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coolbeansw

Large format shower floor tile WITHOUT linear drain?

coolbeansw
11 years ago

Am replacing alcove tub-shower with tiled shower. Want to use 12x12 tile in shower floor. Tile contractor tells me that he can do this with linear sloped shower pan and conventional square drain, that linear "trench" drain and large format tile are independent of each other. Will build mud base with long linear pitch to drain located 6 inches from end of shower, and will pitch tile on short end and sides toward drain as well. I was under the impression that large format tile required a linear drain. Please advise.

Comments (7)

  • davidro1
    11 years ago

    with a long channel drain the floor will be a flat slope to the drain, and inside the drain channel will be the second slope the direction of which will be perpendicular to your flat floor's slope direction.

    with a small drain the floor will be a funnel to the drain; a funnel of some making of some kind.

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago

    To do what he's proposing, you cannot have a "bowl" mud slope. Take a rectangle and draw two lines from corner to corner. The resultant triangles will have to be completely flat planes that slope towards the center point where the two lines intersect (your drain). Your shower floor will have that X in it in grout from the cut tiles. This is MUCH MUCH harder to do than a bowl preslope, as it has to be sloped correctly and perfectly flat, and the intersecting X lines can be difficult to achieve uniformly for a novice. It CAN look great when done by a pro, but it can also be a slippery uneven nightmare if done by a hack who can't get it level and with tile that isn't rough enough to give your feet grip on a wet surface.

  • MongoCT
    11 years ago

    Sounds like he's planning something like this?

    This just shows the four sloped sections of the floor. I didn't section the four sloped planes into 12" squares. If this is his plan, the only out of the ordinary consideration will that the bottom edge of the bottom course of wall tile will not be at an even elevation all the way around the shower. Not a big deal.

    Choose your tile carefully. A bit of traction would be nice to avoid slips.

  • coolbeansw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Mongo, yes, that's my understanding. Seems like more trouble than it's worth. I'm thinking of abandoning the 12x12 in favor of 3x3s.

  • coolbeansw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Mongo, yes, that's my understanding. Seems like more trouble than it's worth. I'm thinking of abandoning the 12x12 in favor of 3x3s.

  • dianne47
    11 years ago

    Smaller tile is recommended for shower floors for better safety. I would never use large tile on a shower floor, to few grout lines for the feet to "grip."

  • TileTech
    11 years ago

    Figure that the grout gives you traction. I would NEVER do a traditional shower with a standard drain with a tile any larger than 4-5".......With a trench drain ($) you can use the larger tiles.

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