Home and commercial, 2025 and 2026
Shower floors and washrooms, packed to the drains
Shower pans and washroom floors in dry pack, packed tight around the drains and handed over for the waterproofing.
Shower pans and pre-slopes, packed to the drain
A shower floor is only as good as the bed under the tile. Across Toronto and the GTA, we pack the mortar by hand and slope it to the drain your plumber set, ready for the membrane and the tile.
2025 to 2026: home and commercial, photographed on the job. See the 4 photos
- Fall to the drain
- ¼″ per foot
- Drains
- Centre, linear, wall
- Entry
- Curb or curbless
- Handed over
- Ready for membrane
Scope
What we do
- Pre-slopes for liner systems and bonded mortar beds for sheet and liquid membranes
- Floors sloped to centre, linear and wall drains, packed tight around the drain
- Curbs packed in the same mortar, or curbless floors where the slab or subfloor allows it
- Wire mesh in the bed where the floor calls for it
- Single bathrooms, condo stacks and commercial washrooms, floor by floor
- The fall checked with a level before we leave
Handover
Ready for the next trade
These are done by other trades, so you know who to book.
| Work | Done by |
|---|---|
| Waterproofing membrane and flood test | Your tile setter or waterproofer |
| Drain body, lines and venting | Your plumber |
| Tile and grout | Your tile setter |
Method
How we slope a shower pan to the drain
- 1
Check the base
The slab or subfloor, the drain height your plumber set, and the finished floor height the tile needs.
- 2
Bond coat
Cement slurry or a bonding agent on the clean base, so the bed holds to it.
- 3
Pack the bed
Sand and Portland cement mixed stiff and packed by hand to screed guides, with wire mesh where the floor calls for it.
- 4
Slope to the drain
A quarter inch per foot from the walls down to the drain, floated tight around the drain and the curb.
- 5
Check and hand over
The fall checked with a level at each wall, and the bed left ready for your waterproofer.
Layers
What goes in, bottom to top
The layers marked Ours are our work. The others are shown so you can see where our work sits between the trades.
- 1Slab or subfloorSound and clean, checked before we startBefore us
- 2Bond coatCement slurry or bonding agentOurs
- 3Dry pack bedSand and Portland cement, packed by hand, sloped to the drainOurs
- 4WaterproofingLiner or membrane, by your tile setter or waterprooferAfter us
- 5TileBy your tile setterAfter us
On the job
Packed to the drain, photographed on the job
From the crew's phones. Cropped, colour and exposure corrected, nothing added or painted out.
At home
Redoing a bathroom? We lay the shower floor your tile setter needs: sloped where the water has to go, packed solid where the tile sits. The waterproofing and the tile go on top, by your trades.
Get a free quoteFor the trade
Tile setters, waterproofers and GCs book us by the floor: single bathrooms, condo stacks and commercial washrooms, handed over ready for your membrane.
Request a bidQuestions
Questions about shower pans and pre-slopes
What is the difference between a shower pan and a pre-slope?
People use the words loosely. A pre-slope is the sloped mortar bed under a traditional liner. A bonded shower pan is one sloped bed that a sheet or liquid membrane goes straight onto. We build the one your waterproofer or tile setter is working to.
What slope does a shower pan need?
The usual fall is a quarter inch per foot, about 2 %, from the walls down to the drain. Some waterproofing systems set their own minimum, so we pack to the one your waterproofer is working to.
Do you install the waterproofing or do the flood test?
No. We build the sloped bed and hand it over. The membrane and the flood test are done by your tile setter or waterproofer, to the system they use.
How soon can the membrane and tile go on?
A dry pack bed can usually be walked on the next day. Each membrane maker sets its own wait over a fresh mortar bed, so your waterproofer follows the product sheet for theirs.
Can you do curbless and linear drain showers?
Yes, when the floor allows it. A curbless shower needs a recess in the slab or subfloor, or the bathroom floor built up to meet it. A linear drain lets the floor fall in one plane. Your plumber sets the drain; we pack the floor to it.
Get a free quote for shower pans and pre-slopes.
Send photos and Ricardo prices it from them, or ask for a site visit. Toronto and the GTA.
Related services
- Dry pack floor levellingSand and cement screeds, flat or to falls: basements, condos, over in-floor heating and whole commercial floors.
- Pool decks and terracesSloped mortar beds around and inside pools, on terraces and pavilions, ready for the stone or tile.
- Scratch coatMetal lath fastened to the plywood and mortar trowelled into it: a solid, flat base for tile on a wood floor.
- Interior demolitionTile, floors, drywall and old mortar beds out, down to a clean slab or the studs, ready for the next trade.