posts about marble discoloration and standing water when used in the shower (many probably don't have this problem, but our tile person wasn't "all that" and I didn't trust that he would do the job correctly). In the end, I'm so glad we chose the cast iron base. If you don't mind it not matching your floor tile, it's a great option. https://www.us.kohler.com/us/purist-48-x-36-single-threshold-center-drain-shower-base/productDetail/shower-bases/421222.htm?skuId=372746&brandId=1163712
julieste
3 years ago
We just had a bathroom with shower redone and are going to do another where we will be removing the tub and putting in a shower instead. I'm curious about how this shower floor insert can be safer than a standard tiled shower. After our shower pan was built and the membrane put down, it had to sit for days with water in it before the tile could be installed. If you have someone who knows what he is doing building the base and tiling, is there really a greater risk of leakage with a tiled shower floor?

And, IMO, aesthetics come into play too since there are many more design options with the tile.
admiirny
Original Author
3 years ago
Julieste,

i am not sure. if you have a tiled walls inside of shower, adding tile to floor would look the best, there’s no comparison. I have looked at fiberglass bases but they just do not fit well into a completely tiled bathroom.

However, I do believe the insert is the safer option in regards to leakage. However, if not properly installed and sealed will run risk of leakage as well.

I have a walk in shower on the first floor of my current home now. it has a tiled base inside. However, it is on the first floor with concrete underneath. it is a raised ranch so no basement.

My new build will be a two story with a basement. I just do not want to run into problems with it leaking downstairs into the ceiling. However, I do want a modern bathroom as everything else will be modern.

The fiberglass insert is basically like comparing a tub with tile vs tub with plastic insert. There’s no question that tile looks way better.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
No one is recommending a fiberglass base.....................your home is not an RV camper.

The bases that are offered now are cast material and quite heavy. Tile on the floor is no safer than a cast base with texture. More grout lines more cleaning no exceptions. This issue is simply that there are few tile installers who can still properly install a mud base shower and not have it eventually leak.
just_janni
3 years ago
If you are doing modern- you definitely want a purchased base then, IMO.
cdnmiss
3 years ago
My father in law was a kitchen and bath designer. He would only use Schluter system shower base applications..hence its all we use, then tile over it. So far and MANY bathrooms later..no issues at all :)
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
missymayl suggestion is very appropriate for your installation.
julieste
3 years ago
"This issue is simply that there are few tile installers who can still properly install a mud base shower and not have it eventually leak." I completely agree with this comment of Beverly's.

When we discovered that our tile installer didn't have the ability to do a good job on a custom made mud shower floor, we ended up having to get rid of him and hire someone else who had the skills.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
There are many choices in shower pans and fiberglass is on the bottom of the list. Be aware that showers leak from poor waterproofing and tiling and can leak from places other than the pan too.
BT
3 years ago
There are so many options... From Schluter Shower System, arc1st, Wedi, foams, home built, etc.

You can be on a really cheap side with use of the liners that 100% work and never leak. A liner can be had for next to nothing and you can install double liner if you wanted to.

We tiled our own shower and did own shower pan. Nothing hard there other than bringing the mortar. You can cut your own slope guides out of plywood, etc.

In today's world it is laziness and sloppiness that causes these showers to leak. Yes I have seen builders not installing them correctly because they did not wanted to spend extra $20 per house.

>tile installer didn't have the ability to do a good job

Sorry. There should be no excuse for this.

Tiled base or fiberglass insert for stand up shower?

Comments (16)

admiirny
Original Author

Skippack Tile & Stone

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Tiled base or fiberglass insert for stand up shower?

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admiirnyOriginal Author

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