So here’s today’s question: How do you build a curbless walk-in shower on a concrete
floor, specifically in a basement bathroom?
Well, in the video today, we’re going to show you all the different steps needed to
build this shower and the bathroom, which turned out amazing.
We’re really happy with the results.
And by the way, if we were to build this for a client, it would’ve cost about $12,500
here in Pittsburgh.
So we actually built this bathroom in one of the homes that Steve flipped, and we really
think that the tips you’re going to get in today’s video will help you build a similar
one, a similar shower and bathroom, that is.
And at the end of the video, we’ve got something really great for you that we think will help
you out with your project.
The first thing that we did in this basement bathroom was demo the entire bathroom floor.
And then we poured new concrete down, and we added a 2x4 at the shower entryway so that
that didn’t go into the shower pan area.
For this shower, we’re using a KBRS linear drain module.
It’s got an ABS drain module.
We’re going to install that and then screed off of that and the bathroom floor.
So that new bathroom floor will come in handy.
But underneath our pebbles is a vapor barrier, I should say.
So we put the vapor barrier down, and then we added our concrete board.
In this case, WONDERBOARD LITE.
But it doesn’t matter what type of cement board you use.
We’re going to use a high strength concrete, and we’re going to use a special mixing
paddle to mix it up in a 5 gallon bucket.
So the reason why we’re doing this is because when we mix up the high strength concrete,
we’re going to put that down over top of all those pebbles.
And this is kind of our first layer for the curbless shower pan.
So we actually shaped that and made it uniform throughout.
For this bathroom, because it’s in a basement, we decided to add the Nuheat heated flooring
system.
These are the cable guides for that system.
So you got to use a hammer drill and a masonry bit to add screws or anchors in the concrete
for the guides.
So you want to also prime the floor using Ardex P 51 primer because we’re going to
be using an Ardex self-leveler in this basement bathroom.
So you always want to use the primer that goes along with the self-leveler.
We’re running the cables here, every three studs, for the Nuheat.
And then we’re adding some 2x4s at the doorway and at the shower.
These will hold our self-leveler in the bathroom area.
We also recommend using a latex acrylic sealant at the wood in the shower and at the doorway.
This will prevent the self-leveler from going outside the bathroom area.
Now, we’re also going to be using a foam backer here along the wall.
So this is really to provide a 1/8 inch expansion and contraction joint between the self-leveler
and the wall.
So in this case, we’re using Ardex Liquid BackerBoard.
This is an awesome self-leveler.
Mix it per the directions.
You might need several bags depending on the type of floor that you’re self-leveling.
And also use some type of floor squeegee to move the self-leveler over top of these cables.
But as you can see here, this is what the floor looked like once we were done leveling
it.
It’s a really great product.
So the next day, we removed these wood forms; that’s easy to do.
And then our next step is to really start shaping the shower pan.
And for that, we’re going to use a 4 to 1 Mud Bed Mix.
Make sure you measure out the water accordingly; this is really important to get accurate.
And what we did is we mixed that up, and then we added it on top of the area where this
KBRS linear drain will go.
So then we just packed more Mud Bed Mix around it using a grout float.
And then we screeded off of our main bathroom floor using a 2x4, and we made that perfectly
curbless.
And then we removed any of the Mud Bed Mix that got into the drain area.
So the next step after that sets up for 24 hours is to waterproof the entire shower area.
Now, in this case we use KBRS Shower Seal.
And you also have to add fleece to the corners and any change of plane.
So the white fleece here you see in the corner, we did for the two inside corners and the
two outside corners and anywhere where the cement board met the shower pan.
So as you can see here, we’re just applying more Shower Seal over top of the fleece.
These are the outside corners.
Again, we’re applying the Shower Seal over top of the fleece and behind it.
These are the vertical corners.
And again, we’re applying the Shower Seal then the fleece.
And then you want to paint over the fleece.
And you want to do the exact same thing for any horizontal seams, too, and the screw holes
in the cement board.
And then you can paint on the rest of the Shower Seal using a 3/8 inch paint roller.
It’s really easy to use, and this is just the first coat.
So you definitely need two coats.
And you want to use this for the shower pan area and the bathroom floor.
It’s critical to waterproof a bathroom floor in a curbless shower.
So here’s what it looked like after the first coat.
But again, we applied two coats.
The next step for us was to tile the bathroom floor.
We’re just using directional troweling here with a Euro trowel.
We’re back buttering the tile because we want at least 95% coverage in a wet area.
We’re going to set that tile over top of our directional troweling and compress it
to remove any of the air.
And then we’re using T-lock here for all of the tiles.
T-lock is a great tile leveling system for large format tiles.
It’s phenomenal.
We let the tiles set up for one day, so like 24 hours.
And then we removed the clips and the wedges.
You can also reuse the T-lock wedges.
And then we cleaned off the top of the tile and the grout joints.
That’s really important to do before you set any grout in those tiles.
Now, the next step for us was to cut and dry fit all the tiles for the shower pan.
So we’re just using the Motolit Masterpiuma for most of these tile cuts.
We also had to use an angle grinder and diamond blade for some areas, but not much.
So again, we dry fit everything here as you can see.
And after that, what you can do is apply your thinset mortar to the top of the shower pan
and easily set all the tiles.
When you dry fit the tiles and cut them to size, this makes setting the tiles really
easy.
You also might want to grab some 1/16 inch horseshoe shims for the spacing.
Now here’s the deal: we had to let that set up for a day.
And then our next step was to set the tile on the main shower wall.
So we used 12x24s.
We also wanted to add a glass corner shelf here.
And this can be a little bit tricky, so take your time when you do it.
You want the right pitch, you need the right slice out of the tile, and so you just want
to take your time with those glass corner shelves.
So we did that for the plumbing wall, which is the left there.
And then we worked our way from left to right.
We also added a mosaic in the center there.
So we actually have a little trick for how to get the mosaic to be flush with the thicker
12x24 tiles.
And then there we were just dry fitting our glass corner shelf.
So here’s what the shower looks like.
We got them with the main wall.
We tiled the other two walls the next day.
This is the curbless entry; looks great.
And then the final look is amazing as we said at the beginning of the video; just phenomenal.
Building curbless showers, especially in a basement bathroom, can be a big challenge.
So what we did is we made an online course that watches step-by-step through how we built
this shower.
So from the designing and the building to the waterproofing and the tile work.
And you’re going to really like it.
Many people have joined the course and are getting results from it.
And our whole goal is to make this process much easier for you and also help you avoid
costly mistakes.
So if you’re interested in the course, you can click right here.
That’ll take you right over to bathroomrepairtutor where you can check it out and sign up for
it.
So thanks for watching this video.
We promise you’ll like the course, and we hope to see you soon.
Take care!