How to make a podium for a shower cabin with your own hands?

When installing a shower stall, untrained people have a lot of questions. One of the main things is whether it is necessary to make a podium for a shower cabin, and if necessary, how to make it right.

In the vast majority of bathrooms, the sewage drain is necessarily located above the floor level, which is why it is difficult to install the shower stall. The problem is that the sewer pipe must necessarily be located under the slope along its entire length, this is required so that the water can flow quietly without lingering. It is in cases of improper installation of sewer pipes occurleaks at the joints and, most unpleasantly, permanent blockages. First of all, the device must be properly filled.

Just to create a slope of the sewer pipe and need a podium, but its height will differ depending on the bathroom, the location of the shower and the shower itself. Therefore, before you begin to create a podium, you should take measurements in order to accurately know its future height and geometry.

When creating the podium, you should consider some subtleties, namely:

1. The distance between the surface of the created structure and the drain pipe should not exceed 6 centimeters.
2. We should not forget about the inclination of the sewer pipe - its absence is fraught with serious problems.
3. In addition, you need to take into account the height of all structures, so that the shower cabin can be installed without problems.

The materials for creating the podium, in fact, can be absolutely any,however, you should remember about the requirements for the design, namely: it must be durable, respectively, and the materials need to choose durable and reliable.

In addition to the materials for the podium, you will need some construction tools: a tape measure, trowel, marker, knife and so on. Be sure to come in handy consumables, such as gravel, sand, cement, tile adhesive, tile, aluminum profile for the corners.

Often to create a podium using these types of building materials:

• tree;
• brick;
• concrete.

The main advantage of the podium of wood - speed and low cost. To build such a construction of wooden bars is not difficult and does not hit the pocket, but you should remember about the disadvantages of such a design.

After assembling the podium and installing a shower cabin on it, there is a large gap between the floor and the shower tray, which needs something to be closed.For these purposes, you can use plastic panels or tiles, fixing the material on glue or silicone.

Another opportunity to make a reliable podium for a shower stall is to use a brick. It is a long-proven material, durable and inexpensive, which is immune to high humidity. It also has a long service life, unlike wood.

The brick is installed on the sand-cement mortar, while the geometry and level must be observed to prevent tilting and skewing. Be sure to let the cement mixture harden, usually it takes 2 days, so you will have to wait a little with the installation of the cabin.

The final stage of creation is finishing. The brick podium is faced only with a tile or mosaic, which is precisely the main finishing material in the bathroom.

Concrete construction is the most reliable and durable, therefore it is used most often. Such qualities are achieved due to the monolithic structure, thanks to it you can create a podium of any shape, including the steps to it. Of the minuses it is worth noting the relative complexity of the creation and the time that will have to spend, as well as the high cost compared with previous versions.

Before creating a concrete structure, place the shower stall in the place of the future podium and mark the area or, if this is not possible, transfer the dimensions of the shower tray to the floor with a tape measure and marker. After it is necessary to make a formwork, it is usually made from planks and bars, there are no special requirements for it, since it will not experience a large load. However, cracks and cracks should be avoided, and the area under the formwork should be thoroughly cleaned of dust and dirt for good adhesion. In the formwork, you need to install a reinforcing frame made of reinforcement, and also take into account the necessary technological holes, if they are required.

After all the manipulations, the solution is poured into the prepared form. After pouring, the surface should be leveled to simplify future tile trimming or installation of a pallet.

For curing, the podium should be left for a week, although the formwork can be removed already for 2 - 3 days. Over time, the podium is covered with waterproofing, a sewer system is installed, then the finished pedestal is faced with tiles.

We can say that making the podium with your own hands will definitely save money, and also help to avoid risks when creating a structure, however, some notes should be kept in mind and taken into account:

• You need to responsibly treat the strength of your design. It is often possible to observe how many owners of shower cabins and even baths simply put these sanitary products on bricks or sets of wooden blocks. This is usually thought of as a temporary measure, but often drags on indefinitely. We should not talk about the reliability of such a design.

• Tcarefully check the quality of the joint of the drain hole with the sewer pipe, siphon for leaks, check the pipe slope. It is much better to do the checking procedure several times at once, than after all the finishing work, to disassemble everything back and fix the problem.
• If tile is used as a finish, and a shower stall implies an open outer corner, then you should not tile the tile at a 45 degree angle. It is much more correct in this situation to use a decorative aluminum corner or profile, which is specially created for such purposes. It looks quite aesthetically pleasing, while preventing chipping, and will also be much more tactilely pleasant than a tiled joint.

In the next video you will clearly see how to make a shower tray of brick with your own hands.