Well long story short, I had plans on re-tiling my master bath/corner shower stall but life seemed to divert me. I removed my glass shower door/glass enclosure in order to start my new project and found the metal studs on the half walls were rotten/rusted beyond salvage, the wood base of course was rotten and the concrete underneath, I was able to scratch away as it was wet/deteriorating. I am having an estimate, hopefully today, to figure out the damage to see what needs to be done and I am sure it won't be cheap. The concrete will have to be jack hammered/removed and a new pour/plumbing change.

Anyway, I was thinking after the shower stall/pan/concrete base is redone, I am looking to see what my options are for the shower stall floor. I have been looking at either doing tile over the concrete floor or getting a composite shower pan over the new concrete base. Unfortunately, after reading about a few of the problems people have had hear, is there any pointers/ideas anyone can shed on either option? My house is a single story and has concrete foundation.

Not sure what you are asking.
There are specific standards that should be adhered to when building a shower.
Problems only occur when you don't follow those standards.
Many options but most evolve around a sturdy structure that keeps the water out (or in as it may be).
You can also buy compete composite or plastic units that work quite well too.
Many options.

Check out the John Bridge Forum - a great resource.

I would tear it out to the studs. Have a new shower pan done, as well as all of the walls with one of the good synthetic materials, then tile it. Fix any rotton wood while you're at it. I personally think the pre made showers look cheap.

We have tiled shower stalls before, and installed one of those whole units, too.

Problem with tile, IMO, is that the seams tend to leak after a while. Not much, but enough to cause problems. We are very happy with our "one piece" shower enclosure.

As an aside, you also have to worry about the floor. Does it slope the right direction? Is there any chance water might leak through and into the sub-floor?

Take out the current shower down to the studs. Make there there is no water damage, and replace if there is.

Use concrete board over the studs, tape and use something like red guard. If your basin is plastic, it has to go. Pour a basin of cement with the correct slope for drainage. It is not hard, but it does takes some time if you do it yourself. There are thousands of videos on how to do it right. Use high quality tile and mortar.

I have done four of these, and none have had any issues with leakage. I even rebuilt one that I had done 12 year previously (my wife decided she wanted a grey bathroom, not an earth-tone based shower.

Forgive me for not being clearer but I plan on tiling the walls and not putting a fiberglass enclosure in. The basin which is a step down shower type, was the original from when the house was built by us about 14 years ago,and was poured concrete. After knocking all of the tile off the wall it looks like there is a 3/4 gap all around the basin/shower floor in which they shoved the wall tile in, in order to fill it. I am surprised I did not have issues prior due to the standing water in the walls.

I am not sure what is underneath the poured concrete basin now and was debating after it was redone, either sticking with the concrete poured basin ( and then tiling over it ) or getting a fiberglass/resin type basin for the floor-if that makes sense. I was kind of surprised but not really, they did not seal the Durarock/concrete board and just put the tile adhesive just on top of the Durarock/concrete board. The Durarock was about 4 feet high and then they used green board above it to the ceiling height. There was no bonding/tape/mesh between the green board and Durarock. On top of that, the corners of the shower( where there is a gap), just had, what I assume, was tile adhesive to fill that gap. I will try and post some pics.

Thanks for the replies so far. I am fairly handy and can rebuild the walls/replace Durarock but cannot believe,(actually I can), how this "quality builder" lets this stuff happen. This ain't gonna be cheap.

The tiled shower floors do look better. But when I redone our master bath I used a fiberglass shower pan. They have a lip around the edge that lets you install your backer board extended down over the lip. Once my backer board was installed I sealed the bottom with a good calk. Backer board was installed about 6 feet high. Installed tile a bit bellow the backer board and sealed again with calk. Backer board was taped and sealed on all joints and corners. This was about 10 or 12 years ago. No problems.

^^^ That is what I am looking to do as it seems to me, it would give/create a better seal. Now the problem is going to be how much jack hammering/concrete removal there is going to be and relocating the shower drain. I am not looking forward to this or the quote.

Speaking of a quote, has anyone had to remove the concrete in the shower stall and have a new one poured? I know it is relative, but how were the costs?

Might I suggest you research Schluter products. You can do the shower pan and walls out of their products leaving you with a water and vapor proof seal behind whatever tile you install. I really think this sort of product is the future of tile work.

In a previous house, we completely remodeled the master bath down to the studs. Did a walk in tile shower, but with a cast iron pan, made by Koehler I believe. Worked and felt great.

There’s a lot of useful advice in this recent thread:

Schluter, etc. thread

I just tore out a shower from 1966 to the studs and had it completely redone with a new shower pan and tile. It hadn't leaked a drop in 52 years and all of the studs looked perfect/new. So why would one done correctly nowadays leak either?

^^^There in lies the problem. Whoever did the job initially was either inept or the contractor just wanted to fill the position with anyone who had a license. It is amazing at how many older buildings/homes are still around today. It is a matter of people having pride in their work and not just worrying about getting a job done as quick as possible so they can go home or wherever. Just my 2 cents.

We used Tile Redi for the pan. This is a pre-made pan that you tile over. It is bedded in wet cement so it doesn't flex.

All my bath remodels now use Schluter Systems.
Plently of others that are good too.
You just have to follow proper procedures of installation.
I also used Redguard applied to Hardi in a bathroom on tile walls.
I'd never use sheetrock in any form covered or otherwise on the walls.
Shower floors require even more prudence to prevent leaks.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
All my bath remodels now use Schluter Systems.
Plently of others that are good too.
You just have to follow proper procedures of installation.
I also used Redguard applied to Hardi in a bathroom on tile walls.
I'd never use sheetrock in any form covered or otherwise on the walls.
Shower floors require even more prudence to prevent leaks.

It still freaks me out to watch the Schluter install videos where they apply the Schluter waterproof membrane material right over regular sheet rock. Think I'd bite the bullet, spend the money, and use the Schluter wall board instead.

Heck if you weren’t 1500 miles south of me I’d do it for material money and a case of beer. Any halfway decent mason can demo and pour that concrete in a day.
If I were to bid it for a 3x3 shower pan including demolition and cleanup and disposal I’d probably charge you $500. That’s 1 guy 1 day.
Seeing as how you’d probably have max $50 in concrete the rest covers overhead and paying a skilled mason for a days work