Shower Pan Questions

[Tom C.]

I tore out one of the bathrooms in my condo back to the studs earlier this year because the inspection report showed the shower pan was leaking. The tile man we used said he could install the whole bathroom for us including the durock for the shower walls, the pan, floor, etc. So we went with him.

Since the installation was complete, we've always had trouble with the shower floor. The grout won't stay, it discolored in places, and some tiles cracked. The original tile guy wasn't much interested in our satisfaction, so I looked up a tile journeyman/technician I know from a ways back who knows tile in and out. He took up the tile last night and guess what we found in the floor mud bed? Wood! Yeah, two slats of wood (actually a single

2x4 ripped diagonally to form angeled ramps). He apparantly put the wood in to use to level the sloping mud floor against. This is not even pressure treated wood, mind you.

Our assumption is that the expansion and contraction of the wood is what cause the floor tiles to move and thus continually crack the grout.

So my questions:

1. In order to document this as substandard construction, can anyone point me to sources showing the wood is NEVER considered acceptable practice for use in a shower floor? Or is this acceptable practice somewhere in the US?

1. Can anyone confirm or deny the truthfullness of this statement: In a properly constructed shower pan, there should never be standing water 16 hours after the time of last shower use.

Thanks for any sources. -- tom c

[Liam McConn]

No it is NOT.

Of course NOT.

Tile Council of America. They're online. Also, a simple declaration from a licensed contractor would be good.

No. You can't afford me.

[Tom C.]

Just a follow up to this. After doing some research, the wood that was left in the floor was apparantly used as "screed strips", which in the instructions I've found so far are usually installed around the perimeter of the mud bed, THEN REMOVED and filled with mud after they are no longer needed. Screed strips, that's a new addition to my vocabulary, but that's what they were supposed to be.

-- tom c

[Liam McConn]

Screed strips are 1/8" thick and are tapped into fresh mortar. They are used to assist the setter to slope the deck mud from the corners to the drain by acting as 'grounds' for the straightedge to ride. They should have been removed and the divets filled with mortar.

An experienced setter who is handy with a wood float doesn't need them as long as he gets the perimeter level, it's an easy chore to get proper slope to the drain.

Notice pages 4-5

[twiedeman]

i have never seen wood as part of a shower pan, what is under the wood? lath? hot mop pan? vinyl liner?maybe you should take pictures as you demo the shower so that you can try to recoup some of the costs.

[Tom C.]

Oh, yeah, taking pix like crazy. Under the wood is vinyl shower pan liner.