Shower Enclosures: Tiling a Shower Stall

Nowadays, due to the hectic lifestyles, shower enclosures have become very popular. One may not have time to bathe leisurely in a bathtub, rather he/she would prefer to take a splash under the shower. Tiled shower stalls are aesthetic and easy-to-clean.

Shower enclosures, also known as shower stalls, are cubicles in bathrooms with a shower installed in them. The size of a shower stall may vary from 34 x 34 inches (from wall to wall) to smaller dimensions. There are two options of shower enclosures - prefabricated and tiled. The former is a ready-to-install shower stall made of fiberglass (acrylic); whereas, in the latter case, one needs to install frames with cement-based boards. Let's take a look at the D-I-Y tips for tiling a shower stall.

Tiling the shower stall starts with installing a shower pan. Shower pan is an important feature for proper water drainage. For installing a shower pan, you first need to set the floor. You can buy mortar mix and prepare the mortar, according to the instructions provided. Lay the mortar bed uniformly by using the edge of a non-grooved mortar trowel. For proper drainage of water, make sure you create a gentle slope towards the drain. Allow the mortar bed to set for some time.

The next step is laying the shower pan membrane. You should always cut the shower pan membrane in a size that runs up the walls by at least three inches. Lay the membrane on top of the mortar bed. While doing so, you can fold the corners of the membrane and secure them in the walls with staples or galvanized nails.

After securing the membrane, lay another mortar bed on top of the membrane. Once the mortar bed is set, you can start with placing the ceramic tiles. While doing so, it is always better to start tiling from the center and progress outwards. This way, you don't have to fix a cut tile in the center, giving the floor a better look. For cutting tiles, you can make use of a wet saw, so that has the advantage of getting accurate cuts and minimizing tile waste.

Allow the tile to stand for at least 24 days (for a better result, you can wait for 48 hours). Once the tile has set properly, you can apply grout to the tile. In order to minimize water seepage in the grout lines, you can make use of a good sealer (after the grout is cured).

These are the easy steps of tiling a shower stall. In terms of durability and versatility, tiled shower stall is the best. However, as ceramic tile flooring is slippery and there may be risk of falling. Another option that has been widely used is installation of both; a fiberglass shower pan with a tiled bathroom wall.

Regarding the shower stall wall, using cement board backer is the best option. Finishing a cement board is the same as putting drywall; you can cut the board according to the dimension of the wall and fix it by screwing with studs.