3 Ways to Build a Shower Kit on Tileprotection

On Tileprotection.com we have different methods to get to the ultimate goal of building a beautiful tile shower that will last. The methods start out different, but end up merging at the point where you use a waterproofing membrane to waterproof you walls.

So lets start from the beginning stages. The 3 methods include choosing the method in which you want to build or install a shower pan. You could build a mortar bed, install a prepitched styrofoam shower pan, or you could choose the Tile Redi Shower Pan.

1. Building a mortar bed consist of a few revolutionary product in which you will form a perfectly pitched shower pan. First you have the PVC liner, then you have a Quick Pitch Mortar Bed Kit, and a weep-hole-less drain. The Quick Pitch Mortar Bed Kit are guide stick that are pre-pitched that you'd leave in your mortar. Cut it down to size, mix up the mudset, fill in the voids, smooth it out with a trowel, and let it set.

2. Using a Styrofoam Shower Pan allows you to skip a couple steps for an easier installation. Use a Modified thinset to install the Styrofoam Shower Pan onto your substrate, install your curb, mortar down and install your shower drain and you're done.

3. Use a Tile Redi Shower pan. Using a Tile Redi Shower Pan allows you to install the drain, curb, and pan all at once for the easiest installation. The Tile Redi Shower pans are 100% waterproof and are have all of these components integrated so that its one solid piece.

Now that we've talked about the three different methods, we can waterproof your wall. Cement board is usually the preferred substrate before waterproofing. See there is a debate that cement board can be used as a substrate for tile, however that shouldn't even be in the picture because cement board is NOT waterproof. It's water RESISTANT, not WATERPROOF...there's a difference.

Aqua Shield is a Waterproofing Membrane that is installed before tile. You install Aqua Shield directly to your cement board using a modified thinset mortar in order to finish off the waterproofing process when building a tiled shower.

This is a very brief description of how to build a shower, more importantly was the fact that I wanted to shed some light onto the different methods available on Tileprotection.com.

Tile Redi - Redi Poxy

Redi Poxy is a chemical resistant, epoxy adhesive that will bond to most sound, clean surfaces. Redi Crete can be used for tile installation in both Tile Redi® Shower Pan and Redi® Niche installations. In fact, each Tile Redi® shower pan comes with enough Redi Crete to cover the entire pan. However, Redi Crete is NOT included with the purchase of a Redi® Niche. If you would like to use the Redi Crete on your Redi® Niche, or you need some extra for your shower pan, we have the 3-part mix in stock and ready to ship.

Redi Poxy can be applied directly to the Tile Redi® Shower Pan and Redi® Niche surface, and is then ready to be tiled immediately!


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SECURMAT rated EXTRA HEAVY by the TCNA

The latest news of the testing done to the Blanke Securmat Tile Floor Underlayment Membrane. The Tile Consul of North America (TCNA) performed the Robinson Floor Test for SECURMAT over one layer of 3/4" plywood on 19.2" o.c. spaced joists. The SECURMAT was rated EXTRA HEAVY, the second highest rating.

What does this mean?
This means that Blanke Securmat works, and it works real well. Again, when you're dealing with 19.2" on center spaced joists and 3/4" plywood, you can expect movement. SECURMAT is placed in between the plywood and tile floor assembly in order to protect it from vertical and horizontal movement. SECURMAT is an uncoupling membrane that is meant to break away from a subfloor with extreme movement in order to protect the tile assembly. What happens if you have a lot of movement and nothing to protect the tile assembly? Tiles move causing the grout spacing to fail and crack leaving your floor looking terrible. A tear out has to be done and then you're left doing the job all over again because it wasn't done properly in the first place.

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Build Your Own Mortar Bed

Building your own mortar bed sounds old school compared to the preformed presloped shower pans that are available, however it's still one of the most effective ways to build your own custom size shower pan. Often times companies will try to accommodate Home Owners and Contractors as best they can with a variety of shower pan sizes, however its just not possible to offer EVERY size and shape. That is why Styrofoam Shower Bases became so popular so quickly. Styrofoam Shower Pans are as easy as it can get. Simple install and easy to work with while saving time. But what do you do when you need a 7' and above size shower? Or if you wanted a large neo-angle shower pan? What about the odd shaped shower pans?

Let me introduce the new-school twist to building a mortar bed with the old-school mud bed method. With our mud bed method we like to incorporate a drain that doesn't rely on weep-holes for drainage to the mortar bed, because of one VERY IMPORTANT distinction, which is water will never reach that mortar bed!! IF you use a drain with a waterproofing flange and incorporate a waterproofing membrane, you're essentially creating a watertight seal in your shower where 100% of the water flows straight down into the drain.

