Shower service
Shower Waterproofing & Pan Systems
The layer nobody sees: bonded membranes, sloped pans and sealed transitions that keep water in the shower.
Short answer
Shower waterproofing is the continuous barrier between the tile and the structure. Tile and grout are not waterproof — water passes through grout joints as vapor and liquid, and the assembly behind them is what stops it. A shower fails when that barrier is discontinuous: at the corners, at the drain, at the niche, or at the point where the wall meets the pan.
Where showers actually leak
In the showers we open up, the tile is rarely the problem. The failure is almost always at a junction — a place where two surfaces or two materials meet and the barrier was never made continuous across the joint.
| Where it shows up | What is usually behind it |
|---|---|
| Dark or soft flooring outside the shower | Pan-to-wall transition never sealed, or a curb waterproofed only on top |
| Stain on the ceiling below | Drain connection or pan slope failure, not wall tile |
| Loose tile low on the wall | Water sitting in the substrate because the pan does not drain to the weep holes |
| Persistent grout darkening in one corner | Inside corner never banded, so movement cracked the membrane |
| Damage under a niche or bench | Horizontal surface not pitched and not waterproofed as a tray |
The systems we build, and why they are not mixed
There are several legitimate ways to waterproof a shower. What is not legitimate is combining parts of two of them, because manufacturers test and warrant their components as a set — a bonded membrane and a traditional clamping drain, for example, are designed to manage water at different planes.
- Bonded sheet membrane over foam or cement board, with a bonding-flange drain and banded corners.
- Liquid-applied membrane, built up in the specified number of coats with reinforcing fabric at every change of plane.
- Pre-sloped foam pan systems, where the slope and the drain arrive engineered together.
- Traditional mortar bed over a sheet liner with a weep-hole clamping drain, which drains at the liner rather than the surface.
We install a single manufacturer's system through the whole shower, including the drain, and we do not substitute components across systems.
How we verify it before tile goes on
- 1Confirm the substrate is flat, sound and fastened to the manufacturer's schedule.
- 2Set the pan slope and check the fall to the drain across the full floor.
- 3Install the membrane continuously, banding every inside corner, seam and penetration.
- 4Waterproof the niche and bench as trays that lap out onto the wall plane.
- 5Flood test the pan and hold it before any tile is set.
- 6Only then set tile, and keep the change-of-plane joints in flexible sealant rather than grout.
Where we build this
We install shower waterproofing & pan systems across Idaho’s Treasure Valley. These city pages explain what we typically find in each area’s housing stock.
Frequently asked questions
Related shower reading
Thinking about shower waterproofing & pan systems?
Tell us about the shower you have and the one you want. We will come back with questions, then arrange to see the room before anything is quoted.