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

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

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

"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

"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.