Master Shower Reno

[Faal]

Hi,
I am a DIY'er with an interest in this type of work. I enjoy watching reno shows and really like to turn some of that into projects around the house.

I am currently renovating my master bathroom and I am working on the shower. I thought I planned well however, Ive run into a bit of an issue. I used a 32x60 off center schluter kit and extended it to a 36x72 with dry pack. I plan to use a 12x24 tile in the shower (I know this is frowned upon for safety and ease of work but I really dont want many grout lines).

The issue I have is what to do with the pre slope on the schluter. I dont want diagonal lines to follow the pre slope. Can I ignore/change (it will be relatively similar but not follow it exactly) the preslop and create my own? I was thinking about making a trench across the drain and have the tile on both sides pitch towards it. I saw a picture where someone used tile edging to create the trench. Can I do it without a trench? Because the edges are relatively the same height, wont the water run down to the middle and towards the drain anyways? I plan on using tile leveling system to keep lippage to a minimum.

Thanks

 

[JohnfrWhipple]

Working Around the pre slope on the Schluter Shower tray


There are some examples of what you want to see here: https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/tiling-shower-floor-in-seperate-sections.56562/

Those showers built by myself and another master tile guy named Rod.

Notice how none of the showers use the Schluter System.

We should really chat about the work so far. Lots of it needs improving....

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

The reasons larger format tile on a shower floor aren't a great idea in many cases is that many, not all, just are too slippery (grout lines add grip) and, in a typical shower, it is created more like a bowl than an flat plane, and larger format tile just don't follow those slopes without lippage. Be very careful about the tile you choose if you want to go to a larger one than say 4x4.

What you want to do is easier if you use a linear drain. Since the Schluter trays are four flat planes verses the more bowl-shaped when done in deckmud, if you use a diagonal pattern, you can use an edge of a tile along the changes of plane, but how it will look, will very much depend on the size and pattern of the tile you select. To change the overall slope of the assembly, you may find you'll have to tear out what you have. Depends on what shape you settle on. By far, the easiest route is to just use a tile that can fit on the existing pan and follow the slopes involved. The square drain is 4"x4", and there are many tile you can use that won't need to be cut to fit around it.

Because you extended the foam tray, you may find that the perimeter of your shower is no longer even all around. While this functionally works fine, you may or may not like the way it looks when tiled.

Their preformed trays are best used when the match your desired overall size, or you can cut or add to them symmetrically for aesthetics, not function.

 

[Faal]

The reasons larger format tile on a shower floor aren't a great idea in many cases is that many, not all, just are too slippery (grout lines add grip) and, in a typical shower, it is created more like a bowl than an flat plane, and larger format tile just don't follow those slopes without lippage. Be very careful about the tile you choose if you want to go to a larger one than say 4x4.

What you want to do is easier if you use a linear drain. Since the Schluter trays are four flat planes verses the more bowl-shaped when done in deckmud, if you use a diagonal pattern, you can use an edge of a tile along the changes of plane, but how it will look, will very much depend on the size and pattern of the tile you select. To change the overall slope of the assembly, you may find you'll have to tear out what you have. Depends on what shape you settle on. By far, the easiest route is to just use a tile that can fit on the existing pan and follow the slopes involved. The square drain is 4"x4", and there are many tile you can use that won't need to be cut to fit around it.

Because you extended the foam tray, you may find that the perimeter of your shower is no longer even all around. While this functionally works fine, you may or may not like the way it looks when tiled.

Their preformed trays are best used when the match your desired overall size, or you can cut or add to them symmetrically for aesthetics, not function.

Thanks for the reply

I am not a huge fan of the diagonal pattern and thats my issue here. I am aware of the friction concern and im open to adding a mosaic to brake up the big tile but would like to use the big tile with the mosaic. Maybe the big tile can be the perimeter. I think i can live with that minimal diagonal instead of it running across the whole surface.

Even with a 1/2 x 1/2 trowel I can alter the slope to a custom slope. The slope as it appears is very minimal. My idea was to slope the outsides towards the middle since the middle of the pan already has a slope to the drain.

The perimeter might be off but it doesnt appear to be by much. DO you think it will be noticible to the untrained eye. doubt its an 1/8th of an inch.

 

[Jadnashua]

Ideally, you want 1/4" per foot slope to the drain on the longest distance...with an offset drain, that shorter wall will have a steeper slope. A manufactured pan verses a manually built one might be able to get by with a slightly shallower slope because it is essentially perfect, but that also assumes you've followed instructions and your floor is perfectly level, too. It is not uncommon to make the bottom tile slightly less than full size, and you may not notice. There are at least a couple of ways to set y0ur floor tile up against a wall. Most people like to put in the floor, then finish with the wall tile bottom row which hides the edges of the floor, and caulk that joint. If you should decide to use an engineered expansion joint on the floor/wall joints (and probably in the corners as well), that can hide some of the discrepancies, as it provides a nice straight line to fool the eyes. I like them over caulk, which eventually will need to be replaced. Some people grout all joints, but that is against industry standards built on many years of experience...the seasonal dimensional changes of the walls and building will usually cause a solid grout joint on those changes of plane to crack. Some live with it so they don't deal with caulk, but it can look nasty sometimes. Some grout it, and wait...if it cracks, then they clean it out and caulk, but once in awhile, it will survive, depending on the building, the whims of the gods, and who knows what.

Without a 'bowl' shape, you have to be creative if you are going to use a center drain verses a linear drain across the whole surface.

 

[Vegas_sparky]

John Whipple has pulled off some incredible looking large format tile shower floors. Look closely at what he's done, and don't discount his warnings.

 

[Braden Horvath]

Don't know your reasoning for not wanting too many grout lines. If it is an aesthetics thing I can't help you there. If it is a maintenance(sealing, staining, cleaning) thing, like it was for our last tile project than thats easy. Lactricrete Spectralock grout was awesome. It doesn't stain or need sealed. Worth the extra money. I will caution you though, work in small batches, have at least 3 buckets for clean-up. After one round of trying to apply solo I found it was easier to wait until I had a second person there to help wipe up the tiles and rinse out sponges. Clean-up is crucial. I imagine if I were a pro these extra precautions way not be necessary. Oh, and buy a digital food scale if you don't already have one to separate out their "units". Anyways, good luck