Does this shower pan mortar look right to you (URGENT)?

10 years ago

We are having our bathroom remodeled and are due to start the tile this week.
A friend who has done several bathroom remodels himself came over and was horrified to see the type of mortar used in the shower pan. It is very "pebbly" and has a ton of loose pebbles in there as well. It doesn't look anything like the photos I see when I google "shower pan mortar"; they are all smooth and show no evidence of "gravel".

He said that something will eventually pierce the gray liner and that there is no way I should allow this.

I have called the contractor and he's coming over in two hours.

For what it's worth the shower pan did pass the inspection with the city, but presumably that just ensures that it has the proper slope and holds water.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks so much!

Comments (9)

kirkhall
10 years ago
Looks nothing like what mine looked like. No pebbles/gravel in mine (more like just a sand).
Roxanne
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks kirkhall - that's what I thought :(
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catbuilder
10 years ago
You can't do a water test on the pan until the liner is installed. What, exactly, did the city inspect? Usually they just want to see that the water test was done and it holds water overnight. But, again, that can't be done until the liner is installed. There should not be loose pebbles like that.
Roxanne
Original Author
10 years ago
The liner was installed - I lifted it up for this photo.

Spoke with the contractor today and he said he would fix it. Hopefully that means redo it completely vs. patch it up.
xedos
10 years ago
If the fella that put that in is also doing the tiling , you'd better part company fast, NOW, rapido, pronto before you have a very expensive paperweight in your house.

If the liner was properly installed , you should't be able to lift it up unless you remove some nails.

In fairness, if that was underneath the liner, someone thought about a pre slope which is good - as long as it was properly pitched. Not good at all is the choice of materials for the pre slope.

Looks like they just threw down a bag if Sackrete and sprayed it with a hose.
Roxanne
Original Author
10 years ago
It looks like the slope was there, but I'm having them redo it anyway. I also want them to replace the liner since people have been walking on it with all those pebbles underneath. More than likely the liner is fine but it's something that I just don't want to mess with.

Someone else is doing the tile. I've (very nicely) let the General Contractor know that my neuroses will show when it's time for the tile. It needs to be perfectly straight, perfectly level, etc. I've been very relaxed during the whole process thus far, so I think I've scared him a bit. Hopefully he'll be supervising the tile guy like a hawk.

We're installing about 100sf of 4" x 12" glass tile, so errors will be super pricey.
StoneTech
10 years ago
You might want to pose this question and pics at John Bridge dot com forum. Plenty of pros there...
Roxanne
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks StoneTech!

I posted on John Bridge last week and received confirmation that it was done incorrectly.

Today they came back to bust the old one out and install the new one. Looks like it should now :)
StoneTech
10 years ago
Very cool. Congratulations!