Fitting (heavy) stone resin shower in alcove - how?
In article ,
Lobster wrote: I'm in the midst of installing a large stone resin shower tray; it's going in an existing alcove where it will be a snug fit on three sides; the alcove being as deep as the tray is wide (760mm). I've built the required platform for it to sit on, topped with 0.75" marine ply, and now just need to lay the tray down on a bed of mortar as per instructions. Trouble is, this thing is obviously very heavy and I can't get access to anything but the front edge to lower it down flat, ie parallel to the floor. Having tried several 'dry runs', the best I can do is stand in front of the tray, standing up on it's front edge, and then lower the high (ie back) edge away from me till it reaches the deck. If there'd been mortar in situ, it would have squeezed out the front all over my feet.... The tray is now 3 or 4 inches away from the back of the alcove, and has to be slid back into place (which would bugger up the mortar bed still further). Anyone done this before? I can't think of an easy way to do it, certainly not without crippling nyself. How critical is the integrity of the mortar bed - am I worrying too much about it? I sure as hell want it to be right, though; I don't plan on replacing this tray in the forseeable future! demolish the rear wall and get a friend to help. Rebuild wall. drill a hole in the bottom of the tray and attach rope to help lowering it in place cut in half and fit as sections - duct tape join to prevent leaks - duct tape will also provide a handy non slip surface make hole in floor at back of alcove all the way through ceiling below - poke stick through hole from below and use to lower tray in place if plug hole it at rear use rope and stick to lower into alcove try some heavy duty suction cups - can be hired fit tray on ply before sliding into alcove Neil |
Fitting (heavy) stone resin shower in alcove - how?
I'm in the midst of installing a large stone resin shower tray; it's going
in an existing alcove where it will be a snug fit on three sides; the alcove being as deep as the tray is wide (760mm). I've built the required platform for it to sit on, topped with 0.75" marine ply, and now just need to lay the tray down on a bed of mortar as per instructions. Trouble is, this thing is obviously very heavy and I can't get access to anything but the front edge to lower it down flat, ie parallel to the floor. Having tried several 'dry runs', the best I can do is stand in front of the tray, standing up on it's front edge, and then lower the high (ie back) edge away from me till it reaches the deck. If there'd been mortar in situ, it would have squeezed out the front all over my feet.... The tray is now 3 or 4 inches away from the back of the alcove, and has to be slid back into place (which would bugger up the mortar bed still further). Anyone done this before? I can't think of an easy way to do it, certainly not without crippling nyself. How critical is the integrity of the mortar bed - am I worrying too much about it? I sure as hell want it to be right, though; I don't plan on replacing this tray in the forseeable future! Thanks David |
Fitting (heavy) stone resin shower in alcove - how?
In an earlier contribution to this discussion, Lobster
wrote: I'm in the midst of installing a large stone resin shower tray; it's going in an existing alcove where it will be a snug fit on three sides; the alcove being as deep as the tray is wide (760mm). I've built the required platform for it to sit on, topped with 0.75" marine ply, and now just need to lay the tray down on a bed of mortar as per instructions. Trouble is, this thing is obviously very heavy and I can't get access to anything but the front edge to lower it down flat, ie parallel to the floor. Having tried several 'dry runs', the best I can do is stand in front of the tray, standing up on it's front edge, and then lower the high (ie back) edge away from me till it reaches the deck. If there'd been mortar in situ, it would have squeezed out the front all over my feet.... The tray is now 3 or 4 inches away from the back of the alcove, and has to be slid back into place (which would bugger up the mortar bed still further). Anyone done this before? I can't think of an easy way to do it, certainly not without crippling nyself. How critical is the integrity of the mortar bed - am I worrying too much about it? I sure as hell want it to be right, though; I don't plan on replacing this tray in the forseeable future! Thanks David You could try this - it might work, but I've never done it! Obtain 2 strips of wood, about 1/2" x 1" and a bit longer than the width of the tray. Lay them flat across the alcove, a few inches from each end. Apply mortar all over, level with the top of the wooden strips. Slide the tray in, with the back edge supported by the strips, and the front edge slightly raised. Lower the front edge. [The wooden srtips will stop the tray from disturbing the mortar too much]. Finally, pull the strips out, allowing the tray to settle onto the mortar. Mortar should flow into the spaces vacated by the strips - and even if it doesn't, the tray will be adequately supported. You will have to decide in advance how the pull the strips out - maybe drilling a hole for a rope or hook in each before laying it. HTH. -- Cheers, Set Square |
Fitting (heavy) stone resin shower in alcove - how?
