Shower base..

fasteddie313 · August 16, 2016, 12:04 PM

Well my bath tub was cracked and looked like crap yellow so I decided it had to go.. Since I took it out it has sustained more damage due to getting stuff thrown on it and a couple 9mm holes so it's definately not going back in..

I am not much of a carpenter, I'm a mechanic, so I really have no idea what I'm doing here.. I'm kinda stuck..

What I have now is a floor with pipes snaking just above it. So I figure I have to build myself a secondary floor over top of the pipes, and then build some sort of shower base..

I don't want a tub, just a shower base, but the empty shower area in my Rambler is an odd shape and not just going to fit some prefeb shower base unless you know something that I don't.

The shower is against 2 exterior walls that are square, 1 little short wall dividing the shower from the toilet that is square, and another little wall dividing the shower from the washing machine area that is NOT SQUARE... Odd shape..

So pretty much I have to figure out how to custom build a shower base..

A lot of people have been recommending me to do it in tile but I'm not sure..

For 1 I don't know nothing bout doin no tile.. WEll, I'm not a moron and can learn how to do it and have chop saws that I could outfit with a concrete blade to cut tile and blah blah ok it's not impossible but sounds like a whole lot of work..

Also I'm not sure tile is a good idea. It will be heavy for one and all the way in the back corner of my Rambler where Id rather not have that much weight that far behind the axles..

My Rambler has an unusual floor layout with the bathroom all the way in the back where a master bedroom would usually go in an RV.. It goes dash, living room, kitchen, double beds, then bathroom all the way in the back..

For 2 I'm worried about tile cracking from the constant earthquake that is a MH going down the road, and possible chassis flex from going over uneven surfaces and possibly during jacking for maintenance or even just using my HWH leveling jacks..

Tile would be a good way to be able to build in the custom shape but because of these reasons I'm just not convinced it is the way to go...

Then I thought about on top of my secondary floor over the pipes laying 2" of foam insulation board and then taking my angle grinder with a wire wheel and shaping that foam floor down around towards the drain and then finding a big 4'X6' sheet of aluminum and cutting/bending it all up to make about 1' of walls all around with attachment lips and the shower floor all in one piece.

But that also sounds like a whole lot of work and I don't even know if it would work..

Or I could move my drain and trap all the way to one corner of the shower base and just angle my secondary floor toward that corner to get my low spot for water etc..

I just don't know... What would you do?

I've got my subfloor done and toilet done and I'm ready to put down my floating wood floor but I don't know what to do with this shower.. HELP!!!

I'm about an inch away from hiring it out..

Rickf1985 · August 16, 2016, 12:09 PM

A couple of 9mm holes?! W% W% There was no alcohol involved in that was there? i?? :)rotflmao

fasteddie313 · August 16, 2016, 12:15 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on August 16, 2016, 12:09 PM
A couple of 9mm holes?! W% W% There was no alcohol involved in that was there? i?? :)rotflmao

No, a cat got its lungs collapsed by a dog and there was an old mattress sitting on top that tub outside in my junk pile and FMJs penetrate..

Rickf1985 · August 16, 2016, 06:12 PM

Understood, Sorry to have made fun of a bad situation.

fasteddie313 · August 18, 2016, 12:15 PM

Well how bout that shower base?

TerryH · August 18, 2016, 10:47 PM

You say you are not much of a carpenter, but you have done sub floor work, so obviously you can do some. As a mechanic do you have fiberglassing skills? You could make a plywood base from 1/4" or 3/8" plywood, depending on how it is supported. Slope to drain as required. Add some cheap, thin aluminum flashing to the upstands (they go behind the shower wall to facilitate any water running down the wall portion directed to the pan). Fiberglass the whole pan. Paint as you wish. Doesn't have to be perfectly smooth and probably best if it is not.
When I painted my shower stall I added some of that non-slip grit stuff to the last coat on the pan. Also to those shelf thingys for soap, shampoo, etc. Two years later, still happy. I have balance issues, but no problem in the tiny shower.

Rickf1985 · August 19, 2016, 10:12 AM

I would take the old shower base and use it as a mold to make a new one out of fiberglass. Use bondo to repair the holes and cracks in the old one just like any body work and get it all nice and smooth. Then you wipe down the inside with release agent and spray or brush in a layer of gelcoat. Let that set up and follow with a couple layers of glass and let that set up. Now you have the mold for an exact replica of the original base. Get a how to book on boat fiberglass building and repair, that will show you all you need to know. Actually I guess in today's times it is You Tube.

fasteddie313 · August 19, 2016, 12:03 PM

What do you think would be an estimated cost of materials for such a fiberglass job?

The original is a bath tub and it is pretty big.. like 4'L X 2.5'W X 2'H

Rickf1985 · August 19, 2016, 07:34 PM

I didn't realize it was that big, I thought it was just a shower base that you stood in, mine is kind of small. It has been a long time since I bought glass and resin and I tended to go with the high end on resin by using wood epoxy so that would be pricey. And considering you need glass and gel coat to make the mold and THEN you need more to make the original it would probably not be cost efficient. But maybe contact place like Bath fitters Co. and see if they have anything that is close to what you need. And if they do see if they have scratch and blems. The fact that you are already doing the floor means you have room for design changes.

dickcarl · August 20, 2016, 11:11 AM

I used to build professional darkrooms. The really nice 8' stainless steel sinks cost thousands, so I'd take some marine plywood and build a 2x4 frame on it. Lots of silicone seal caulk between the pieces, lots of caulk in the interior seams, and a carefully planned drop rate so it would drain. Drill a nice hole at the end for a tailpiece and drain fitting, lots more caulk, and you're done. Paint with some marine-grade epoxy once it's in, and caulk again around the edges.

You're not building a bathtub. There won't ever be 25 gallons of fluid pressing against the seam, unless you have long hair that stops up the drain.

Remember the caulk. Good quality exterior, I like GE.

fasteddie313 · August 20, 2016, 12:09 PM

Do you guys recommend against doing tile in a MH? I am unsure about it due to movement and such..

I'll get some pics up of this shower area..

fasteddie313 · August 20, 2016, 12:13 PM

These are old pics before replacing the subfloor and new toilet etc.. But you can get the idea of the space..

See the caulk line below the toilet paper holder and where the vinyl walls stop is the height of the original tub..

The wall with the faucet on it is not at a right angle, not 90 degrees.. It extends all the way to the ceiling so I don't really want to rip it out and end up with a void spot on my ceiling/wall there..

Rickf1985 · August 20, 2016, 12:37 PM

I don't think tile would hold up unless there is some kind of flexible grout that I don't know about. Dickcarl has a good idea, I might take that one step further and put a couple layers of glass inside of the frame on top of the wood. Then you would have no concerns with leaks. Also, you could use resin and sawdust to fair out the bottom seams to give a nice curve to the bottom edges before glassing it. That would make it look more like a tub and eliminate a sharp corner for water to get trapped in and accumulate mold. And if you use a wood based epoxy resin, which remains flexible instead of polyester resin, which hardens like a rock, it will never crack.