NeverLeaks Pan Man Shower Blog
Compare & Review Shower Pans, Bases and Receptors.
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Shower pan base types, reviews, pros & cons
When people are designing a bathroom they have a lot of options that face them when they are thinking about the design of their shower. I am sure of one thing… they want a shower pan that NEVERLEAKS.  With that in mind I can offer the following generic advice on the different types of shower pans out there in the market place. One thing is certain. Buyer Beware!  Unless a pan carries an approval designation from a plumbing standards board such as iapmo or nspc, you are taking your chances and inspectors will generally be a pia and ask for a watertest. Pans that are sitebuilt or are modified will usually fall into this category as well as some that are trying to skate by the inspector with shaky approvals that don’t really meet jurisdictional requirements. With any kind of custom shape and size you are usually facing this requirement.
Shower Pan Choices from worst to first going down the page….choices assume you want to build a solid long lasting shower and are not trying to polish up a turd house and sell it to some sucker for a profit. Aren’t we done with that?
1. Fiberglass receptor: Light-duty covered with an off white gelcoat. These  came out in the fifties and they were very inexpensive and still are for a reason. They don’t resist stains well and are also prone to spider-cracking around the drain assembly. You get what you pay for. Made with toxic resins fiberglass is not a very green option. Usually only one generic color and very limited sizes available. No watertest required. $150
2. Paint in place shower pan membrane: While becoming quite popular, this product comes in bottle like liquid rubber. You are effectively building a pool liner by painting a series of layers in place. Obviously, this product is entirely dependent on the diligence of the installer. It must be painted onto a pitched subfloor such as cured concrete. Tile can be installed directly over this type of liner with mortar but it is usually necessary to build a mortar bed since their will have to be some futzing over the way the drain collar and the tile meet up. I worry a little bit about bringing butadiene styrene into an occupied space. It is a product that requires plenty of ventilation and even though it smells benign it can be hazardous to people’s health. Substrate and watertest required. $150
3 Cultured marble: Made of stone dust added to an acrylic resin, these products hopefully will phase completely out of the market some time soon. Prone to staining and cracking these pans are a nightmare and you get what you pay for. Track home builders tend to use these a lot because of the low cost and the fact that you can get a shower panel system that will install cheap and easy. Junk at any price. No watertest required. $200
4. Custom solid acr