I have one of those almost 20 year old whirlpool tubs that only sprays out black schitt when you turn it on, and I never use it anyway. I want to rip it out and and do a walk-in tile shower. The house is on a concrete slab. What is the do and don't's to this operation? What are the key things to do for a floor and wall? Is there a special tile, grout, sub-floor material? TIA.

Call the man

PM fuzzy bunny. He’s the man when it comes to that kinda stuff

We did one with dual shower heads. It is nice but be sure to get the best liner system you can. Ours leaked after about 10 years and had to replace some Sheetrock and studs on the wall in the other room. The one now has a guarantee, but I can’t recall the name of the system.

Schluter-Kerdi shower system .... close thread.

I'd go with Bclc 1st n 257 2nd...if it were me I'd stick with #1 🙃

Only 2 differences in our situations...our house is not on a slab, and our garden tub is huge, but doesn't have jets. Other than those two things, we never use the tub, we want a big walk-in shower, and I already have the plumbing disconnected and the tub halfway ripped out. So, we'll be watching the replies to the OP's question closely, too!

I'm about to tackle the same task. We don't use our garden tub and I think a big shower would help me...well it'd be beneficial.

Did that very thing last year, took out a big , oval whirlpool and put in a 41/2' X 7' tiled shower. Mine is crawl space house though. The tile guy I used used the Schluter system and did a fine job. Since it's on a slab I guess you'll need to use the existing drain. That might require calling The Man.

THIS

This. And hire a true pro.

Guess I'll research what this Schluter-Kerdi thing is. I ain't callin the man. I need a project to do! Thanks.

I still build them the old school way. The most important thing to make sure of is that there is a pre slop installed on the subfloor prior to the pvc membrane being installed. Once the membrane is in make sure the shower drain collar is sealed underneath and on top prior to the mud bed being built. The walls need at least 2 layers of red guard water proofing painted on .some guys will seal the surface of the mud bed but I don't like to.Make sure all the corners are sealed very good prior to the tile being installed. Get porcine tile. You will need a mosaic tile for the shower floor to cove with the concave mud bed.

I’ve done this many times when I was in the tile, marble and granite business. The drain is going to be your biggest issue due to installing the flange over the existing drain pipe. It has to be flush with the slab grade. You probably need to let a plumber do this to insure that it doesn’t leak around the pan after you finish the project.

I ripped out an old walk-in shower, my whole master bath and went back with a new walk in tile shower and etc.

Like Shiloh, I did the old school style with pre-slope and mud bed. The shower floor was probably the toughest task with ensuring a smooth bed with proper fall. I used 12x24 tile for the walls and a mosaic on the floor. They make a tile leveling system that comes with wedges and plastic clips that help prevent lippage. I used cement board for the wall, and used 2-3 coats of red guard on it. Make sure if you go this route that your wall board doesn’t extend down into the shower pan- the wall being in the pan could allow water to seep into it and lead to pre-mature failure.

I didn’t know about the Schluter system when I started my shower and never researched it much, but see a lot of people recommend it. If I was going back in time, I would at least look into it.

I need to post a before and after thread of my bathroom. I was pretty proud of my work....considering I’m no carpenter, tiler or plumber


Edit to add that my house is in on a crawl space, there are probably things you could face on a slab that I didn’t have to deal with, but feel free to pm me with any questions

Just do liner and a nice thick mortar bed and be done with it. This isn't that hard.

Do you want a shower with a curb and glass door or a true walk in shower which would be open and without a curb? You mentioned "walk in" but that sometimes has different meanings and interpretations.

Schluter-Kerdie is an excellent system. Old school works great too, especially on a slab. Once you get your slope set It's all about the waterproofing details at the curb and corners and drain. Do it right in these locations will prevent 99% of any problems. If I were to have some leaks I would much prefer to have it on a slab floor rather than a framed floor.

We break ground on a new house next week, will have a ceramic walk-in shower in the master. Thread caught my attention. We'll be on a slab (which I guess mitigates the risk somewhat), but I have no clue how our builder's tile sub does it, never gave it any thought.

We used the Schluter-Kerdie system on the shower in the cabin. River rock on the floor and slate on the walls. It looks great and no leaks. My brother did it for us, and he's a super perfectionist. So there's that. It was pricey though. I bought it because I thought I was going to do it myself, and that system seemed pretty fool proof.

PS: Mine has a curb and a glass wall. No door, only a 24" opening where you step in the shower.

It will be a true walkin with no door. I’ll have to build the sidewall.