A poured epoxy shower floor trades a field of grout lines for one continuous pan. In an older bathroom, that usually means the tired tile and mortar bed come up, a waterproof membrane goes down over the prepped base, the drain is set, and the pan is poured with a steady fall toward it. We look at what is under the old floor before we say yes, and when the framing is soft or a pipe is leaking, we tell you that work comes first.
Older Highland Park bathrooms often have showers that have been there a long time. The tile is dated, the grout has gone dark no matter how hard anyone scrubs, and a few corners have started to crumble. A poured floor is an appealing replacement: no grout lines to clean, a texture you can trust with wet feet, and a color you choose. It works well when the bathroom underneath is ready for it. It is a poor choice when it is not, and the difference is almost always hidden below the existing floor. This post is about what we check before we pour a new shower pan, and how we decide.
What an old shower floor can hide
A shower pan is a stack of layers. Under the tile or the old finish sits a mortar bed, sloped toward the drain, and under that a waterproof layer meant to protect the framing and the floor below. From the top, you see only the tile. The rest you learn by testing and, once the old floor comes up, by looking.
The first thing we do is tap. A hollow sound means the tile has let go of its bed, and in a shower that usually points to water working its way underneath. Because our system replaces a tired pan instead of covering it, the tap is not deciding whether the old floor stays. It tells us what to expect when it comes up: a slab or subfloor that only needs to dry, or wood that has been wet long enough to soften. We also look at cracks running across the floor or along the base of the walls.
Then moisture, and the rooms around the shower. A slow leak leaves stains on the trim just outside the shower and, upstairs, on the ceiling of the room below. If water is still getting in, the leak has to be found and fixed, and the base has to dry, before a membrane or a pour goes on top. Our epoxy shower floors page for Highland Park covers the full list we work through.
Slope to the drain comes before color
Water has to run to the drain on its own. In an older shower the original slope is sometimes shallow, uneven, or tilted the wrong way in one corner because the bed settled. Tile can mask that a little, since water finds the grout lines. A smooth poured surface makes any flat spot obvious, because water simply sits there.
That is one reason we would rather pour a new pan than build on an old one. With the drain set at its final height first, the new floor gets shaped so every corner falls toward it, and we check slope with a level and with water before we talk finishes. A drain channel along one wall means the entire floor can pitch in one direction, a good fit for a walk-in or curbless shower.
Getting the fall right is what keeps the bathroom ceiling below from staining a year later. Color can wait until that is settled.
A surface you can trust with wet bare feet
Shower floors are the place where texture matters most. Bare feet, soap and water together make a smooth gloss finish dangerous. Every pan we pour carries grit mixed into its final coat, so feet have something to hold.
How much texture is a decision we make with you. More grip feels rougher underfoot and takes a little more scrubbing. Less grip feels smoother and cleans faster. For an older person’s bathroom, or a shower where kids rinse off after the pool, we lean toward more. For a guest bath that gets light use, a finer texture may be enough.
We bring textured samples to the walkthrough so you can feel them with a wet hand. Color choice comes after this, since a lot of colors work in a shower and the texture decision is the one that affects safety.
Drain first, then membrane, then the pour
The order matters more than any single step. The drain, center or linear, goes in before any epoxy, set at the height the finished floor will meet. The pour then runs right to its edge, so water passes into it without catching on a ridge and there is no gap for it to slip under.
Under the pour goes a waterproof membrane over the prepped base. The epoxy itself sheds water, but the membrane is the layer we count on if anything above it is ever damaged, which is why we never skip it.
If you keep a curb, it is poured with the pan in one piece, with no lip on the bathroom side to catch a toe. Where the pan meets the walls, the plan depends on what the walls are doing, and it gets written into the quote so you know what the finished edges will look like. Our epoxy shower floors service page shows how the system is put together.
When we tell you the shower is not ready
Some bathrooms are not ready for a pour, and saying so is part of the job. If the subfloor or joists under the shower have softened, a new pan sitting on them will crack where they give. If water is already getting into the wall or the floor below, the leak has to be found and fixed by the right trade before we come back.
A slab crack that is still opening falls in the same group. No finish poured over moving concrete stays whole, and a fresh floor can hide the problem until the damage is bigger.
When we find any of these, we explain what we saw, show you, and tell you what needs to happen before a poured floor makes sense. Some people bring us back after the repair. That is a better outcome than a new floor that cracks within a season and a bathroom ceiling that stains anyway.
Shower floor questions
What does a hollow sound under the old tile mean?
It means the tile has come loose from the mortar bed, and in an older shower that usually means water has been getting under it for a while. The old floor comes up for a poured pan either way, so the sound mostly tells us to look hard at the framing or slab once it is exposed.
Do the walls have to be redone at the same time?
Not always. Taking out the old pan can disturb the lowest row of wall tile, so we look at the walls on the walkthrough. If they are cracked, loose or due for a remodel anyway, doing them in the same window saves opening the bathroom twice. Whatever we agree on goes into the written quote.
Our house has only one shower. How does the job work?
Say so when you first call, because it shapes the schedule. The shower is out of service from the day the old floor comes up until the pan has cured, and we let you know the day it is ready for water. A gym, a neighbor or a trip out of town can cover those days.
If your shower floor is the part of the bathroom you dread cleaning, call and describe it, or send photos through the contact page. Cody will look at what is under the old floor, where the drain can go and how much fall the pan needs, and tell you straight whether a poured floor is the right fix. Our gallery shows other work, and the Highland Park page covers everything else we do in town.
Find Out If Your Shower Is a Candidate
We look under the old floor, at the drain and at the slope first, and we say so plainly when a bathroom needs other work before a pour.
Talk to Us (972) 369-6302