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Different types of shower bases
When you create showers, perhaps the most
important parts are the shower bases, because they are where you stand and
where the water collects to drain. If the base is not made to precise
specs, it will not only make problems for the shower itself, but for other
parts of the house, because water will escape and create all sorts of
other problems. Or the base will not support your weight, and will crack
under the stress of having a person standing on it.
For these reasons, it is critical that shower bases be properly and
carefully installed by those with a level of professional experience
necessary to do the job and do it right the first time. This requires
attention to things such as underlying structural support, connection to
the adjacent walls, and the proper installation and pitch of the draining
system.
If the base needs underlying support, then this has to be done early in
the project, or it will be a gigantic extra job. For instance, under the
shower there may be a floor and under this floor it is necessary to make
sure there are supporting beams or other devices to help support the
weight of the shower and also the person in the shower. Sometimes this
requires adding columns of steel or cement under the house, beneath the
floor joists.
Also, the pitch of shower bases has to be accurate. If the tiles in the
bottom of the shower are at an angle that leads them away from the drain
hole, then water will not escape properly and will puddle or perhaps spill
over onto the floor of the bathroom, causing more problems. The pitch
should be sufficient and properly designed so that it makes the water all
run into the drain, which is normally in the center of the floor of the
shower. But, at the same time, the floor must remain relatively flat so
that it does not create problems for someone standing in it and that they
don't run the risk of falling.
Most showers, unless they are custom designs, are simply bought already in
one piece, as modular units, made of materials like plastic or fiberglass,
and these are all designs to be both safe and funtional, as they as they
are properly installed.
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