And the rest . . . 
Once you have your entire perimeter done you simply need to pack deck mud into the rest of the base from the perimeter to the drain. Once again – beat the hell out of it. Seriously, pack it in there really well. The more dense your floor is the better. You need to ensure that the line of the floor is straight from the wall to the drain all the way around without any major humps or dips. It takes time and patience – use both. This step is critical since this is the substrate your tile will be installed upon.
Once you get the remainder of the deck mud packed into the shower and have it correctly packed and leveled just let it set for at least 12 hours, 24 would be better. Really, leave it alone. There is something about a freshly packed mud bed that makes people want to pick at it – it’s alluring – and a bit disturbing. But you need to leave it alone. So quit poking at it.
After it sets for about 12 hours you can fine tune it, so to speak, if you need to. Any un-flat spots can be scraped, rubbed, or sanded down to flatten them out. You can use regular sandpaper for this – really. Just make sure you have a flat surface from the wall to the drain. FLAT – not level. You want this surface absolutely flat.
If you have not yet done so you can now install your moisture barrier and backerboards. Now that you have a large waterproof box you are ready to install your tile and make it look all pretty. The hard part is finished. As with any proper tile installation the underlying substrates are the most important. Take your time with the preparation, it is imperative. Without proper preparation any tile installation is doomed to fail.
And your dog may burst into flames.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Roger
Just wanted to thank you for all your effort in putting together these tutorials. You really could not have explained the steps any better!
I have one question though regarding the waterproofing:
I am from South Africa and what the guys use here is a slurry comprised of Portland cement and a latex or acrylic additive which is ‘painted’ onto the walls and floor before tiling to form a waterproof layer (homes here are built with brick and mortar). I am a bit concerned about tiling directly onto this slurry as there won’t be a layer of mud for the water to run through. Should I be concerned about this, or should the water pass through the tile cement without too much effort?
Thanks again for all your help! :-)
Hey Bjorn,
Congratulations for making it through at least five pages of my mindless banter.
I have never heard of the portland/latex slurry method, might be unique to South Africa. I don’t think that is something I would do but, hey, who the hell am I to tell people half way around the world how to do their job? That wasn’t your question, anyway.
Provided this slurry is indeed waterproof then you should have no problems installing tile directly to it. Any water reaching that barrier will run down behind the tile and into the drain. It would be just like using Kerdi or another topical waterproofing membrane. The water will pass through the thinset behind the tile without a problem.
Thanks a million for the response! It’s not often you find someone who takes the time to respond to all of the questions on their website. Kudos!
To be honest, I do prefer the waterproofing liner method you use, but with my limited experience on the subject, my only guess as to why it’s not done here is maybe due to the extra work in grinding away the plaster around the base of the shower to sink the liner into? That’s just a wild guess though.
Thank you very much for putting my mind at ease regarding the flow of water through the thinset. “The water will pass through the thinset behind the tile without a problem.” was music to my ears, erm, I mean art to my eyes ;-)
Thanks again, I really appreciate the help.
i would like to thank you for the very valuable information you provide .. you have saved me from making very big mistakes in my bathroom remodel .. diynetwork should have a link to your web site for there viewers so they have the complete and correct information… i will send pics when complete..
Thank you very much, Ed. It is always my pleasure. I keep tellin’ diynetwork they need to hire someone that actually knows what they’re doing but, you know, if I get all rich and famous I may just turn into an ass.
i have 2 more ? for you roger .. how thick should the mud be on the curb ??? and i have bought ceramic tile for the shower floor it is about 2 ” hexagon … my ? is should i return it and buy porcelain tile ???
Hey Ed,
I usually make the mud on my cub about an inch to 1 1/4″ on top and about 1/2″ on the sides – no one walks on the sides.
You do not need to return the ceramic, it is fine to use on the floor. I’ve done several shower floors with ceramic. I think the 2″ hex tiles will look very cool on a shower floor.
Umm, you do know I expect pictures of this shower I’ve been hearing so much about, right?
That’s the only thing I ever ask of my readers. It sounds like its coming together for you, though.
thanks for the info roger . i dont think your a dork .. i am wondering how the curbs is formed ??? you said in 1 post it is made from 3 2/4 s screwed togeather and you talked about how to cover it with the liner and wire lath . i assumed it would be covered with mud .. but i have learned not to assume anything ..
Hey Ed,
The curb is indeed covered with mud. Once the liner is wrapped up and over your three 2 x 4′s the lathe is formed into a U shape and placed on top of it. This serves two purposes, first it holds the liner in place without nails or screws, and it gives a solid base for the mud to grab onto.
Once the lathe is on you can simply form your curb over it with the deck mud. Some contractors use a ‘wet mud’ which is just deck mud with a bit more water and powdered lime added to the mix to make it more sticky. I don’t, I just use regular deck mud but you have to pack it in there really well and be careful with it before you get the tile installed as it will be a bit fragile (sandy and all that).
hi roger did i miss something … how is the curb tiled ???
Hi Ed,
You didn’t miss anything – I did. The problem with describing all this stuff to people is that I do it everyday and rarely think about things such as how the curb is tiled – it’s just a natural part of it for me. I’m a dork like that sometimes. . . okay, a lot of the time.
If you are asking how the curb is built to be tiled upon (with lathe and mud) I believe I described it briefly although I don’t actually have photos of me doing that yet. I will add them sometime this weekend since I just took some last week.
If you mean how is tile actually installed onto the curb it needs to be done after the tile is installed on the shower floor (although not imperative it does look better in my opinion). I’ll get some stuff up about actually installing tile on the floor and curb this weekend as well.
I’ll have to crack the whip on the elves!