Preslope without metal lathe

[homereno]

Hey all,


I am redoing my master bathroom right now. I had to beg my contractor to do a preslope, which he finally did. It’s sloped to 1/4 in per foot and it’s over a plywood subfloor. I decided to make him do a preslope after reading all the comments on this forum. Thank you guys so much! But now I have one concern. He didn’t use a metal lathe underneath the preslope. How big of a deal is this? If it helps, we will only be in the house for about 5 years so I’m not as concerned with it as I would be in my forever house if that makes any sense.

[Kman]

I would use lath, as well as plastic to keep the moisture in the mud. But if he didn't do either, it's not the end of the world. The important thing is to have the liner sloped, and the mud underneath doesn't have to be pristine.

I'd be more concerned that he wasn't going to do the preslope at all. If you're going to keep him on the project, you should watch the rest of his work and make sure he is doing everything correctly. The fact that he was about to make one crucial mistake makes me think he might do some more.

[cx]

What Kevin said, Jerry. The pre-slope is a building code requirement and if the guy building the shower doesn't know even that you're really gonna need to keep an eye on him.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[homereno]

Kevin and CX,

Thanks! Funny thing about that preslope. I’m here in atlantabe and I can’t find any contractors that were under 15k (for just labor) who would do a preslope. I have a 16 foot shower and a 240 foot bath area. I just can’t afford to spend 15k for labor on the master bath. Especially when I don’t know how long I’m gonna be here. I’ll watch him on the preslope and on the curb to make sure he doesn’t use Durock over the curb but rather does the metal lathe and wet mud over it. And sloping it inwards towards the shower. I made him do that on the curb too.

Actually, this gives me another question. Just so I can be prepared to talk to my contractor, I know I’m not supposed to use durock over the curb bc you are screwing a hole into the liner and that can create leak issues. But he is gonna say that the redguard will prevent any leaks from the holes in the screws. Is he correct? If so, what do I say to him as to why to not use durock? Pretend he does like 3 layers of durock and all. Is t just the moisture wicking up under the curb and that will yield mold? Is there anything else? Any other reason not to use durock/redguard?

[Kman]

There's not much point in having a liner with holes in it. What you described (as a possibility) is against standards, and eventually will let water in. Why do it the wrong way, when doing it correctly is just about as easy?

It's your shower, and if you want something done a certain way, you should tell him, just like with the preslope. On the same token, he would have the right to refuse to do the work in a manner that's against standards.

[Davy]

Installing the pan liner and preslope are actually part of the plumbers job but yet I've never seen a plumber use lath under the preslope. It took long enough to get them to install the preslope. But, I've seen many install the preslope right on the plywood floor. It's not the right way but once it gets hard and the pan is over it, it really can't go anywhere.

Some installers will go ahead and nail CBU to the curb then coat it with a membrane. The membrane may slow the process but water will eventually get to the screws or nails and rust them out, then go thru the holes in the liner and rot the wood.

Like the others have said, watch him close, there are likely other basics that won't get done.

[homereno]

I agree completely. I’m just trying to get ammunition if my contractor says he wants to use durock. I didn’t realize that the redguard would still allow water to seep in slowly. Thank you for that. That’s def no bueno. Thank you guys for all your help!

[Kman]

It's not that the Redgard will allow water through, but since it's not a continuous layer over the whole shower, water will work it's way behind the Redgard.