Pouring a Shower

[Squirl]

I was looking to put a shower in the shed I am building.   The room will be around 30" wide x 7.5' long.  I was looking to put a shower against one wall and a porta-potty against the other. My plan was to put a drain in the floor down do a bucket that can be emptied out.  I was going to put a 2x3 across the floor and pour a concrete pan for the shower.  My concern is sealing the concrete from the wood.  Should I put plastic between the concrete and wood, seal the concrete or anything else?  Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Redoverfarm]

They make a waterproof membrane to do just that.

http://www.schluter.com/8_4_kerdi_shower_kit.aspx

I am sure their is probably alternative methods but this one came to mind.

[Squirl]

I looked that one up.  It is listed at around $400.  That is about what I paid for the entire shed so far.  A little to pricey for my shed.  Also they come in preset sizes.  I am looking to do 30x30.  Thanks for the input.  My original plan was to just put plastic down, pour, then seal the concrete.  It seemed to simple.  I figured that there had to be a reason that people pay $150 for shower pans at Lowes.

[Redoverfarm]

Like I said there are probably alternatives.  The biggest problem is getting it sealed at the drain.  Any waterproof membrane will work for the flat surface.  I would "google" it and see what else is out there.  I had heard of at least one other product but can't recall the name.  Remember that it should extend up each wall at least two inches.  There again the "corners".  You may be able to buy just the pan and come up with tile or your choice after that.  Just a thought.

[NM_Shooter]

Home Depot / Lowe's sells a shower pan membrane. 

But it is a lot of work.  You might want to just buy a $100 fiberglass pan and be done with it.  Otherwise you'll be working for days.

http://www.hoagy.org/house/HowToBuildShowerPan.html

[MountainDon]

Well, it depends. I've seen backwoods poured concrete showers in campgrounds. Many of them also show signs of floor to wall deterioration after a number of years.

Frank is right on the membrane, they are a lot of work, especially when it's your first time. They do make a great seal though. That's the reason I opted for a $100 shower pan in our cabin. The way it's constructed it is a relatively easy thing to install the final wall finish (FRP panels) and have all the water want to run fown the drain. It's also easy to get the drain sealed properly.

[ScottA]

For about $200 you can get a full shower unit walls and all.

[cordwood]

 What Scott said! Way easier. But back when I did tile work a lot of the shower pans were Hot Mopped by the roofers before we floated the walls and floor. Hot tar and heavy felt paper in layers was how it used to be done but if I did it now it would be with a vinyl membrane or the full plastic shower.

[Squirl]

$200 is more than 25% of the entire cost of the shed.  The other main reason is that the sizes sold in stores are just to big to fit.

That is a great idea cordwood.  That is exactly what I was looking for.

[firefox]

One thing I thought of was to scrounge a piece of galvanized sheet metal several inches larger than the sower area.
Lay down some building paper, then fit the sheet metal into place without cutting, just folding except at the entry
sides. There you can make the corner pieces as shown in one of the links that were posted. Use foragasket or some other
heavy duty sealant to put those pieces in place. Now cut a hole where the drain is, but make itsmaller than the drain that will go there. Then take some old pipe the same size as the drain and taper the edges. Now pound the pipe into the hole using some kind of lubricant, until you have a nice funnel shapped hole that is a hair larger than the drain pipe. Now caulk up under the funnel so  that if any water drips down that way, it won't get to the nearby wood via capilary action.

Then just pour your concrete using wire mesh with the appropriate slope etc. Just make score marks in the concrete leading to the hole so you have a non slip surface that also doesn't have places for the water to accumilate. Since you are just going into a bucket, you wouldn't need the actual drain fixture, so you could just embed a small drain plate in the concrete over the hole.
Best to get a store bought one that wont get rusty and end up giving your feet little cuts.

If you can get a piece of vinyl flooring and glue it to the walls, that would work. Just cove it at the bottom so that it goes into a slot in the concrete, and seal it up good especially behind the corners.

I hope this was clear, my wording may make it seem more complicated than it is.
Bruce

[Jens]

I guess it depends, just like everything else, but if it isn't in a house, I would tend to just put in a drain along a foundation drain, or just a trough at a low point in the floor (a line running down the length), and just grade the concrete for drainage.  Basement slabs are done like this.  Concrete doesn't block all moisture, and that is why membranes are used in the house.  Or, 6 inches of gravel, with a slatted cedar floor over it for the shower.