Foam shower trays

[Mgrant]

Hi, I have installed a lot of stone resin shower trays but have a foam one to install, on a weak mix of sand and cement. Any one installed this type of tray before, am I required to put some weight on the foam tray after have put it on the mortar to help it stick?

 

[Irish]

what do the instructions say?

 

[Mgrant]

Says sand and cement but have heard people say they have fitted this type but due to the lack of weight of the tray it hasn't stuck very well to the sand and cement.

 

[Chalked]

If its fibre glass capped, its sometimes easier to use rapid set tile adhesive. Or sand and cement is fine. Don't make it too dry, it will be difficult to level if it is.

 

[Irish]

yeah like chalked says make it fairly wet , but if you put a thick bed of muck you could make grooves in the muck with the trowel, kinda like what a tiling trowel does lay the tray on top and shimmy it down to even out the muck, if the bottom of the tray is porous might be worth unibonding it

 

[Alex Knight]

We fitted one of these a few weeks back, it came with some sort of glue/mastic in tubes which we used

 

[Ermintrude]

Used a wet room former screwed and silicone

 

[Mgrant]

So it should stick to the mortar without any additional weight on it? It is very, very light

 

[Chalked]

Used a wet room former screwed and silicone

Be careful ermintrude, using some kinds of silicones and no nails etc dissolves the bond between the cement layer and foam on a foam type wet room former.

It never sets, and months later starts to walk off,

either screw down or cement based adhesive onto primed floor (sbr primer, Never PVA)

 

[Mgrant]

yeah like chalked says make it fairly wet , but if you put a thick bed of muck you could make grooves in the muck with the trowel, kinda like what a tiling trowel does lay the tray on top and shimmy it down to even out the muck, if the bottom of the tray is porous might be worth unibonding it

Thanks could even use my floor tiling trowel to do this

 

[Dannypipe]

The last couple like that I have stuck down with expanded foam. Make sure the ply base is dead level and sealed with SBR.

Then a can of expanding foam over the ply and sit the tray, adjust so it's square and weigh it down.

Another plumber showed me this method and I was dubious but I've since tried to pull one up that was stuck this way, I ended up having to smash it to bit to get the tray out. It sticks like sh** to a blanket!

 

[AWheating]

who peels it off a blanket?? 🙂

 

[Phil]

I've just cut out a newly installed foam tray with a mulitmaster, leaked like a good un through into the kitchen below on account of untold movement in the pathetic silicone joint.

Underneath the tray was laminate flooring! Yes he floored his way into the corner and then sat the tray on a couple of beads on silicone.

Mickey Mouse foam tray in bin and a proper stone one going in.

 

[Dannypipe]

Proper resin stone ones are still only cheap. I've fitted a 1200X800 today and it was about £70+VAT. It's a nice shallow one, not big inset lip either.

The plastic ones are a bit flimsy but they are easy to carry! Some of the ones I've fitted have been more expensive than the resin stone ones.