Has anyone made a custom shower pan for their bus?

[jazty]

I'm trying to figure out what to do here. I have a 27"x29" space - give or take an inch - that I want to make into a tiny shower. I'll do the walls with FRP and exterior PVC trim as was previously suggested by nat_ster (I think). The problem is I can't fit a conventional small shower pan into my plans since 32"x32" seems to be the smallest they go, unless I want to buy an RV specific one which costs far more than cheap.
One route I've been thinking is to use a laundry tub as a pan by cutting down the sides and spray foaming the underside to add rigidity, but that might prove to be a bit too small. 24"x22" seems to be a fairly standard size for laundry tubs.
The other route I've been thinking is to make one out of medium-thickness rubber sheet fitted around a frame in the shape of a shower pan.


OR


Anyone have their own ideas? Better yet, pictures of their own custom shower pan and description of how it was done?

[nat_ster]

Yes, I love FRP

Budget?

I have had a steel shop bend me up stainless steel shower pans before. Regular steel would work short term if painted well.

Have you ever done fiberglass? A plywood base could have mesh layed, then fiber glassed. Depending on skill, this could look good or bad.

There is also the systems we use for tiling. Rather than tile, you could just frp over it. It's called Redguard.
Elastomeric sealing paint for showers, ect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5GIqcYkSs

Nat

[jazty]

Hmmm... A custom metal pan might be a possibility, actually. I have a cousin who is a boiler maker and works with the stuff all the time. He'd likely do it for free if I bought the stainless steel. I suppose that's the big thing: what would the SS cost?

That Redgard stuff looks great! ~$50 for a bucket doesn't seem so bad. Would it be possible to make a shower pan out of cement board for structure, Redgard for sealing, then FRP stuck to the Redgard? The FRP cuts could then be sealed. I've not worked with any of those materials, so don't know what they're capable of.

The most experience I've had with fibreglass is fixing a canoe crack with bondo hair, and it's ugly. Not quite the same thing, but I can't imagine the pan would turn out looking any good since this would be my first real stab at fibreglassing.

[nat_ster]

Stainless is Big $$$. You would only need 12 gauge. I was lucky enough to have a scrap supply when I had them made.

Yes cement board, red guard, FRP, Urethane caulking in corners, followed by PVC quarter round trim as a option.

Or you could use this system. A bit more cost, but I use this one the most. Also more lightweight as it uses fiberglass reinforced Styrofoam in place of cement board.
http://www.schluter.com/7224.htm

Also, you don't have to do FRP on the floor. A few tiles won't weigh that much.

Reinforced Styrofoam also adds insulation value, where the cement board will be thermal mass that will try to stay cold.

Nat

[BUBB]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Larg ... ifications
this tub is 25x36 but the sizes vary store to store.

[somewhereinusa]

Also check out the farm stores, they have livestock pans in many sizes. Many many moons ago I used one of them for a shower pan.

[nat_ster]

Mmm, so many options.

Something to consitter with using feed tubs and such, is there will always be some water left in the bottom that won't go down the drain.

Some people have no issue with it, Some can't tolerate it.

Nat

[jazty]

I think I'll go with cement board, red gard and frp. That way I can make the shower pane fit the exact floor shape
I'll keep everyone posted!

[Mcfly175]

Originally Posted by jazty

I think I'll go with cement board, red gard and frp. That way I can make the shower pane fit the exact floor shape
I'll keep everyone posted!

@jazty How did the cement board, Red gard, FRP work out? Im thinking of using it as a base and backing for my thick slate bottom and Cedar trim shower pan

[Chop]

Originally Posted by jazty

I think I'll go with cement board, red gard and frp. That way I can make the shower pane fit the exact floor shape
I'll keep everyone posted!

Yep I'm building one now for my wet room Shower/Bath. I lined the floor with 1/4 wonderboard and I'm laying a 40mil shower pan liner over that with about an inch of mortar as a tile base. Like you I'm going with cedar t/g (Tight knot). stay tuned.

[Tango]

I'm working on a stainless pan for my shi##er/shower combo. The composting toilet will latch down to it.

[Mcfly175]

been perusing Schluter Kerdi waterproofing system all day, i think it may be worth the costs. I can make my composting toilet box from the rigid boards and tile or panel over it. Then they got the kerdi v boards that I can use to contour the roof. Going to delve deeper into the use for other materials over top or just go small tiles everywhere verticle. Will probably still make my own mortar base instead of Kerdi's prefab'd bases. Moreover the literature is awesome, so a hack like me can probably get some decent result. Now just gotta wait to get paid.

[12equiem]

ive been planning my shower space lately. ive got very low clearances i want to work with (1 1/2" max) so im simply going to put about 300 screws into the old floor of the bus. intertwine tie wire around them in a small grid pattern. apply a glue to help adhere the grout and then drop 1-2 bags of non expanding structural grout into it and trowel the slope towards the center drain. a few days later ill put on some tiles should be eaaaaasy.

lots of great ideas in here though!

[seeriousJones]

Please let me know how you both go with the cement board, waterproofing and mortar! Im also usingvthis same method in my bus and was wondering if anyone knows of the lightest way to mud a showerbase ? Im going to use tile on top of a mortar base and cross my fingers! Any advice is much appreciated!!
Cheers

[Drew Bru]

We used a utility sink. It's small and we don't know how durable it will be, but we've both showered in it without issue and is Drew 6'1".