One staple, one vial head sticking out somewhere, an missed piece of gravel... that's all it takes for that glued seam single oly waiting disaster. HOT MOP-WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT IT...

And Btw, this dude makes it look easy in his easy ride Jean jacket. Old School Mason, Back When There Were Some Whites Dudes Left

Yes labor is intense heavy huge back and forth many constumer don't understand that

Thanks😉

The sand topping mix is mixed with more sand in the same ratio for both. The pre pitch is just mixed a tad bit dryer. The extra sand mix makes it easier to spread as you won’t get clumps.

That is correct.

Yeah I have but I believe they are the more expensive option. They will save on install time though.

How to Hacks You can buy kerdi or laticrete membranes to go over a mud pan for not a lot. There’s other companies of course. Preformed shower pans can be spendy or cheap. I just used schluters sloped pan, 38x60, it was @$100. But some guys don’t like the foam pre sloped pans.

Kevr Good to know. I’ll have to look into this the next time I do a pan.

Use deck mud like usual, waterproof w/ Flex Tile (black) WP980; it's just like a synthetic tar, yet not as near messy. I use 4 coats and fabric all inside/outside corners and around drain, great stuff!! (',

This is superior installation. Using water based paint on membranes on shower pans is iffy at best. I've seen hydroban fail multiple times.

I would just use a short straight edge and screed it.

The thinset raises the tile slightly but not much. If you set your drain a tick (1/16 to 1/8”) higher you can add more thinset under the tiles to raise them up to meet the drain. You can also press a lot of the thinset out from under the tiles to lower them. Just make sure everything will slope towards the drain when completed.

Also it helps to use a 3 foot level to lay across the tiles while the thinset is still wet. Then you can press down on the level to even the tiles out while at the same time setting the correct slope.

Can you be more specific?

You want about 1/4 inch of fall per foot.

We used sand topping mix so there is already a lot of sand right out of the bag. Then we mixed more sand in with that.

​@@HowtoHacksthat's not proper analogy or response tho. Your concrete seems very sandy and dry

@@AasnaA The mix is supposed to be sandy and dry. This isn’t like pouring a concrete pad. We have done a lot of these and have never had a problem.

Place pea gravel around the center drain and just concrete up to it.

I think it took 10 bags of sand topping mix and 3.5 bags of sand. I mixed 3 parts sand topping mix with 1 part sand. This extra sand prevents the mixture from getting clumpy.

Sandtopping mix is already at a 3to1 ratio. So he's making a 4to1 mix, 5to1 is even better.

Just to even it out and make a nice flat surface that you can walk on without waiting for it to dry. I’m sure you can get by without it but the time and additional cost is minimal.

I Agree hope he attached the board to the pan some how

Agree 100% Don't understand the cement board.

Mostly it saves time. This way you can complete a shower in a single day. Otherwise you have to wait for mortar to dry before working on top of it.

Use sand topping mix mixed with extra sand like I did in the video. Regular concrete with large rocks is too hard to smooth and feather at an angle for proper drainage. For the plumbing I would just soldered fittings and go around the concrete shower pan not through it as that can lead to all sorts of problems.

@@HowtoHacks Thank you for your info. I greatly appreciate it. 🙏

You’re welcome

Is it done? Ask him to show you proof of who says it’s ok to use aggregate mix. No pro does that

I do the same. I also have found after years that a D handle drill and 5 gallon bucket with sand topping mix works even better. You can still mix it dry but after mixed you can just pour buckets and in smaller baths especially it keeps the mess down

@@jameswilkinson4587 You know, after all these years we just figured that out a couple years ago. Eats buckets though.

This is a water in system so when the water goes throught the mud bed, itll wick up the cement board. You want to install wallboard after you float the pan

Next day you can walk on it. I am usually setting the cement board on the walls.

Maybe. But cement board won’t slope as well as sand topping mix. You want a nice even slope at your rubber membrane so any moisture can drain.

You cant use tar paper, itll dry out the pan liner over time..but u can use felt paper, metal lath, and then do a prefloat so the pan liner doesnt sit below the lip of the oatey flange screwed into the sub floor and allow it to drain since it is a water in system. woulndt use cement board, it doesnt have a slope, the water will just sit there and that is what causes mold etc.

You still add water, just less water and make a dryer mix.

Yeah I did put some by the drain.

The concrete doesn’t bond to plywood and doesn’t have to. The pre-slope is there to make the rubber membrane slope toward the drain. That’s it. The concrete just sits there and holds the rubber at an angle so if water reaches the membrane it will work it’s way down to the drain.

That’s because it IS mortar, NOT concrete.

If you watch at the beginning of the video we throw down a dry mix of concrete (sand topping mix) to get our slope before laying the underpayment and screwing it down. We pour the floor before setting the cement board because the rubber liner should go behind the cement boards on the wall and it’s easier to finish the concrete without it on. Also, due to the way the shower needed to be framed there is only one place to screed which is at the doorway. The rubber liner needs to end above the concrete on the walls and you don’t want to poke holes in it so you just use a 4 foot level to float it. It is actually very easy to get your slope this way due to the dryness and workability of the sand topping mix that is used.