Another shower tray question.

[Bob Janner]

Hello.

I am helping my Son refurbish his ensuite bathroom. One of the reasons for the refurb was that the existing shower tray was cracked. It was in this condition when they bought the house, so they dont know the cause of it. It had been repaired, but obviously not Ideal

I am not a professional, but after doing up four of the five houses that we have owned in our lifetime, I have tackled most jobs that I am legally allowed to. 

The last shower tray that I fitted was in our own bungalow about eight years ago, and it is fine. These days however there seems to be a lot of discussion as to the correct method, and seeing it is for my son and daughter inlaw I want to get it right.

The tray will be going down upstairs  on a 18mm sheet of ply that will replace the chipboard flooring in that area, and there will be no joints in it. The tray is a Millano lithic.  It is a polymer resin tray, and very light. One feature that is unusual, is that it can be cut to fit around obstructions, although we wont be doing that. I notice that identical trays seem to be on offer from othe companies but under different names, and thaf their fitting instructions are more or less identical. 

The instructions with this tray say to lay it on "compound adhesive or contact adhesive "  troweled to a suitable thicknesses. I have contacted the supplier to ask what is ment by compound adhesive, and all they did was send a screenshot of the manual, that we already have. As for contact adhesive, well I dont fancy that as there is zero working time.The only "compound adhesive that I have found comes in 330ml tubes and is 14 quid a pop. I am sure it is not intended as a bedding compound that should be trowed.

The underside of the tray is not rough like I was expecting it to be, but the same smooth surface as the top, so I think sand and cement wouldn't do. 

I did see somwhere that any adhesive that will bond ABS will be ok, and this is the path that I am inclined to go down. Has anyone else came across this particular type of tray? If so I would be keen to hear from you.

That went on a bit, sorry. 

[Bonner]

Firstly, I do not have experience of this specific tray, however I have fitted similar. They do not need ‘sticking down’ to the floor so an adhesive is not necessary and to be avoiding IMO. What you need is a bed to support the weight evenly across the surface. Sand and cement would probably work but I have used decorators caulk which is cheap and effective (4 tubes on a 1200 tray IIRC). Note that these trays are designed to work with risers kits so should have sufficient strength to support their weight on 8 legs (unless you are supposed to fill under the tray after levelling up the legs? I haven’t used a riser kit)

[Onoff]

8 minutes ago, Bonner said:

decorators caulk

 

For a shower tray? Good luck with that. 

[Bonner]

All I can say is it has worked well for 10 years so far ... other suggestions are welcome I’m sure.

The point is you don’t need any special adhesives to bed a shower tray

[Onoff]

1 hour ago, Bonner said:

All I can say is it has worked well for 10 years so far ... other suggestions are welcome I’m sure.

The point is you don’t need any special adhesives to bed a shower tray

 

?

[Pocster]

5 hours ago, Bonner said:

All I can say is it has worked well for 10 years so far ... other suggestions are welcome I’m sure.

The point is you don’t need any special adhesives to bed a shower tray

Tile adhesive anyday . Strong , flexible . Blobs of it - bed the tray . Won’t ever move .

Edited September 19, 2021 by pocster
Nickfromwales Said so

[Mr Punter]

I get what @Bonner is saying.  I have often seen MIs that say bed completely onto sand and cement, which is a right PITA with a 40kg tray in a tight alcove.  Same tray can be supported on some plastic legs.

[Bob Janner]

On 19/09/2021 at 10:46, Bonner said:

Firstly, I do not have experience of this specific tray, however I have fitted similar. They do not need ‘sticking down’ to the floor so an adhesive is not necessary and to be avoiding IMO. What you need is a bed to support the weight evenly across the surface. Sand and cement would probably work but I have used decorators caulk which is cheap and effective (4 tubes on a 1200 tray IIRC). Note that these trays are designed to work with risers kits so should have sufficient strength to support their weight on 8 legs (unless you are supposed to fill under the tray after levelling up the legs? I haven’t used a riser kit)

Good point about the riser kit having to supportthe weight. I have to say I still haven't made up my mind yet what method I will use. 

The reason Dad has been brought in is because the plumber wanted 3.5 k for Labour only plus 1k for sundries, on a job that he said would take about eight days. Son  and Daughter  in law are providing all the sanitary ware, and I have built them a bespoke washstand. I looked on a few other  forums and the different views on installing a shower tray varied so much that they couldn't all be right, and these were from people in the industry. So I feel that I cant do any worse. 

 

[Faz]

Have a look at Skill Builder on Youtube - he was rather passionate about bedding it in cement and I agree - I have heard of so many of these cracking when just adhesive is used.