Putting a slope in the bathroom

[aberglas]

It would come as a surprise to many that water runs downhill. It does not magically get sucked into drains, as many builders believe.


So in my bathroom there is a flat area that needs manual sweeping of water. I am thinking of raising one side 1cm so that it can flow to drain pump. Probably cover with ultralon EVA non-slip. Base is fibreglas.


But what to put under it? Normal house leveling compound can be made think and sloped, but I suspect too brittle for a boat. Epoxy with thickener would do it but very expensive for that much. Something gooy but sets with a bit of flex that will tolerate water, mainly fresh.


Thoughts?

[jamhass]

Mortar bed on top of the existing pan, tiled over.

[Ken Fry]

I have a strong preference for epoxy, but polyester body putty might be worth considering. You'd need plenty of ventilation. You could use a toothed trowel and get it close to the right contour. Then sand to exactly the right contour. Then fill in all the low spots using the ridges from the trowel as guide rails.

Then final sand and fillet, and paint with epoxy paint or gelcoat. You'd want to thoroughly sand the original surface for good adhesion of the putty.

Is there a way to cut around the perimeter, and tilt the floor and re-fiberglass it with the right tilt?

[aberglas]

Thanks.


For this job which is not critical and is well supported I am actually thinking glass reinforced polyester. Could use epoxy but expensive, overkill, and harder to form.


Then cover it with ultralon nonslip deck tread. And seal around the edges with mold resistant silicone.


Cutting the floor could end in disaster! And no way to get to the outside to stick it back properly without making a mess.

[OZwingle]

Consider making a whole new 'false floor' as an new part. Take a template of the existing floor. Make a mold of the finished shape with slopes, and maybe a detent for a flush drain fitting.
Fabricate the new floor of fiberglass. Just like building a boat: gel coat, then glass cloth, then biax. Use high density foam or coremat to fill in the bevels. Won't take much, it's pretty shallow slope. You're working inside out, upside down here. When cured, separate from mold and fit to extant head pan. Trim and adjust as needed. Prep the old floor, now a subfloor. Then bond down with epoxy. All new floor with exact slopes you want. Could make a nice cove lip as well so edge of new floor is higher than outer edge of slope, reducing chance of water ingress. In other words, you're making a new shower pan in the shop.
Finally, add your non-skid.


Working in the shop is much easier, cleaner, warmer, and will produce a higher quality product. If you don't like the fit of the new part, adjust before bonding down. If you attempt to fabricate in situ and make a mistake - OMG, what a lot to rip out.


HINT: Make a template directly in the head. Do not assume walls, bulkheads, cabinet faces are parallel and square. Make the template at the height of contact of the new floor to the extant faces, e.g. 3" up from the existing floor. Walls, bulkheads, cabinet faces can slope in or out, e.g. not be true vertical, as well as not square or parallel or straight.

[Ken Fry]

If I used a glass filled polyester mud, then I would cover it in 10 oz fiberglass in epoxy for waterproofing and prevention of surface cracks.

Another thought: There are loads of CNC panel cutting machines around (in boat building shops, cabinet shops, etc) that could taper a piece of Lastafoam (a modern alternative to the Clark Foam that used to be used in shaping surfboards). I know an expert plasterer who could probably do a nice taper with mud of some sort. but most mortals find it tricky. Turning the hard part, the tapering, over to a CNC machine could make the project a little easier. A piece of structural foam could be glued down with 5200, then covered in 10 oz cloth, in epoxy, and then filled and filleted with epoxy with appropriate fillers mixed in.

[Shrew]

Put a second drain in the opposite corner diagonal to the existing drain. T them together.

tilting the shower pan will do little good once someone moves to the other side of the cabin.

[Madehn]

Bondo auto body filler?

[JPA Cate]

I can see why you'd want it to drain naturally, but as the one mostly responsible for cleaning abord this vessel, my take on the issue is different. If you have to wipe down the shower after each shower, it never gets dirty! [Well, hardly ever, any way.] And, in a way, that's a blessing.

Ann

[Ken Fry]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

I can see why you'd want it to drain naturally, but as the one mostly responsible for cleaning abord this vessel, my take on the issue is different. If you have to wipe down the shower after each shower, it never gets dirty! [Well, hardly ever, any way.] And, in a way, that's a blessing.

Ann

You're so darn sensible!

[JPA Cate]

LOL. Thanks for the kind words, Ken Fry.

[Rick Williams]

I have to do the same thing in my small head and I was going to do it with tapered layers of biaxial fiberglass cloth which would get my outside elevation up quickly and level the result with Total Fair from Jamestown distributors (easy to use and sand) or just bondo. Unless your head is much larger than mine (38' Downeaster) the materials won't be that expensive. I'd probably use some leftover Kiwi Grip or just a stippled finish on the last coat for traction.

[JMaav]

Originally Posted by aberglas

…But what to put under it?……

Thoughts?

There are tons of ‘levelastic’ products used for this application, and available at most hardware stores. ‘Levelquik RS’, ‘Henry 345’, ‘Henry 555’, and others.
Just read instructions for materials it needs to bond with to find the appropriate product.

[SpiritofGlenans]

Why not just make a hardwood slatted floor. It's a traditional nautical solution to this kind of a problem. Plenty of how-to advice online.

[aberglas]

Glass reinforced polyester did the trick. Very strong. Carefully marked the slope around the sides. 4kgs @#30. ultralon nonslip deck tread on top. Silicone around the edge to ensure a largely mold free seal.


One issue is that it goes off very fast, even when stored in the fridge. Slight unevenness is feelable through the floor. I would use a finishing compound, even though I am covering it.


Certainly did not want some sort of mat etc. that would get very gundgy underneath. And properly draining floor does not get dirty so quick (and also I used grey not white).


Thanks for all the suggestions.