Questions about a newly installed shower stall.

Users who are viewing this thread

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
My parents recently had their bathroom remodeled and I was curious as to what the little slits in the shower pan are for.

Additionally, I was wondering what the small holes located on either side of the shower pan near the front corners are for.

Lastly, along the bottom edge of the left wall panel in the shower stall there's a one inch indented strip which feels softer that the rest of the wall which is made of cultured marble. It almost appears as if the wall panel was cut too short, or is this something that was done intentionally for some reason?

ShowerPanWallsFrontBath2014 009.jpg
ShowerPanWallsFrontBath2014 005.jpg
ShowerPanWallsFrontBath2014 015.jpg
ShowerPanWallsFrontBath2014 001.jpg
ShowerPanWallsFrontBath2014 003.jpg
 

JohnfrWhipple

BATHROOM DESIGN & BUILD
Messages
3,225
Reaction score
102
Points
48
Location
North Vancouver, BC
I have a hunch that if you look up the instructions you will find that this shower pan should have been ordered larger or the walls brought in a little. The stepped edges remind me of a tub's tile flange. They should be hidden. My guess would be those little dents are clip in locations for extras or wall panels.

I think you need to tell use the make and model of the base.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Thanks for the reply. I'm in the process of trying to contact the subcontractor who put in the shower pan to find out where I can get the instructions/spec sheet.

The guy who put in the cultured marble walls is supposed to be coming out next week to measure for a vanity top. So I'm going to ask him about the shower walls/pan install and see what he says.

A web site called The Wright Inspector has a photo of a shower pan with the slits/openings similar to the one that I have. The description next to the photo says:

"(some acrylic shower pans) have a flange against the wall that keeps the water in. Most pans will have an indent close to the front edge, at both sides, to let water drain into the pan instead of trailing out. If water gets behind the marble, acrylic, or tile, it should drain out of this hole. I often find these indents caulked or full of grout, and there is usually wall damage on the outside of the shower."

I'm assuming that the "indents" being referred to are the openings that I referred to as "slits".
 

Eurob

master tile and stone installer
Messages
824
Reaction score
53
Points
28
Location
Montreal
Website
www.houzz.com
I think the pan in the OP picture is a pan with overflow holes , in case the drain clogs . This is the first time I see one , but it looks like it is used in California .
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Overflow holes!?! If that's the case it must mean that a significant number of my fellow Californians have been allowing their clogged showers overflow, apparently oblivious to the fact that the water level has risen to their ankles. This might explain the water shortage we've been having.
 

Eurob

master tile and stone installer
Messages
824
Reaction score
53
Points
28
Location
Montreal
Website
www.houzz.com
Doubt that they are weep holes , but .... if they are , they should communicate with the back of the wall panels . I really doubt it is a good idea ......

Could you provide a diagram for the shower pan ?
 

SHR

Member
Messages
140
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Minnesota
Weep holes, overflow holes??? NO. You are being led down a really wrong path. The shower base (I bet Vikrell material) was MADE to be installed with a specific set of proprietary wall panels, not anything else. Those indentations are anchor holes to align the proprietary wall panels, that is all.

I do not know if the customer or the installer picked the base but they should have been informed it would not work well or at least look bad if not installed as per manufacturer's instructions. It should work ok, at this point the slits create a visual and cleaning problem but not a leak problem. As for the joint between the base and walls, let's hope the installer at least jerry-rigged that so it will be watertight.
 
Last edited:

SHR

Member
Messages
140
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Minnesota
The people at "A web site called The Wright Inspector" are evidently related to many of the home inspectors I have to follow-up on and do expensive repairs on defects they missed. They do not seem to have any idea about shower stall installation.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
"Those indentations are anchor holes to align the proprietary wall panels, that is all." That was my initial thought the first time I saw them. Then I found out about weep holes (of which I had never heard of or seen before) and discovered that there are many conflicting opinions about what they are for and whether they help prevent problems or in actuality are the cause of problems.