"Lobster" wrote in message news
I'm in the midst of installing a large stone resin shower tray; snip Anyone done this before? Yes. Well, it was only a 760x760 but it's heavier than I can lift with my arms extended horizontally and I'm sure the principal is the same... I can't think of an easy way to do it, certainly not without crippling nyself. How critical is the integrity of the mortar bed - am I worrying too much about it? It needs to support the tray evenly. If there is a big area unsuported the manufacturers claim all manner of doom related to the tray cracking. Despite this some people claim succesful installations using other substances such as silicon sealant. The method I used, which I originally gleaned from this group, is to place a couple of thin battens from front to back a little way in from the edges. Lay the bed of mortar fairly firm, but with a bit of give and make sure that it is level. Place the tray onto the battens using a combination of lifting, lowering, levering and swearing. Slide the tray right to the back. Extract the battens. Allowing the tray to plop into place. Ensure it is level. If it's not, you can try and adjust it, but there's really not much give. I'm not sure whether the gap left by the battens is sealed up by the weight or if it doesn't really matter because it's so small. Probably a bit of both. Oh yes, one more thing. Get it right first time. -- Steve F |
Fitting (heavy) stone resin shower in alcove - how?
"Lobster" wrote in message ... I'm in the midst of installing a large stone resin shower tray; it's going in an existing alcove where it will be a snug fit on three sides; the alcove being as deep as the tray is wide (760mm). I've built the required platform for it to sit on, topped with 0.75" marine ply, and now just need to lay the tray down on a bed of mortar as per instructions. Trouble is, this thing is obviously very heavy and I can't get access to anything but the front edge to lower it down flat, ie parallel to the floor. Having tried several 'dry runs', the best I can do is stand in front of the tray, standing up on it's front edge, and then lower the high (ie back) edge away from me till it reaches the deck. If there'd been mortar in situ, it would have squeezed out the front all over my feet.... The tray is now 3 or 4 inches away from the back of the alcove, and has to be slid back into place (which would bugger up the mortar bed still further). Anyone done this before? I can't think of an easy way to do it, certainly not without crippling nyself. How critical is the integrity of the mortar bed - am I worrying too much about it? I sure as hell want it to be right, though; I don't plan on replacing this tray in the forseeable future! Thanks David David, Cut a couple of timber strips the thickness that you want the bed to be and a little longer than you need, lay these on the deck and fill between them with the mortar and run a straight edge across these to get an even mortar thickness. Leave them insitu and "drop" the tray onto these and slide it into position and then remove them. Once this is done, give the shower tray a little "wiggle" to set it on the mortar bed and job done. If you cut the strips fairly narrow, the gaps left when you pull them out will cause no harm as tray will span these without causing any problems IMPORTANT. Make the mortar of 3 sand and 1 cement and mix this with just enough water to bind it together (pick a handful of it up and squeeze it and if it stays in a ball when you open your hands with no surplus water around, then your ok and it will stay in position whilst fitting the tray - this is called a SEMI-DRY mix and is all that it needs to be. Once you have laid the tray, leave it alone for 24 hours and the mortar will have set with the tray in the right position. If you make the mortar to wet, then you will have problems with it dropping off the edge of the deck, spreading all over the place and the tray sinking into it. |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:54 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 DIYbanter