Shower stall questions
 

I'm having a bathroom installed in a rental apt. I asked the contractor for a two piece shower--top/bottom so pan was integral and only joint lapped downward. Contractor says he can't fit a two piece thru the door and has a four piece (pan and 3 sides) ready to install. Says there won't be any leak problems.
Anybody have experience with multi-piece shower enclosures? I'm imagining frequent caulking and leaks???

Contractor does have a point about narrow doors. Doors are 30" wide. Shower is 36" but I thought they could spin the pieces thru the door frame.

I helped my former next door neighbor put in a two piece fiberglass shower in his master bathroom a few years ago.

It fit just like you described, but it was a major pain in the ass, and I wouldn't do it again.

We had to take the door off the door jamb and remove the doors to the linen closet to get it in.

We also did a small amount of drywall damage which had to be fixed later, but we got it in.

I had a bath / shower remodeled in my old townhouse, and we installed a cast iron bathtub, and had solid surface acrylic panels installed with a faux tile finish.

There were three sides (front, back and side), and the panels had over-lapping joints and were glued or caulked in at the seams.

They never leaked and looked great.

Yeah, I suspect a two piece will actually fit thru the doors but the contractor doesn't want to deal with the extra difficulty of doing that even though I explicitly said that's what I wanted.

We used to have a free standing fiberglass shower in the upstairs bath in the summer shack. It died (and I think leaked around the drain) and I had a contractor frame in a stall area, then he and the plumber installed a 3 sided fiberglass unit of standard size, which is maybe 36 or 40 inches. I don't know how many pieces it is off the top of my head. I'll check it this weekend, fyi.My guess is more than 2 pieces. The bathroom door isn't vary large. But we have had no leaks. It's been in for 7 or 8 years.

The women, especially the teenagers, complain about not having enough room to shave your legs. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
So, now I'm thinking about an outdoor shower stall along the order of 4x8, with a changing area.

shower pan
 

I used a kohler model pan and tiled my shower stall a few years back .
the kohler has a "cover " over the drain.
This cover is a problem - you dont see the hair / soap scum and next thing you know you re standing in 2-3 inches of water.
The cover is only held with suction cups- yet it is a relatively tight fit .

ITS A PIA.

Make sure you don't get that model.:eek:

I put what I guess would be a 7 piece in, pan, 2 back, 2 side panels (one on each side of the door) the door (at a 45) and a piece that cover the rear corner seam and provides the soap trays etc.

While this is not a heavily used shower, we've never had a problem with it.
RTFM and follow it, don't be cheap with the caulk (Quality and quantity) and I don't see what difference it will make.

The only issue is, I put a blob of cement under the pan to support it, and apparently didn't get it pushed down as well as I should have. So the drain isn't exactly the lowest point. It's only off by an 1/8th of an inch so you just have to remember to push the water to it after you're all done.

I used the two piece 3' x 4' shower in my house but it was new construction.

In existing construction I think it would be tough to get one in. Its tough even with bare studs to work with.

I like the look a lot better though. The three piece units look cheap to me.

Best look imho is a cast iron tub with real ceramic tile on the sides, and top. It's expensive though.

Tub is out--no room. Only space for a 36x36 shower. Tile is out--I never want to re-grout, EVER.
Looks like I'll be settling for the 4 piece Sterling shower.