I'll post back when I get the "official" explanation from the cultured marble guy who's supposed to be coming out later this week to measure for a vanity top.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
"Could you provide a diagram for the shower pan ?" Now that Thanksgiving is over I'll be able to devote more time to tying up some of the loose ends on this bathroom project. As soon as I hear from the subcontractor about getting the specs on the shower pan I will post the info here.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
"Why the cultured marble panels need anchor holes for" If the little slits are anchor holes they might be for some other type of siding produced by the shower pan manufacturer. The only reason for them that I can think of would be to aid in positioning/aligning the side panels during installation. If an installer requires anchor points to line up the side panels then he/she probably needs more training or possibly should consider changing occupations, IMO.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Turns out that the box that the shower pan came in was sitting behind the trash/recycle bins so I was able to determine that the shower pan is an Aquatic 3232CPAN made of A2 composite material. Dimensions are 32" x 32". I downloaded the installation/spec sheets which included the following diagrams:

ShowerPanAquaticCulturedMarbleEnclosure.jpg
ShowerPanDiagram3232CpanAquatic.jpg


ShowerPanAquaticCulturedMarbleEnclosure.jpg
ShowerPanDiagram3232CpanAquatic.jpg
3232CPAN-top-view.jpg

Patented design features: corner drainage channels, step-design finishing guides, extended nailing flange.

In "Detail A" the slits/slots are described as "locking slots for optional walls". I don't know which optional walls they're referring to, but apparently they lock into the slots which has the advantage of eliminating the need for the use of adhesive to hold the walls in place.

On a side note, here's Aquatic's desctiption of the A2 composite material that the pan is made out of:

"Lightweight and durable, our A2 Composite is an engineered compound
of resin, glass and special fillers formed into sheets. These sheets are then
placed under high pressure and heat to liquify the compound, allowing it
to flow and take the shape of almost any form imaginable. The results are
simple, stylish and a snap to install."

Thus, Aquatic's motto: "Where inspiration takes shape".

I just hope this resin material isn't the same resin that Dodge uses for the Ram pickup dashes which are notoriously known for their tendency to crack and disintergrate into sharp shards of plastic requiring the need to spend several hundred dollars on a replacement dash which will last a few years before needing to be replaced again.
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Another source describes the Aquatic 3232CPAN as featuring "a patented system of design elements that ensure water is directed away from walls and toward the drain. Weep channels are in all four corners to provide an enhanced path for the water migration."

So, apparently the purpose of the slits/slots depends on who you ask. In an ironic twist, the image on the site containing the above description shows a shower pan without the slits/slots!?!

3232CPAN-no-slots.jpg
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Interestingly, the images for this model shower pan on the online shopping sites that I looked at show a pan without notches. I also came across some complaints from customers who purchased this pan and were told that it was a good pan to use for tile installations. Upon further investigation they were told by the plumbers hired to do the install that these pans were not for tile installations and that the little "notches" are for prefab siding in which case they would be covered up by the siding when the install was complete.

This kind of bs really #@*%es me off because I am now faced with having to deal with having to decide whether or not to keep this shower pan and if I do decide not to tear it out I have to decide whether to call the slits "weep holes" and leave them as they are or to id them as "side panel notches" and fill them with silicone or caulk. They already are starting to fill up with dirt which looks like #$@t. What's to prevent them from turning into little pockets of black mold?

Why do they make crap like this? And why do people purchase this stuff?
 

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
Ok, I contacted the Aquatic company (which I should have done in the first place) and they said tht the slots are there for the walls that they carry for that shower pan. They said that the slots "can be filled with 100% mildew resistant silicone so water and mold do not pool in that area."

So, that's the official take on this topic. I was impressed with Aquatic's fast reply to my email inquiry and by the fact that the reply I received was from an actual human, as opposed to one of those computer generated form letter responses that so many companies use these days.
 

JohnfrWhipple

BATHROOM DESIGN & BUILD
Messages
3,225
Reaction score
102
Points
48
Location
North Vancouver, BC
Like I mentioned before.

My guess would be those little dents are clip in locations for extras or wall panels.

I would be more worried about how well the other wall panels are tied into the shower pan - since clearly the notches are designed for the company's own wall panel.

Did the helpful tech person look at your pictures?
 

Hammerlane

Member
Messages
275
Reaction score
13
Points
16
Location
Ohio
I am in the process of installing the same shower pan except that mine is a 4834CPAN. And I am installing the back wall and side walls that correspond to that pan.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4202.JPG
    IMG_4202.JPG
    74.2 KB · Views: 603

Davilo

New Member
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Location
California
@ johnfrwhipple The existing panels, which are cultured marble, were installed by a local company with a good reputation called Ordaz General Marble & Granite (they installed the panels in the back bathroom of this house). The panels are attached to the wallboard with adhesive.

The wallboard thickness determined the position of the panels which placed them over the highest ridge on the shower base (which is ok per the shower pan specs). This leaves the notches exposed as they are located on the lowest ridge of the shower pan. Had we used the factory panels that are designed to be used with the shower pan it would have meant sacrificing space in an already small shower stall because the factory panels would have been positioned over the notches. In other words, we would have had to position each of the three panels further inward by one inch.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks