I am going to rebuild my shower soon, which includes replacing the fg pan. I currently have a Mustee brand. Does someone make a real premium product? I will spend probably $1k on this project plus a lot of my own hours, so the cost of the pan is incidental. The current pan has been etched by pink mold that is common here. Maybe any pan would have suffered the same fate with water pooling on one edge of the curb due to an out of level condition. Thanks for any advice on this.

 

Depending on your budget, and as an example only, you may want to use one of these: shower pan, shower base, shower pans, shower bases, ADA, barrier free, bathtub, bath tub, tile, shower, bathroom. You can tile directly on it. A little pricey, but solves a lot of problems if it fits your needs.

 

If you don't want to tile and stay with FG the the Sterling by Kohler is the product I like and use. The Mustee bases are way behind in technology IMO but were one of the first on scene back in the day from what I remember.

Sterling Plumbing: Shower Bases: Why Sterling

 

The last two showers I did were tile over a manufactured, preformed (semi expensive) pan. I dod a master bath for a friend. She wanted tile but I wasn't confident that I had the skills to do a custom mud pan. She bought one on the internet. I liked the pan so much that I installed one in my own bathroom.

That said, I have a Kohler Neo Angle shower pan in a guest bath that I am happy with. If I were to do a fiberglass shower pan again I would probably go with Kohler.

A few years ago I bought a shower from HD for a guest bath. It was so cheesy that I ripped it out after a couple of years. Make sure whatever pan you get is beefy enough and be sure to bed it in mortar.

 

My current shower doors are Sterling. Isn't Sterling a division of Kohler? In any case those are good brand names. I installed a Sterling corner shower many years ago for someone and the doors came with a base as part of the kit. On mine 8 yrs ago, the doors no longer included the base, so I ended up with the Mustee.

 

I thought the Kohler/Sterling recommendations were excellent, but they do not make a 36x36 corner base that is square. The neo-angle style seems to be the current rage. I have found the base I need at MTI, but the retail price is somewhat breathtaking at over $1,100. Does anyone have experience with this supplier? I would like something better than my current Mustee, which didn't hold up very well.

 

What???? Thats the most common size......


Sterling Plumbing: Ensemble™ Shower Receptor: Shower Bases: Baths & Showers

 

36x36 is a very common size, but I need a corner unit with a curb on two sides and nailing flange on two sides. I have Sterling corner sliding doors that I want to re-use. Kohler responded to my email inquiry that they did not make such a unit.

 

Geez you did not state that in your post in the beginning. That would have been helpful....LOL

Anyhow that's common also. There are many brands out there but if you said double threshold I would have known.

IMO its nice but I would prefer a wall. Just my preference.

I use dreamline only because the price and sold in most bath centers locally. Their eastern facility in in PA.


Quad Shower Enclosure Tray

Amazon.com: Quad Square Shower Base Size: 36" x 36", Configuration: Back Corner Drain: Home & Kitchen

 

You have a wider range of knowledge than most anyone I have encountered. Now for the other thing I didn't tell you. I would like a center drain, but I can probably relocate. I has been 8 yrs and all I remember is there is a lot of stuff under the subfloor. I guess I'll get off my a$$ and start removing tile from the walls. Thanks for your help.

 

LOL... Yes please relocate.

Unless you would like to spend $2000 + on a exact fit shower pan I can post a link? I have no problem spending your money.......


Anyway you want the drain where it is in the corner on the dreamline's, trust me. I don't like standing on the drain when I am showering so I assume no one else does.

 

Standing on the drain never bothered me, but $2,000 does. You da man.

 

No problem and if you need anything else feel free to ask. We are always here, and I am glad I could help.

 

This project from hell is finally complete and I'll offer a few observations. These are NOT complaints, but just some hurdles that I didn't anticipate.

I used the Dreamline pan recommended by Lawrosa. The price was good and I couldn't find any online complaints, whereas the Mustee that I was replacing had lots of problems.

The Dreamline (DL) was 1/4" taller than the old one, so every tile in the first course had to be cut. Not a real big deal.

The DL had a corner drain vs center. I had to cut a floor joist about 85% to get the relocated trap in. I reinforced with some steel.

The DL base footprint was 1/4" larger than the old. Not a big deal, but had to do a little stud notching.

The DL top curb footprint is smaller than the Mustee, so the Sterling Corner Door frames had to be cut down. This causes the sliding panels not to interlock, but they overlap so I am not having any leakage issues.

The DL curb has a 1/4" raised lip around the two threshold sides. This made it extremely difficult to assemble the aluminum corner blocks that form the "L" between the two sliding doors.

Again, I am not complaining. Lawrosa is a tremendous asset on this board. As he told me in a private message, when you start combining assemblies from different manufacturers, there will be a lot of unforeseen problems. Amen.

Probably very few out there will ever have a task of replacing a fiberglass shower pan, while salvaging the tile. But if you are considering it, beware that it is DIY 405 vs DIY 101. Thanks for you advice, Mike. I now have a nice installation and you saved me mucho $$$$ because I was having difficulty in finding a new pan at a reasonable price. The Dreamline was on my front porch in Colorado 3 days after I placed the order. All's well that ends well.