Major Shower Issue? 18k spent!

[Christina C]

We have a small alcove shower that has had so many issues.

We paid a licensed and insured large plumbing company to replumb our whole house and install a new pan in said shower at the same time. We had them supply the pan as they warranty it only if they provided the materials with a markup.

The day the installer left I could visually see the pan was not level. I called him back out and mentioned that the pan (fiberglass) felt flimsy and asked if it needed a mortar base. He said his employee would relevel it and that would take care of it.

I believed him and now our 6k acrylic walls are up and the pan is still flexible, so much so that my 160lb husband causes the drain cap to lift off if he stands near the drain. I pulled the instruction manual for the pan they supplied and it says it requires a mortar base. They said they will come out and fix the drain, but I think they intend to just cut the pipe shorter so the cap doesn't lift off.

Can a pan be mortared after the fact or are the walls and everything going to need to come down to redo this? The plumber said he assumed everything was okay after they releveled the pan, but I'm not a plumber and really hope he isn't passing the buck.

 

[Terry]

The pan, according to the instructions that came with it, needed a mortar base. They skipped that step.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Sylvan]

I never used a fiberglass shower pan as they are flimsy compared to 4 PSF sheet lead or a Terrazzo base.

If the contractor is licensed and insured they will have to make it right or you can take action by calling the licensing board or the BBB or their insurance company

 

[Christina C]

Thank you for any feedback! They are coming out on Wednesday to take a look. I'm linking the spec sheet. Is this something that can be dealt with without tearing out the walls?

We were ripped off on this shower in 2019 when a tile installer we hired did totally crap work that my husband and I had to tear out. This company came highly recommended, I just feel like this is a pretty big step to miss. I just wanted to know if they wall must come down or if they could inject the mortar under the pan and keep it in place.

https://www.florestone.com/shower_bases/pdfs/rec_install_fiberglass.pdf

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

Florestone makes very sturdy shower bases. If its placed on a perfect level surface it doesn't need mortar, but the fact that it flexes in any way shape or form indicates that it needs a mortar bed. The only way they will be able to get it solid is to pull the pan and install it properly.

ask them explicitly what their plan is to ensure that the pan has NO flexibility in it before they're allowed to start any work. If they have no plan, call their office and demand someone answer that question. it must be flex free.

 

[Terry]

You really need to start with a solid pan in place and work from there.
If the floor was flat and the pan had aid flat without rocking, then they could have skipped that step. They may need to start over.

 

[Christina C]

Thank you so far for the feedback. The plumber came out and said that they did put mortar underneath but that there will always be some flexibility to a fiberglass pan. The 2" drain pipe coming up from the floor is high and needs to be trimmed and our wall installer said that might be preventing the pan from resting properly on the floor/mortar.

The plumber said they will make it right and guarantee the job for 15 years. Is some flexibility normal? We had a fiberglass pan back there that was the original on the house (1978) and I don't recall it flexing like that.

 

[Sylvan]

Good luck with the 15 year guarantee .

 

[John Gayewski]

The base should be solid. No flex. It could be they left a larger than needed hole around the drain which could be causing flex. Bottom line no flex.

 

[Christina C]

Good luck with the 15 year guarantee .

The owner came out, saw the job and took full responsibility. He's having the walls and shower pan torn out and replaced at his expense. He's not sure why his employee thought that was okay.