Why Choose Ebbe America
Ebbe America leads the way in square shower drain technology.
Ebbe does not create me too products. We are constantly innovating, creating, and imagining products that improve the installation process and owners experience.
Were always pushing the envelope to eliminate flaws and problems inherent with tiled shower drains.
We manufacture the most beautiful and versatile drains on the market today.
Barrier Free Shower Pans
Redi Free® Barrier Free shower pans, including ADA shower pan models, provide a walk-in or roll-in entrance, creating an environment that is inherently accessible to people both with and without mobility concerns.
Cant everyone benefit from a barrier free shower entrance? Of course! That is why we have the industrys widest variety of barrier free styles including Redi Trench®, Redi Base®, and Bathtub Replacement models.
Do You Ensure That Your Tile Work Slopes To The Drain
What situations have you encountered where tile work didn’t slope properly? How did you address the situation?
If you haven’t already, consider becoming a Certified Tile Installer . As a CTI, you set yourself apart from the crowd and know how to anticipate tile installation problems before they occur.
Do it right the first time and get paid accordingly.
Thanks for reading.
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Reasons To Consider A Linear Drain
When updating your bathroom shower, these stylish drains might be just the way to go.
Yvonne Harbison
When it comes to designing the perfect bathroom shower, the styles that can be achieved are only limited by the requirements of the materials. While not always unsightly, the drain is an expected and familiar, boring element in most homes. The traditional result is a round or square drain in the middle of the shower stall floor, with a noticeable grade to the tile sloped around it. To update the look and break out from the old style, its time to switch drains.
What Is a Linear Drain?
Once found exclusively in commercial bathrooms and locker rooms, the linear drain has come a long way. Also called a trough drain, or a trench drain, is really a channel built into the floor of the shower to collect water before sending it to the drain outlet. They are stylish and customized, unique to your space. The water is pulled to a long and narrow trough at one end of the shower, collecting more water at once without pooling at your feet. The pre-pitched channel then directs the water to the hidden outlet and down the drain.
Important Features of a Linear Drain
Drain Sizing
Installation Options
A key factor in choosing a linear drain is determining the functions it needs to perform, which influences where it should be located and the type of installation.
Cover Types
Floor Slope
An Important Note on Waterproofing Techniques
Why Choose A Linear Drain?
All Shower Surfaces Must Slope To The Drain
All these notes and standards clearly show that all surfaces in a shower, be it residential or commercial, must carry the water to the drain and, therefore, must be sloped.
This would include other surfaces in the shower such as the curb or threshold under the door, the shelves of a niche, a corner shelf, a shaving shelf, a seat, and a windowsill, such as the one in the photo below.
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Slope Shower Ledges Rims Sills Seats And Thresholds
It’s not just the floor that you need to consider for sloping in showers.
According to the ANSI standard A108.01-3.6.4,
All horizontal ledges/rims shall have a slope such that any fluid on their surfaces flows toward the drain.
Additionally, the Tile Council of North America Handbook, all bathtub and stall shower details contain this note,
All horizontal surfaces, for example, shower seats, sills, curbs, etc., must slope towards a drain or other surface sloped toward the drain. Where present, waterproofing also must be sloped.”
Any Slope Vs A Tile Slope To The Drain
Let’s examine the photo below where these requirements weren’t followed.
This shower, in an upscale hotel, includes a window between the shower and the bathroom. You can easily see the puddled water on the sill which is actually sloped not to the drain, but toward the window. Each time the shower is used, water collects on the sill, remaining there until the cleaning staff dries the surface.
Unfortunately, this standing water has found its way to the other side of the wall causing the drywall to deteriorate.
The better approach would have been to slope the tiled window sill toward the shower drain so as to avoid those unwanted water puddles.
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Seal The Holes With Concrete:
Replace the concrete around the drain, thoroughly hiding the flange and bolts. Then smooth the new concrete flush with the rest of the floor with a flat metal trowel. After the concrete has had time to dry, remove the tape. Once you have sealed all the areas and tiles, you are set to use the new shower area in your bathroom. Make sure to dry the area completely before using.
Does Your Tile Slope To The Drain
When you install tile in wet areas, do you ensure that everything slopes to the drain? If not, please read below.
Let’s consider showers. Showers can be a beautiful part of the bathroom especially when the tile is part of the finished product. The beauty, though, will not be long-lasting if the installation standards and best practices for tile installation are not followed.
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Point Drain Or Linear Drain
There are more shower drains available than you can count, but they all really fall into two types point drains and linear drains. Point drains are most common and are what we are used to seeing in showers. They are typically located in the middle of the shower floor, and the floor is sloped from all directions down to the drain. The shower floor is really a gently sloped funnel that directs all of the water into this drain. One tip is to look for a square drain grate, as opposed to a round one. Tiles are square, so your shower floor will look better with a square drain, and the installer wont have to try to make round cuts on square tile.
