Pro Tip: Shower Build

The Problem with concrete shower pans is incompatible materials. Concrete is brittle, while the wood structure under it expands and contracts with changing humidity levels thru the year and shifts as the house continuously settles. It’s a relatively short period of time until a concrete joint cracks and exposes the wood structure to water. Homeowners are usually unaware of the slow damage being done, until water damage appears on the ceiling below or tiles start coming loose. That also means there’s been mold growing in that dark wet space, probably for years. 

Properly designed tile installations can handle water getting behind the grout, under the tile, where it still find it’s way to a secondary drain inlet channel. In fact it’s quite normal for water to get behind a tile, stressing the importance of the water barriers system behind the tile.

New shower systems, like Schutler shown here, are wood-compatible and 100% waterproof, meaning they flex as the wood substrate expands and contracts and shifts over time avoiding stress cracks at joints. 

Plenty of old-school tile-setters still pour concrete pans and follow up with rubber membranes and coats of chemical sealant, not because it’s better, but because that’s all they know. In spite of their passionate pleas that it has been done that way for years, and they may even be a little cheaper, it’s a bad investment. It’s just a few years until these showers fail in places you can’t see, and mold and rot begin to occur. It’s a big investment in your home, and also in your health. Choose a contractor who does NOT use concrete to build residential showers.