Unfortunately it's a black, slate effect tray which "she who must be obeyed" picked. All manufacturer's generally recommend a weak concrete mix bed & have done for the last 20 years or so but, as I said, I've found this less than ideal. I'm thinking that, with the modern building materials now available, there must be a better option. I thought about using expanding foam but wondered if it was strong enough to carry the weight of our new, 120cm x 80cm stone resin tray tray which weighs in at about 30kg! After all the problems I've had with the last "tradesman's" efforts on DPM & plumbing, the very last I want is to have to pull it all up again!