Shower Drain moved, now whats next?

[Adam Spieker]

Been coming to this site for a while, but first time posting. Love all the information. I just broke up concrete to move basement bathroom shower drain 2 inches. Got this done and have filled back in with concrete. I was wondering what the next step is. The floor is not perfectly level and was wanting to to do a self leveler but was worried because I think the concrete needs to cure for the 28 days? The particular shower pan i got does not mention setting in mortar but i was wondering about this also when it comes to concrete curing. Maybe plastic between the layers? I wouldn't think people wait for the cure time but all my research on internet has not given me a solid answer. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[hj]

When you can walk on it, we continue with the job.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

It sounds like you're contemplating a pre-made shower pan receptor. That needs to be sitting level. The floor doesn't have to be level, as you can use some mounds of deck mud to hold it level, and especially if it is not say cast iron, the piles of mortar will make it much more stable.

Now, as to the rest of the room, if you're going to tile it, it needs to be flat, but level is nice, but not required. If you decide to level it, be very careful to block up the toilet drain so you don't get stuff down the drain! Also, SLC really doesn't self-level...it needs help. Think pouring pancake batter into the pan...it doesn't spread to fill the whole thing. SLC is similar, you need to help move it around, and if thick enough layer, it will then self-level. But, it's sort of also like a water bead, the edges will be rounded if you don't work at it.

 

[Dj2]

Concrete reaches full strength in 28 days, but cures in less than 28 days, and nowadays you can get concrete that reaches full strength in much time less than that. I've seen new home being built on new concrete poured yesterday (they add an agent to quicken it).
If you were building a concrete highway or an overpass bridge, you need to wait 28 days to continue.
The common concrete you poured is probably ready for the next step in 2 days.

 

[Jadnashua]

SLC varies, but most of them can be tiled in fairly short order. A concrete slab, though, requires waiting longer unless you use something like Ditra, which can be applied on top of the slab the next day and then tile installed. It has a grid that lets the concrete dry out and acts like a buffer to accommodate the shrinking that occurs during the curing process. Curing and drying are related, but not the same thing. All concrete is generally mixed wetter than what is chemically required because it then can be moved around easier, but that water not used in the chemical curing process does eventually need to dry out.