The Mud Free DIY Tile Shower – A Better Way

If it weren’t for the shower tray, a DIY tiled shower would be easy. But even professional tile installers argue over the best way to build a shower tray. The traditional way to build a pan is mortar construction. Here’s why it’s complicated and here’s another way.

It is like this. Tile floors are not waterproof. The water gets through the grout of the floor and even the tile. That’s a perfect setup for a leaky, moldy mess. What makes the shower work is a waterproof coating that is built into the masonry base of the shower.

Installing that siding is tricky to say the least. Get it wrong and it will cost you. And it is also easy to be wrong. Even if you do it right, your masonry floor can stay wet all the time. This is how you end up with a floor that is full of mold. There is another way.

The other way is what many tile setters now use instead of masonry.

The best form is a shower kit from Schluter-Kerdi. This kit allows you to install a ceramic shower yourself without using any type of mortar. The base is a foam material formed already sloped and ready to install. Just lay the base on and then cover it with a special material and you are ready to install the tiles. No accumulation of mortar. Without sealing membranes. It is much easier and faster than before.

Installing a shower tray in the traditional way is a real struggle. It is difficult to have a clear story on the best way to do it. Even tile setters argue over how to build one. A better way to DIY a tiled shower is the Schluter-Kerdi shower kit. The lack of mortar to install makes it faster, easier, and less risky.