A linear drain, as the name suggests, is long and narrow. These drains add an element of style to the shower and have become much more popular in the past few years. They may be located in the middle of the floor but are most commonly placed along one wall of the shower. The design and placement of these drains means the entire shower floor slopes gently and evenly toward the drain. No more funnel. Linear drains come in many different lengths, up to as long as 72.
Its important to know that both types of drains take the water away with equal efficiency. Unless you have an unusually large amount of water in your shower, either type will work. In most cases a point drain will cost less than a linear drain.
Floor Tile Must Slope To The Drain
In a stall shower, the plumbing code requires the floor to be sloped one quarter of an inch per foot in order to carry the water effectively to the drain.
- This slope, according to the TCNA Handbook is called sloped fill or commonly known as the pre-slope. This sloped material is installed under the pan liner .
- With a tape measure, determine the distance between the drain and the farthest corner of the shower. As seen in the photo below, this distance is 26″.
- Divide that distance in feet by four to find how much slope you need. 26″ divided by 12 = 2.167 divided by 4 = 0.5417 or slightly more than 1/2″ of slope.
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Large Tiles Or Small Tiles
The most significant change that comes from choosing a linear drain is that you are able to use larger tiles on the shower floor. Because the entire floor is evenly sloped in one direction, any size tile can be installed on the floor. If you want small tiles thats fine, but you can also use larger tiles. Many homeowners like this option because they can use the same tiles on the shower floor as they have in the rest of the bathroom. From a design perspective it creates a more seamless look and can help make small spaces seem larger.
Because of the funnel required for a point drain, smaller tiles have to be used on the shower floor. In most cases it is not recommended to use anything much larger than 4 x 4 tiles with a point drain. The tiles need to sit flat on the floor and you cant put a large flat tile across a floor that has more than one slope. Many people prefer to accent the shower floor with smaller tiles and make it look different than the rest of the bathroom, so the point drain makes a good choice.
What Size Drain Does A Shower Need
Most showers will need 2-inch drains to match with the 2-inch pipe that is recommended. If a 1-1/2-inch pipe is already in place, consider replacing this with a 2-inch pipe, as the 2-inch pipe will allow for faster draining. Changing out plumbing or pipes can seem like a big job, but this choice may be well worth your money, as showers are high-risk areas for flooding. A 2-inch pipe allows for proper flood damage prevention through more efficient draining.
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About The Importance Of This Topic
Saul Carmona states,
There is a very important topic about installing showers, most of the time plumbers install the liner pan not being concerned about having a pre-slope under the liner pan, people think that just because there is a liner pan in it it’s not going to leak, that the water is going to run towards the drain when is not, home builders all they care is to get the house finished and sell it and then if leaks blame the tile installer. There is a lack of pay fairness because installers lots times end up doing right without pay to avoid future problems.
Scott answers as follows:
Each shower detail in the 2018 edition of the TCNA Handbook that uses a clamping ring drain, requires sloped fill under the shower pan membrane.
You are correct that many times this is not provided by the plumber however, it is part of the installation requirements which makes sense. In order to get the water in the system to the drain and evacuated, it must slope downhill. While it may not leak when installed flat on the subfloor , this trapped and stagnant water will eventually emit an odor that is offensive.
Additionally, if the tile installer encounters a shower completed by the plumber that does not have a pre-slope, it is the responsibility of the installer to provide it. While this is not fair to the tile installer, completing the shower without it is also wrong, it must be there.
Informing the builder of the plumbers error would do two things.
Point Or Center Drains
Most traditional shower floors utilize a point or center drain. Point or center drains can be round or square and are usually located in the shower floor’s center, but can be located anywhere in the shower as long as the floor slopes down 1/4-inch for one square foot in all four directions from the drain. When tiling around a center or point drain, smaller tiles can come in handy for this reason.
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Find The Right Type Of Shower Drain For Your Bathroom Floor
A bathroom is a place of comfort, but to make sure it is comfortable enough, it needs to fulfill some criteria. The right type of bathroom floor can have a definite impact on fulfilling the right criteria. With almost endless possibilities you will have to determine which floor you prefer most and think of a suitable shower drain to fit with it. Some shower drains match your requirements better than others.
Are your creating a unique bathroom floor atmosphere with mosaic, cast floor or ceramic tiles? In this article, we will tell you all about the drainage possibilities with different types of bathroom flooring and how to find the right type of shower drain for your bathroom floor.
