Remember the base has to be rock solid and not move or flex when you are
stepping in it. Can (does happen) if the floor is not exactly level. One
easy fix, recommended by the manufacturer, and one that I had to use, is to
use foam. Comes in a can--using the nozzle that comes with it, spray under
the base, it'll expand and will start oozing out all over the place. Don't
be skimpy, you may need more than one or two cans. When it hardens just cut
off the excess. Does a great job.
MLD

M" wrote in message
...
I used a book from Home Depot, _Tiling
1-2-3" which made it look simple. It's not.

That's the kind of info I'm looking for. Like you said, the book makes it
look simple. You gave it some realism.

Judging by this and other replies, it seems like acrylic is the way to go.

Ken



"William W. Plummer" wrote in
message news:Jymwd.205127$V41.50614@attbi_s52...
KenM wrote:

I'm going to re-do our shower, using tile. It has an acrylic shower
base
which I want to replace.

Should I go with acrylic again, or do tile? What are issues regarding
durability, lifetime, leaks, ease of keeping clean?

For acrylic, I've found info on Jucuzzi and American Standard. Can
you
recommend one of these, or another?

Judging by the instructions I've pulled of the web, installation of
acrylic
looks pretty straightforward. Any useful tips?

I've done a half-dozen floor/backsplash tile projects, so I'm pretty
comfortable with doing the shower walls. But a tile base is another
story.
Looking in a tile book, it doesn't seem too difficult. Is this
something
that takes some experience to get right, or could I reasonably expect
to
get
it right the first time? This is on a second floor, so I definitely
don't
want leaks to be a problem.

The book I looked at said to use a heavy plastic liner. I know in the
old
days they used a lead liner. What's the current thinking in that
area?
Any
other tips for installing a tile base?

There are lots of fine points. I used a book from Home Depot, _Tiling
1-2-3" which made it look simple. It's not. Getting the floor pitched
right is really hard because you can't stand back and look at it. I got
two slight slight dips that take awhile to dry out. And the drain was
hard. Cutting the floor tile matrix to fit around the drain took 4
tries until I figured how to do it. Luckily, somebody told me to use
expoxy grout because it will never fail or mildew.