Installing a Shower Pan for Yourself

Installing a shower pan is one of the tasks that most home owners who have some plumbing skills or are rather good at tinkering around with tools opt to do for themselves. The reasons as to why this is preferred might to be to cut down on cost or just for the fun of making something workable for your house.

The most important elements of such a project will be getting the drain positioned properly over the slab and positioning the shower base correctly over the drain. Installing a drain in a concrete slab might however be tricky and if you have no room for error you should consider calling in some expert assistance.

One very crucial factor that will hold either way is that the base onto which you are installing a shower pan has to be properly prepared and leveled before the pan is installed. These preparations will include finishing off the concrete underlayment and putting a frame onto which the shower pan will be attached.

Assuming that the above has been done and necessary inspection by the local authority carried out if need there be, the next step in the installation will be getting the tools that you need for the job. You will need; drain assembly, PVC primer and cement, panel adhesive, some rags and galvanized nails.

To start off, ensure that the floor is level and clean then test fit the shower pan to ensure that the drain opening fits over the drain in the floor. The next step in installing a shower pan will require that you the flange to your drain pipe and again test for a snug fit. Add an extension to the drain pipe to fit. Consequently, you can cut it short if it is long.

After the above components fit snugly, add primer and cement to the flange and drain pipe. This should be done with the intention of attaching them to the floor and allow them to dry according to manufacturers guidelines.

When the designated period is over, the next step will be putting your shower pan over the drain. Put a gasket at the point where these two meet then screw or fasten tight. The method of bonding the two will vary according to the model of shower pan that you had purchased.

The final steps of installing a shower pan require that you fasten the shower pan onto the frame of the concrete floor or shower stall base. This should be done snugly to ensure that no leakage occurs so as to avoid getting the surface in-between the shower pan and the flooring damp. In addition to this, you should be careful while drilling holes for the galvanized nails so that you do not end up cracking your shower pan before you can even use it.