# Forum Home Renovation Flooring  Creating a hobless step up shower

## Dwinny

Hi 
I'm renovating my ensuite and trying to build a hobless step up shower on a concrete slab and need some confirmation on what to do next.  
The reason for the step up is to reduce the amount of concrete demo i need to do to the slab to adjust the plumbing. 
This is how pretty much the result i'm trying to get.   
I got some previous advice on this forum about creating a sub floor, planing it back to make the fall and fix a cement sheet to it and tiling directly onto it. 
But I've been thinking, can i use an 100mm angle or steel lintel, grinding them back to make the fall, and fix it to the floor with some nails and adhesive and screed the entire area up to the angles? 
I'm thinking using an angle may be to flimsy but a steel lintel thats 6mm thick will help support the screed pretty easily. 
Also, can I use this premixed sand and cement product to screed the area? or am I better off making my own screed with a 1:4 cement and sharp sand mix? Sand & Cement - Cement Australia 
Thanks a lot! the help is appreciated! 
Dwinny

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## SilentButDeadly

Could work.  It worked for us... 
Though we just used 50mm aluminium angle.  And sand/cement mix.  But forgot the levelling screed on top to make it really smooth for the tiles (that was a mistake)

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## Gaza

Steel May rust   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Oldsaltoz

Aluminium angle 50 mm at the door and for the shower, fixed to the floor and screed added to the area outside the shower, standard screed 4 or 5 to one sand and cement, sand MUST be washed (clay Free) and not less thab 25 mm thick or it will crack and fail. 
Inside the shower angle ise leveling copound with a littler washed sand added to control slumping. 
Or. 
Lower the floor in the shower area 50 mm minimun using AC (cement sheeting) for walk in (no step) shower. 
Note: all angles are filed to floor before adding ant screed. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## Dwinny

Thanks for the advice guys. 
I'll be using a 50mm aluminium angle and screeding up to it using Cement Australia's Sand & Cement product. the specs says it's 1:4 Cement:washed Sand mixture. 
Another question I've got scratching my head with, I'm digging out a channel in the concrete to move the plumbing. How would I fill this back in once the plumbing is all done? Can I just use the Screed? or do i need another cement/concrete product to fill in the hole with bondcrete before screeding up?  
Thanks for the help! 
Dwinny

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## Oldsaltoz

That trench should be backfilled with a good strong concrete mix to maintain it's integrity and avoid cracking down the track. 
Good luck and fair winds.

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## Dwinny

> That trench should be backfilled with a good strong concrete mix to maintain it's integrity and avoid cracking down the track. 
> Good luck and fair winds.

  Thanks Oldsaltoz. I've got the plumber coming in this week to redo the plumbing and concrete and screed ready to go. 
You mentioned that angles should be filed to the floor. Do you mean fixing angle to the floor, then filing it down to create the required fall? What would be the best way to do this? using a file and do it manually, or can i use like tin snips or something or an angle grinder to grind it down into shape? 
Thanks alot!

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## Oldsaltoz

This an edit of my post above. just make it a bit clearer. 
Aluminium angle 50 mm for the shower, and around 12mm for the doorway depending on tile thickness.
Angles are fixed to the floor  with a sealant prior to waterproofing,  
After waterproofing has cured you can screed the area in side and outside the shower, standard screed 4 or 5  to one sand and cement, sand MUST be washed (clay Free) and not less  thab 25 mm thick or it will crack and fail. 
Some tilers use a levelling compound inside the shower and add a little bit of washed sand added to control slumping. 
Or. 
Lower the floor in the shower area 50mm minimum using AC (cement sheeting) for walk in (no step) shower. 
Note: all angles are filed to floor before adding any screed and only after waterproofing. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## Dwinny

Thanks for the clarify Oldsaltoz. 
Would you know how close to the edge of the shower platform I can fix my shower screen to?  
I'm trying to decide how much of a gap and how thin i'll need to cut the tiles around the shower grate.  
If it was sitting directing on top of the aluminium angle would it provide sufficient support? (leaving about a 12mm gap to the end of the step and sitting on top of a 15mm strip of tile centered above the aluminium angle) 
Thanks a lot! 
Dwinny

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## Oldsaltoz

> Thanks for the clarify Oldsaltoz. 
> Would you know how close to the edge of the shower platform I can fix my shower screen to?  
> I'm trying to decide how much of a gap and how thin i'll need to cut the tiles around the shower grate.  
> If it was sitting directing on top of the aluminium angle would it provide sufficient support? (leaving about a 12mm gap to the end of the step and sitting on top of a 15mm strip of tile centered above the aluminium angle) 
> Thanks a lot! 
> Dwinny

  Hi Dwinny,
The shower stop is there to contain the water that passes though the tile grout, so overlapping it would I suspect mean the tiles would be above the waterstop angle. 
This will defeat the reason for installing it in the first place.  
You can put drain within a few mm of the angle, BUT, leave a space and fully fill it with a sealant or the two metals will react and the angle will be destroyed. 
I suspect I may have misread /understood you question so covered the reply with I think you are asking. 
Hope this helps. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## Dwinny

> Hi Dwinny,
> The shower stop is there to contain the water that passes though the tile grout, so overlapping it would I suspect mean the tiles would be above the waterstop angle. 
> This will defeat the reason for installing it in the first place.  
> You can put drain within a few mm of the angle, BUT, leave a space and fully fill it with a sealant or the two metals will react and the angle will be destroyed. 
> I suspect I may have misread /understood you question so covered the reply with I think you are asking. 
> Hope this helps. 
> Good luck and fair winds.

   Thanks for the quick reply! 
I've done a quick draft of the cross section try and understand and visualise how i'd do it. 
So I was suggesting doing A and having the screen sit on the tile, but you're suggesting B and have the angle directly under the screen so the water is contained, is this correct? 
The shower screen isn't adjacent to a wall, and will be held up buy a support bar to the ceiling and another shower screen next to it. Would there be anything I would need to be careful about or anything extra I'd need to do?, or would the screen be sufficiently supported with just sitting on the angle with sealant? 
Again, thanks a lot! The help is really appreciated! 
Dwinny

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## Oldsaltoz

> Thanks for the quick reply! 
> I've done a quick draft of the cross section try and understand and visualise how i'd do it. 
> So I was suggesting doing A and having the screen sit on the tile, but you're suggesting B and have the angle directly under the screen so the water is contained, is this correct? 
> The shower screen isn't adjacent to a wall, and will be held up buy a support bar to the ceiling and another shower screen next to it. Would there be anything I would need to be careful about or anything extra I'd need to do?, or would the screen be sufficiently supported with just sitting on the angle with sealant? 
> Again, thanks a lot! The help is really appreciated! 
> Dwinny

  Plan 'B' is the correct layout, though it's common practice to have the glass straddle the angle rather sit on the edge, Straddling the angle means a bigger seal area. 
Plan A relies on a tiny bit of sealant to prevent a leak. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## Dwinny

Hi Again. 
Thanks again for the advise, I'm nearly ready to build up the screed around the angle. 
I've thought about making a variation to Plan 'B' by using a hidden u channel to help support the shower screen rather than having the screen straddle the angle, as it's going to be a pretty large piece of glass without much support. 
Is there any issues with this design?   
thanks alot! 
Dwinny

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