Installing Shower Trays
When buying a new bathroom or shower room consideration has to be made as regards who is going to fit it. Obviously, it is always best to contact and hire a recognised and reputable bathroom fitter, someone who can come in and give your bathroom the look you envisioned.
However, an increasing number of customers buy their bathroom fittings and then decide to fit the new room themselves. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, apart from the fact that shower trays need fitting first.
Fitting a shower tray is perhaps one of the jobs that requires that little bit extra care. The following instructions should be followed carefully, to prevent the possibility of water leaking, and ruining your bathroom floor.
First of all, make sure that you measure the dimensions of the bathroom floor accurately. Note the size of the tray you are going to buy first, and then see if it will fit into the space. The trays that are on the market now come in many different shapes and sizes. Bear this in mind and make sure that the tray you want will fit.
Next, place a layer of sand (2 inches thick) in the spot that your shower tray is going to sit on. You have measured this accurately, so getting this part right should not be a problem. Then add another layer, this time of cement, again making it 2 inches thick. Grab a trowel and smooth it out. Keep the base (which is what you have just made) away from the drain. Leave your new base to dry for a full day (24 hours if you can).
Add another layer to the base, this time of thinset mortar. This does not need to be as thick as the other two layers. Make it so that it is a quarter inch thick and no more. This thinset layer is used as an adhesive to keep your new shower tray in place once you have fitted it.
Install your new shower tray, into the spot you have carefully prepared. The shower tray will be already slanted so that water runs off into the drain. All you have to worry about is making sure that the tray is aligned effectively with the drain.
Drill two holes into the lip of the tray, making sure that they are evenly spaced. Then fix your new shower tray to the wall using two pan-head screws.
A couple of pointers that you will do well to remember. Make sure that you don’t do any wall tiling until your tray is in place. If you tile beforehand all you will get is an uneven mess where the tiles meet the tray. Get the wall done first, and it will look a whole lot better.
And finally, if you drop the shower tray, get a new one. They are delicate. And if you install a broken shower tray, you will get a leak.