Should The Shower Drain Be Flush With The Tile
Yes, the shower floor’s drain should be flush with the tile around it at the point where the two meet. However, according to experts, point or center drains in tile require a 1/4-inch slope per square foot from all four sides of the drain. A linear drain only requires the shower floor to slope in the direction of the drain. In any case, the drain should be at the lowest point of the shower but still flush with the tile at the drain and tile meeting point.
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How To Install A Shower Drain In Concrete Floor
You may need to replace a drain if youre moving into an older property with an unappealing shower drain or if your shower drain has a leaky gasket. Because the drain is simply screwed onto the pipe stub coming up out of the slab, the method of removing and replacing a shower drain is the same whether youre working with a concrete slab or a plastic shower pan. All you need are some essential tools and safety equipment, such as goggles and a dust mask, to repair a shower drain in a concrete slab quickly and easily.
There are several possibilities when it comes to selecting a shower drain for your built-in water base system. Your choice is determined by your situation and the type of water tub you have. Additionally, the type of pipe you have at home, as well as the retailers recommendations for both the water pan and drainage, can help you decide which drain unit to buy.
Do You Want A Curbless Shower Barrier Free Shower Or Ada Showerare You Looking For The Best Way To Lower Your Subfloor
-Subfloor Lowering Kit is used to lower a subfloor between the joists.-One Kit will recess up to 24 SF-Quick install, avoids joist penetrations and need for web stiffeners
What is an ADA Shower?ADA Showers are designed to meet Federal requirements for ADA code compliance in commercial & public buildings. The American with Disabilities Act specifies shower sizes, threshold height, clearances and accessory configurations to accommodate wheelchair users.
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Why Choose Our Shower Drain
Because it offers the following benefits:
- Rapid and swift draining with no pooling
- Lustrous design to complement all décor and design styles
- Crafted of high-quality materials with solid, well-built construction
As a professional Floor Drain manufacturer in China, we enhance your customers shower experience with our superior shower drain, designed for maximum drainage fast.
Products Details:
Shower Floors And Pebbles
Jessa Madosky states,
We are having an issue with our shower floor – it is pebbles and the installer claims that they had to grout up and over most of the pebble for it to stay in place. Some of the pebbles are completely covered in grout. Others are 1/10th visible, a few are more visible. The pebbles were 1-3 inches originally, but now most are an inch or less and there is more grout than pebble on the floor. The grout is also not all the same shade and there are areas where the water can’t drain and just sits in low spots. Is this how it is supposed to be installed? It doesn’t look anything like any install of pebble floor I’ve ever seen. Thanks for any insight!
Scott explains,
Pebblestone installations can be challenging for the installer. There is no location on the side of the pebble indicating where the grout is to stop as would be the case when grouting regular tiles. Without this guideline on the side of the tile, or in this case, the pebbles, it can be difficult to keep the thickness of the grout uniform. Low spots can occur, but it is the installers job to ensure there are no low spots where water can collect. Depending on the thickness of the pebbles, normally, the grout would extend up about 1/3 of the height of the stone.
With mosaic tiles the grout does help in securing the tile, but it is not intended to be up and over the pebbles.
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Top Rate Floor Drain China Manufacturer
A floor drain is a plumbing fixture. They connect the drain pipe and prevent sundries from entering the drain pipe while guiding the water flow. The common shapes are square, rectangular and circular.
Pair the sleek and clean style of this floor shower drain with modern finishes in a shower stall or walk-in shower for a fresh and updated bathroom design. The polished 304 Grade stainless steel complements natural stone, tile and acrylic-based products. The ultra-efficient drain pulls water through its ample-sized slats quickly leaving no puddles or standing water.
You Design We Deliver
Does your customer want a linear drain? Infinity Shower Floor? Tileable drain top? Are they replacing all of their bathtubs with showers? No problem! Simply tell us what you need and thats what you get.
For project orders of more than 20 shower bases, we can manufacture custom shower pans.
Quadruple Shelf Models
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Showers Are Wet Areas
Although the Introduction section of the ANSI document is not a part of the A108 installation standard, it defines a wet area in section 2:18 as,
Tile surfaces that are either soaked, saturated, or subjected to moisture or liquids such as in gang showers, tub enclosures, showers, floors adjacent to curbless showers, laundries, saunas, steam rooms, swimming pools, or exterior areas.
This means the shower is considered a wet area.
Not only that, showers are intensely and inherently wet. As we’ve mentioned in a previous article, showers are harsh environments that are not very forgiving when the installation has been poorly constructed by misguided “tile placers” . That’s why employing Certified Tile Installers is so important.)
In this article, we’ll explore the following:
