Shower base flex around drain

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Joe88

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Hi everyone,
I’m installing a shower base for the first time I've done a tub before) and have an issue with flex around the drain assembly. I’ve leveled the floor with mortar and the shower base sits level with no squeaking when walking on it. However, when I connected the plumbing using a no caulk shower drain tonight I started getting some loud squeaking. What’s happening is there is some flex right around the shower drain opening causing the PVC pipe below to move and squeak.

The opening in the floor is a little large from the prior shower assembly setup as well having to accommodate the large locknut for the shower drain, roughly 5” x 5”. I wanted to ask if anyone has any opinions on how to stop the flex around the shower drain opening? I was thinking of maybe trying to build up the mortar base around the drain opening to help stop the flex, but I’m not sure that will do it. Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!
 

Joe88

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If I understand your question correctly, you may need:
2 in. Shower Drain Connector
Model# PSD-200

Thanks for responding, that looks like the rubber gasket that sits inside the drain assembly and gets tightened to seal the drain. I do already have this on my drain assembly and it is water tight when I test it. The issue I’m having is when stepping in the shower, specifically near the drain, the weight causes a little flexing of the drain assembly and PVC pipe connected below it and hence the squeaking noise from the PVC moving. The shower base is level and does not squeak when not connected to the plumbing. I am a little stuck as to how to prevent the drain area from having a little flex as the subfloor is open below it to allow for plumbing.
 

Jadnashua

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How big is the hole in the subflooring around the drain? Any way you could add some cleats to help support that area? Can you get a picture and post it?
 

Cacher_Chick

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Why not just throw down some piles of mortar and bed the shower pan in it? Many composite shower pans call for that in the instructions.
 

Joe88

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Thanks for the replies everyone and sorry for the late response, got busy with the holidays. I ended up building up the mortar bed a little higher around the subfloor hole which solved the issue, there must have been a little bit of concave around the area. One last question, I am going to apply a light layer of mortar to the existing mortar bed and set the shower in it to secure the pan. When I set the shower pan in the wet mortar, should I apply weight in the shower pan so it sets deeper in the mortar? Or should I just lay the shower pan down and let it dry? Thanks for your help!
 

Jadnashua

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Apply enough weight to get the thing level. Generally, you won't be bonding the pan to the floor, just providing better support to prevent it from flexing. Some will put some plastic on both the floor and on top of the mortar to help it retain enough moisture to cure properly. If too much moisture gets sucked out through the subflooring, it gets weaker. If you try to get a continuous layer, you'll probably have problems. Lay out piles of the stuff in a grid so it has somewhere to go as you place the pan and level it. Excessive moisture that can make the mortar more pliable also means that it will shrink more when it cures.
 

Cacher_Chick

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Not much to add that Jim didn't already mention. Your main concern should be that the pan is level when you are done. If the shower base is any good at all, it should only need to be bedded into one pile for each square foot. If you put down too much mortar, you will have trouble getting the pan down to the floor, or any shims you have set in advance.
 
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