What to do when your shower pan leaks

First, when you see the water on the floor of your closet which is directly under the upstairs bathroom, you call the plumber.

Then, when he tells you he thinks it's the shower pan, you laugh and say, "No way! That shower was put in only 18 months ago! It must be the toilet, or something else."

You change the o-ring on the toilet, but still see water dripping from your closet ceiling.

You tell the children to stop using the upstairs shower. For six months everyone (including any house-guest) uses the shower in the master bathroom. You don't see water on the closet ceiling or floor anymore. You and your husband read all kinds of information on the internet, in plumbing and tiling books, and you gather lots of information from the employees at Home Depot and your husband's brother, who is a builder.

That's what we did.

Then Steve, Tom, and David tore out the tile half-way up the walls on the shower stall, and the tiles on shower floor. They removed the underlying cement board on the walls and the mortared pan. (The plumber was right. The board and pan under the tiles were soaking wet, even after six months of no shower-use.)

Steve installed Wonderboard on the shower walls to fit as closely as possible in the corners, then he mortared the corners and cracks. He allowed about a week for it to dry.

Steve put in a CPE liner, and coated the walls and floor with five coats of Red-Guard, allowing three days of drying between each coat. Then he used mortar to create a sloping floor so the water would drain properly in the shower.

When that was done, he applied thin-set and tiled the shower walls from the floor up, then did the same to the shower floor and curb. He waited four days for it to dry, then grouted it all. Finally he applied silicone caulk to cover the grout in the corners and joints.

Now the shower is done and ready to be used. And just in time, because Glenn, Amy, and the girls arrive tonight!