As some of you know, we are having our sticks & bricks bathrooms gutted and reconfigured. As such we have been using the RV daily as our bathroom and shower. With three people, you can imagine the shower has taken the brunt.
Back Story
Have noticed for years that our shower pan flexed, and that the wall surround to pan gap had grown to a 1/2", in the corner. Wednesday I noticed the shower pan was really deflecting in the center, and pulling on the pan side walls. Plus the water was really beginning to pool around your feet.
In pic 1 you will see the original foam glued to the pan bottom. What you can't really see is how badly the foam was crushed. It's as if it was designed to fail quickly. How it survived for 26 years I'll never know.
Solution #1
Received a suggestion from MarvinG to access the pan from underneath and fill the void with spray foam. Thanks MarvinG. Tried that solution, only to find that the plywood holding up the shower pan and glass enclosure was solid plywood. So that solution was not going to work in our situation.
Checked online for a new shower pan, only to finding that a 25"x30" shower pan is near impossible to locate. Did find a supplier in the UK, but it would require re-plumbing the waste line. Plus waiting weeks for the large parcel to arrive in the USA.
Looked into fitting a 24"x32" shower pan, but the waste plumbing behind the faucet wall would not allow for the wall to be moved two inches.
Solution #2
Decided yesterday to bite the bullet and gut our shower right down to the floor. Hoping to save our shower walls, glass enclosure, and repair/replace the shower pan.
Started at 9:30 yesterday, and had everything removed (without breaking anything) by 12:30.
As suspected the shower pan styrofoam was almost compressed flat. One side edge, of the styrofoam was still perfect and measured 1 5/16" tall. The center of the foam was so compressed that it only measured 1/2" thick. {See pic3}
Went to HD and got me
a) 1" thick (24"x24") piece of Foamular NGX water resistant insulation. Stood on a piece in HD, and it held up to my weight pretty well, with minimal deflection.
b) 3/16" piece of MDF (24"x48") with a black chalk & white marker coatings.
c) 1/8" thick closed cell foam
d) double sided foam adhesive tape, 3M
e) 2" sink strainer from Glacier Bay 1001966392. This gave me a new hair strainer, kitchen sink stopper and strainer. All for $12
f) tube of GE bathroom silicone
g) plumbers putty
h) spray adhesive (had some left over from doing a car headliner)
Repairing shower pan
Removed the old foam from the pan, and scrapped off any old loose bits of glue and foam. Cut the closed cell foam, and then glued it to the pan. Cut the MDF and 1" foam. Glued down the MDF to the closed cell foam, then the 1" foam to the MDF. This gave me a nice laminated structure, replicated the original foam thickness, with the MDF distributing the compression forces over a bigger area. {See pic4}
Cleaning old Silicone 
It took me hours, but I scrapped off all of the old silicone, and removed all of the old double sided tape.
Assembly
Installed the a new drain fitting into the shower pan, and dry fit the assembly. All looked well, and had my 7" reveal measurement from pan bottom to side blocks perfect. Jokingly, assembly is the reverse of removal. Just with forethought given to were, and when to apply the silicone.
Finished around 11:30 last night, giving the silicone about 9 hours to cure. The teenager was very concerned about getting his shower in before going to school. Got to impress the girls you know.
Testing & Verdict
The shower pan feels very sturdy, under the feet, and should survive much longer than the original foam layer did. The water drains so much better now. So far, no leaks to report.
Pictures are below.
Pic1 pan removed, Pic2 shower raised floor, with 1" which plywood wall near carpet, Pic3 1-5/16 verses 1/2 Styrofoam, Pic4 closed cell foam, MDF and 1" foam laminate, Pic4 pan test fitting, and 3M adhesive for walls, Pic5 pan, wall, trim and some gold trim installed, Pic6 final product
Pulled the plumbing access panel, and...
No questioning of the Banks power pack system. All the tech needed to see were the CA air resources board Executive Order decals, and that all was installed properly.
Linear Mode
