Paolillo's Bathroom Remodeling Company - The Bathroom Specialists!

Why Copper is not the Best Material for a Custom Built Shower Pan

Plumbers and tile setters frequently select copper as their material of choice for a shower pan. After all, copper doesn’t rust, so what could be better?

There are two primary drawbacks to copper pans, either of which can negatively affect a custom built shower.

Copper pans are installed over a level plywood sub-floor and usually the bottom of the pan does not have access to the drain. Thus, if the moisture that reaches the pan does not evaporate, it can, overtime, turn to mold and bacteria.

Copper pans are usually four or six inches high and rest against the wood frame. The two most frequent leak points of a copper pan shower are from water leaking through the grout/caulk joints at the floor/wall juncture (over the top of 4” copper pans) and around the top/sides of the shower curb (where the copper pan does not reach).

The photos shown here are of a 7-year-old copper pan shower that has probably been leaking for years if not from the very day it was first used. The homeowner had no evidence that anything was wrong until a floor tile became lose. The leak point is the joint between the shower floor and the walls on the curb.
(Move mouse over title to view photo - move mouse away to close photo)

To overcome these shortcomings, I use a PVC or CPE pan liner that I install on top of a mortar base, slopped to the drain. The drain I use has weep holes that allows moisture that reached the pan to run into the homes sewer system. Since these liners are flexible, I install them so the sides are higher than the curb's height and most importantly; the liner is folded over the curb, which prevents the type of leak seen above.

More pictures of rot associated with Copper Pan Showers:

The shower curb is the most vulnerable component of a custom made shower. Water will find its way to any unprotected surface. This is why I use a PVC pan and wrap it over the curb.

Copper Pan failure letter

Hi Jim,

I read about your great work on Angie's List and I am interested in getting an estimate for some work on my master bathroom shower.

Here's the situation: Bought a new house (from a builder) in Needham in October 2006. Master bathroom has a stall shower with tile walls, tile floor and a glass door. About 2 weeks ago, my husband noticed that the grout was cracking in the shower where the wall meets the floor. He decided to caulk over the cracks. So we didn't use the shower and waited for the grout to dry. And we waited and we waited...but the grout didn't dry. Finally, on a whim, I took our wet vac and aimed the vacuum attachment at the wet grout (at the seam - where the wall meets the floor) and sucked up ONE GALLON of water. You can imagine just how surprised we were. There is no stain on the first floor ceiling (that we can see anyway), so we concluded that the water must have been residing in the copper pan below our shower. We have now removed *most* of the wet grout and are airing out the shower to encourage the water beneath the tile floor to evaporate.

We obviously want our shower fixed, but don't know what needs to be done.

Can you come out to my house and look at it? And if so, how soon? (yes, we are eager to have our shower back...)

Many thanks,
Lauren

ANOTHER COPPER PAN INSTALLATION CAUSING A PROBLEM.

In this case, a significant amount of water is stagnating in the pan because the drain doesn't have a weep hole to allow water that reaches the pan to flow into the drain.