| The shower pan liner membrane is usually a vinyl | | | | polyethylene (CPE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Either |
| sheet that's installed in the mortar base of the | | | | material works. The CPE is more flexible and seems |
| shower. All kinds of liners have been tried in the past, | | | | to stay soft better, but it's more expensive and |
| including liners of steel, iron, copper, lead and even | | | | harder to find. Most installers use PVC liners and they |
| tar. None of these materials were completely | | | | seem to work perfectly, even if they are a little |
| satisfactory. The currently used liner sheets seem to | | | | harder to fold and bend. |
| be the best solution yet. | | | | Here's how the liner, PVC or CPE, fits in the floor... |
| Don't even think about building a masonry tile shower | | | | The PVC liner is installed between two mortar layers. |
| without a liner membrane. Why not? Well, you see, a | | | | The bottom mortar layer is sloped and that's what |
| shower floor is not waterproof. Water seeps right | | | | supports the liner sheet and guarantees that the |
| into the grout of the floor and then down into the | | | | water moves right to the drain. The liner is run up |
| shower base. The only thing that keeps the shower | | | | the wall to produce a water proof layer higher than |
| leak-proof is the liner layer. It's made to catch all the | | | | the water could pool in the shower. |
| water that seeps into the floor and route it to special | | | | The real key to a leak-proof shower is getting the |
| drain holes built into the floor. | | | | right shower pan liner membrane and getting it |
| Here's what you get for the liner... | | | | installed properly. Installation is not complicated. There |
| The actual liner sheet is made of either chlorinated | | | | are just a few tricks to make it a sure success. |