Definitely makes it a lot easier and faster, even though it costs a few dollars more. You need to make sure your slab is flat, and follow all the instructions. You can put it in after the walls are waterproofed so you don't risk damaging the foam.

http://www.schluter.com/8_3_kerdi_st_sc_sr.aspx


If the bench concerns you, look into getting the Better Bench. It doesn't go to the floor, so it won't affect the tray. You will need to go ahead and put some backing up between the studs to give it some support. Those 2x10's you were going to use for backing for the liner would work fine.

http://www.aquafit-usa.com/betterbench.htm

It's not that the bench concerns me, it's the dryer vent that is occupying space that I will need to work around. I suppose I *could* consider flattening it out some.....

I will probably skip the Kerdi base and do the drywall/kerdi with a normal preslope and build the bench and curb, and use the Kerdi drain and membrane.

Yeah, I forgot about the dryer vent. I would probably build the bench to cover the vent, then do a mud floor.

And just to clarify, there is no preslope with a Kerdi shower. Only one mud bed. You bond it to the slab with a coat of thinset slurry.

OK, no preslope, but, it *will* be sloped toward the drain!

Today made some progress, put the gate valves on:



Then I decided to tackle moving the drain. Here's the old trap and drain:



and here's the new one:



I think I remember reading (Edit: yes, back on page one) that the trap should be directly under the shower drain, so hopefully that is correct, if not, now is the time to fix it.

Got all the dirt (sandy soil, really) back in and tamped down. I decided I would put plastic down on the dirt before the concrete, so the concrete will stay, after all, there was plastic there to begin with, any issue with doing this? I'll allow the soil to dry for at least a week before I add the concrete. How should I do around the drain? put the cement right against the drain or leave a depression around it? Should I extend the drain above the slab?



Thanks!

I don't think there is any real need in waiting for the dirt to dry out (unless you're just using that as an excuse to not do any work for a week ).

Stub up the drain line just above the slab (you'll cut it off later). In your case, since you're going to repair a section of concrete adjacent the drain, I would probably take a large coffee can or something of similar size and put it over the drain, then pour the concrete around it. Let the concrete set for just a little, then pull the can out. This will leave some space for the Kerdi drain to be put in. The way the drain is shaped, part of it has to go below the surface of the slab, and this will leave you enough room to get it put in. Then you can fill the remaining void with deck mud.

Alternately, you could go ahead and set the bench, cover the walls with drywall, then set the drain at the same time you pour the concrete. Then you could do the mud floor the next day.

Either way will work.

OK, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how best to mount the new shower control. I've cut the pipes and installed shut-off valves and before I can install drywall I'll need to mount the control and complete the plumbing for it.

I want to affix the control to a vertical stud, not sure of the depth. Here is a pdf file of the installation instructions for the control I'll be installing, and from what I understand I'll need to pick one of A,B or C for steps 1-3. It seems like C would be the one, and it looks like I'll need to cut a pretty large hole (4.5 inches), is that correct? That's a pretty big hole to worry about leaking...

Some help on this is very much appreciated.

You would only attach the valve directly to the stud if the stud is at the 4' mark, or very close to it. Most of the time, the valve is mounted on blocking between two studs.

As for the depth, the plastic ring that's screwed to the front of the valve is used to set the depth. The face of the ring should be 1/2" out from the studs, plus the thickness of your tile. (picture 2C) The drywall will be cut around this ring.

So, if the valve does happen to sit on a stud, you will need to cut enough of the stud to accommodate the actual valve, not the ring. If it falls between studs, just screw a 2x4 between the studs, and set it back far enough to keep the ring at 1/2" out, plus the thickness of your tile.

The trim ring that comes with your valve should have a seal on the back of it that seals up to the face of the tile. Also, the recent Kerdi drains are coming with a valve seal. It's basically a rubber ring that fits around that 4 1/2" hole, with about 2" of Kerdi material extending out from it. This allows for a pretty good seal.

I didn't use the valve seal on the last job I did, because there were two valves and only one ring. Instead, I smeared silicone around the exposed core of the drywall. Not much moisture is going to get in there anyway, but if it does, the silicone will protect the drywall.

Managed to complete the plumbing-



Also managed to build the shower bench-





I did slant the bench toward the drain, about 1/4" per foot from both walls, about 3/8" for the 18" overall sides, was that too much?

I'll be adding a piece of granite for the top of the bench, can I have it overhang perhaps 1/2" on the front edges? Should I? I'm assuming I drywall first, then butt the granite against the drywall when I thin set it in place.

Thanks.

Pritch, you need to remove those shut off valves from the supply lines. You can't bury valves in a non accessible wall space.
There is no way to get at them if the valve stems leak.

The granite slab is the very last pc to go in. All the drywall, Kerdi and tile is done first before the seat top.
Your granite fabricator normally does the templating.

I will have an access panel to the gate valves on the other side of the wall (walk in closet). What's the logic?