Traditional Shower Installations
There are a few different methods for creating a shower. Traditional shower installations often require either a mud bed installation or a hot mopping process. With a mud or mortar bed installation, deck mud is used to build up a slope for the shower floor. One process creates the sloped shower floor with a single layer of deck mud. The mud bed is then coated with some type of waterproofing membrane before tiling. The other process requires two mud bed layers for the shower floor including a preslope, followed by a liner, and finally, another layer for the top slope. Traditional mud bed installations are messy, time consuming, and can be tricky to get a correct and consistent slope.
Hot mopping uses hot asphalt and felt in layers to make a waterproof shower pan. Fiberglass is then embedded in the corners for reinforcement. As can be imagined, hot mopping is a toxic process involving hazardous chemicals and fumes. While this method is still often used in California, particularly in Southern California, many contractors will now opt for a cleaner and easier waterproofing system for doing shower installations.
Laticrete Preformed Shower System
To eliminate the need for traditional mud bed installations or hot mopping, Laticrete expanded the Hydro Ban line to include a complete shower installation system.
The Laticrete Preformed Shower line features everything you need to for a rapid and waterproof shower installation.
The industry leading shower system features waterproof shower pans and liners, curbs, niches, benches, shelves, and various styles of drains and drain grates. Additionally, Laticrete offers some of the best warranties in the industry including lifetime residential and 25 year commercial installations.
The base component for the Preformed Shower System is the Laticrete Pre-Sloped Shower Pan. The shower pan is made of a lightweight, high-density expanded polystyrene and comes with a correct slope so that a sloped mud bed is not required. Don't let the lightweight design fool you - the shower pan is extremely durable and designed to last a lifetime in residential installations.
The shower pans come in a range of sizes so you find the right fit for whatever size your shower is. Additionally, because not all showers are a standard size, the shower pan can be trimmed down with a utility knife if it is too big or if it is a bit small, dry pack can be used to fill in the extra space (both are Laticrete approved methods).
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