Lurker seeking help with squeaky shower pan

[SJMaye]

I have been remodeling 2 bathrooms and have been lurking / reading through this forum for a while answering questions to problems I have run in to . Now, I am stuck and need some professional advice.

I recently set my new 30" x 60" shower pan. I set it in a mortar bed like the instructions. Now, after finishing the tile walls I am hearing a couple squeaks. The worst of which is right next to the drain. Inspecting underneath shows a ~1/8" gap between my mortar bed and the bottom of the shower pan. Each time I step in this area I am greeted with a, " S-Q-U-E-A-K"!

Although I have some access to this area the only way I was able to see the gap was with a fiberoptic camera. I can get my fingers up there, but not my head.

Can someone share some ideas short of pan removal to fix the squeak?

 

[SJMaye]

I might add. I have tried getting a tube up to the crack and pump mortar in it without success. I could possibly get wood shims in there if they would hold up for the long haul. Someone also recommended I put Rectorseal 2-part epoxy putty in the crack. I think I can get it up in the crack, but I could not get it back deep in the crack. Probably just the front edge of the crack.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

In the past I've used foam with a long tube to get the foam under tubs and pans. It's a good idea to plug the drain first, and fill the pan with water to keep it weighted down before foaming.

 

[SJMaye]

Hello Terry,

Thank you for your reply. I have a few questions.

1. Filling the pan with water- Will a shower pan hold enough water and its related weight to stop the foam from lifting it or should I load down the pan with some other weight like sand bags?
2. Which foam? - The spray foam available to me at home stores is the Dow Great Stuff. There is Windows/Doors, Regular, and Big Gap varieties. Is one better than another for this job?
3. Should I use foam and shims? I have read in many cases using foam for a repair like this works, but eventually the foam compresses. Should I try to get something hard like a shim between the pan and mortar as backup to the foam?

 

[Jadnashua]

Some foam is brittle, some is more flexible, sort of like a rubber cushion. Personally, I've not tried this, so this is just thoughts. You would not want a high expansion foam...one designed for doors and windows is low-expansion so it doesn't warp the frames and make things inoperative. To get water to stay in the pan, you'd need to buy or rent a test plug. How deep can you make it before it would come over the curb? You can calculate the volume, and figure out how much weight there would be. Probably less than say laying a bag of sand over the drain, but put too much there, and you'd be depressing it, not just holding it down, and stress things when you remove it. If you want to keep things dry, you might cut a piece of ply to fit the bottom (thinner, so it would bend, but still even out the weight application), then stack some heavy things on it.

Do you have access to the bottom of that pan from say below? Cutting some drywall and working from below where you may be able to get in around the drain from the hole in the subfloor might be more reliable. Fixing drywall is relatively easy unless there's say texture you want to replicate.

I'd consider asking this question over at www.johnbridge.com and see if you get any other suggestions.

 

[SJMaye]

Hi,

Thanks for the tips on foam type and weighing down the pan. I do have access from below. Not great. but enough access to insert the spray foam straw tip. I had considered access from through the drywall. Actually have better access from below.