A mud bed sounds difficult to build, however don't let old techniques fool you. We have a Quick Pitch Mortar Bed Kit that allows you to build a perfect pitch every time. Prepitched sticks are placed onto your PVC Liner, mudset is poured onto the sticks, a trowel is used to pack down and level the mudset and you're done!! Perfect pitch in your mud bed in minutes!!

The ProVa Drain is then installed and connected to the already existing drain pipe. Waterproofing membrane is then installed using a modified thinset over your mud bed onto your drain flange. Now if you're keeping up, this has created a waterproofing seal over your whole drain assembly and shower mortar bed, leaving your mudbed dry and not allowing any water penetration through your waterproofing membrane. Waterproof your walls right over the cement board and you can rest assured that you will NOT HAVE ANY LEAKS for the life your your shower!

For more tips and product info visit Tileprotection.com or feel free to give us a call at 1-800-377-6552.

Blanke Securmat Tile Underlayment

Blanke Securmat is a tear-proof uncoupling tile underlayment membrane that provides a secure bonding surface for ceramic tile and natural stone installations. Blanke Securmat can be used on both interior floors and walls. Securmat also provides superior crack isolation protection. If the substrate may be subject to lateral movement of any kind, the crack isolation properties will help protect and prevent damage to the tile covering. This product is extremely light weight, thin, and easy to install. Because it features such a thin, low elevation, it requires much less thinset mortar than most other rolled uncoupling products. Blanke Securmat is perfect for new installations as well as for remodels and renovations over existing floor coverings.

The installation was classified as "Extra Heavy" for "extra heavy and high-impact use in food plants, dairies, breweries, and kitchens".

• Material: Reinforced fiberglass mesh embedded between two layers of polyester fabric
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• Thickness: 0.9 mm (nominal 1/25")
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• Size: 3.28" wide

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Tileprotection.com Styrofoam Shower Curb

Styrofoam shower curbs and shower pans have been gaining popularity due to the fact that these curbs and trays can be customized with ease. Easily cut them down to size in seconds to create a tile shower system for your very own shower design!

The Styrofoam Shower Curb that we offer measures 48" x 6" x 4-1/2" in dimension. There is a dovetail groove on the bottom of each curb that is filled with a modified thinset mortar which helps the curb mechanically adhere to the substrate that the curb is installed on. Once this Shower Curb is in place, its not going anywhere, nor will it compress over time. The Styrofoam Shower Curb is extremely durable and built to last. As mentioned above, this shower curb can be cut down to size for smaller showers, or to create beautiful neo angle shower and curb assemblies. 2 Shower Curbs can be installed side by side for your larger shower installs where curbs need to cover a span of anything larger than 48" in length.

This Styrofoam Shower Curb will match up perfectly to our ProVa 48" x 48" Shower Kits.

Quick Pitch Mortar Bed Kit

If you are building a mortar bed and you are worried about creating the perfect pitch then most likely you're going about it in the wrong way. I want to introduce to you a new revolutionary product to help you create the perfect pitch in a custom build mortar bed. The product is called the Quick Pitch Mortar Bed Kit. The Quick Pitch Kit allows you to install a guide system that will give a 1/4" per foot pre-pitched slope. Install this kits in minutes, throw your mudset over the kit, and use a trowel to smooth out the mudset and you now have a perfectly pitched mortar bed.


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Tile Redi Shower Installation Pan

Introducing our new Tile Redi® Shower Pan Category. We now offer a large selection of Tile Redi® Shower Pans for you to browse through. In fact, there are actually 80 different shower pans to choose from.

The Tile Redi® shower pan is made from rugged polyurethane that is leak proof and mold resistant. The shower pan is fully waterproofed, pre-sloped, with one fully integrated shower drain, and is available both with and without a shower curb. It's all in one piece. No separate parts that you need to put together or anything like that. You can literally drop the shower pan into your shower, and as the name suggests, you're tile ready. The shower can be done in under an hour, and anyone can do it!

The curbless shower pans and ADA shower pans are manufactured with an integrated drain and splash walls, together with a barrier free and/or ADA compliant entrance. The curbless variety are ideal for walk in and handicap accessible showers.

We offer the Tile Redi® shower pans in a wide variety of sizes and drain placements. Browse through our selection on Tileprotection.com and get your leak proof shower pan today!

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