I hired a plumber to remodel a bathroom after some water damage, (after some copper pipes leaked), to make sure it was done right. I originally had a step down shower but had to fill it in due to the original builder's tile person screwing it up and causing other issues. Anyway, the company filled in the step down shower area but they did so with concrete mix and not mortar mix. Now the shower/ground is not flat/even with the rest of the attaching floor and has waves in nit. I was told that it is not necessary for the floor to be even or have a mild pre-slope,as the shower/vinyl pan-(flat grey rubber that get's folded in the corners and not a precast/preformed type) will cover the floor,says the remodeler.

I was then told by the same plumber that whoever does the tile will slope the floor with whatever they use,on top of the vinyl pan.

My question are,1) Won't that defeat the purpose of the vinyl pan due to any possibility of water getting under the vinyl sloped area or the weep holes? 2) Would that cause possible issues down the road? 3) Is it necessary to have a pre-slope prior to the vinyl pan? 4) Should they have even used concrete mix to begin with, as it is not level now?

I am by no means a pro but have been watching a few videos about building a shower and everything I have seen, states what I have done now is not all correct. Any help would be appreciated,thanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: patw,

I used this diagram when I did my shower. But i'm no expert.


https://i2.wp.com/floorelf.com...5/shower_cutaway.gif

That's exactly what I was thinking they were going to do, as the shower drain manufacturer says the same thing. There needs to be a pre slope for the drain and pan to work as noted.

Other things I noticed were the shower nozzle is actually pointing to the left (instead of being at a 90 degree angle form the wall),and they secured it to the concrete wall with drywall anchors and screws. Of which, x2 of the screws they used the heads were sheared off. The shower valve was also twisted/ aiming at the right of the shower,also instead of 90 degrees of the wall.

Unfortunately I was not home when they did the work as I had to work. This company is pretty big in the county too.

Sounds like the "big" company sent out a rookie, failing at everything I've learned through the years in construction. I started plumbing with my Dad at 12 years old. Having fixtures square with the wall was a BIG thing, and still should be.

I agree that the fill should have at least some of the grade needed and should not have been a mix with gravel in it. Around here a mix of sand mix and Portland cement is preferred.

Could it be possible there is room for a thinner layer on top of the concrete to create what is needed? Good luck to you on the project!

Reminds me of the tub surround tiling we hired a contractor for many years ago. They sent out a rookie, result looked like MC Escher. Called supervisor, they tore it out, redid it, rookie lost his job.
I guess guys will say they are experienced at something, but just need the job.

I'm suggesting calling the contractor and having him come look at the results. In the days of Yelp, Angie's List, etc., builders can't afford to have their reputation damaged.

One, I pray you have not fully paid them for the work they did. If you haven't, don't. Filling the shower pan with regular cement is a huge screw up. Two, the floors and walls in a bathroom set to receive tile should start out as flat, smooth, level, and plumb as possible. Yes, they can usually be corrected, but that requires skill and makes the job unnecessarily complicated. Three, the plumbing fixture install sounds to be completely FUBAR'd.

I think the first call I'd make tomorrow is to the owner of the company you hired to express how dissatisfied you are with the work they've done. And as I noted previously, if you're still holding money on them, continue to hold that money until you're satisifed with the work.

I spoke to someone yesterday but was not sure who the owner is. I spoke with the person who gives the estimates (the one who came to my home to spec out the job),and he said the job they did was fine. I am not sure how they arrived at that but it does not instill confidence knowing what I know and have researched. This company did a lot of work for some of the county buildings and makes me wonder how well they actually did them. I have fixed the piping screw ups myself as I don't trust them to redo it. I had to pay half up front for the job but will be calling back today to get more answers. Seems their is no pride in work with this company. I built the surrounding walls, as I know it would be done properly and all of the walls are plumb. I can only imagine what they would have done. Thanks for the replies.

I've put in a few shower floors, I always used dry pack mortar as the pre slope then put a membrane over the pre slope then tile over the membrane. The pre slope allows water that gets under the finished shower floor to go to the weep holes in the base of the drain. With no slope water under the finished floor could be trapped and cause mold.