DIY Tile Pic of the Week: Tile Shower Base

By Jim Bessey, editor

When you want an all-tile shower enclosure, there's no substitute for the real thing and no shortcuts to great results. 

2 by 2 porcelain tiles imitating an earthy "wood" look make a great pattern

Most of our ceramic tile shower remodeling projects use some type of high-end precast base, rather than real tile as pictured here. Why? Because forming and installing a ceramic or porcelain tile shower base is a real pain in the behind. Not only that, it's very easy to make a crucial mistake that will be very difficult to address when the inevitable leak emerges days or weeks later.

On the other hand, none of those expensive cast bases can even attempt to imitate the beauty of an all-tile base. Unfortunately, the best way to achieve results like this uses methods alarmingly similar to those of the original Roman Spa builders. A good DIY tile project? Not really; but if you're patient and aren't afraid to work with water-proof membrane, mortar mix, thinset, and ceramic (or porcelain) tile -- well, it's a job you can do one step at a time, carefully. 

We'll talk about that process in a future column. I've included a number of more basic DIY Tile Tips in earlier posts.
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What tile projects have you tried? Your ideas for future posts and pictures are always welcome. For more tile information, see my DIY Tile Zone, hosted on Helium.