Home / Shower Pan Rebuild

The Pan Beneath the Tile

Liners, membranes, mud beds — the layer your shower stands on.

Not every floor job needs a pan rebuild — roughly half the Southington floors we open have sound liners worth keeping. This page explains how we test (flood test protocol, weep-hole check, slope mapping), the two rebuild systems we install (PVC liner + mud bed, or foam tray + sheet membrane), and why we photograph and flood-test every pan before it gets buried in tile again.

  • Flood-tested diagnosis. Plug, fill, mark, wait — proof of pan integrity or failure.
  • Two proven systems. Liner + mud bed (classic) or foam tray + membrane (modern).
  • True pre-slope. Water reaches weep holes instead of sitting under tile.
  • Clamped drains. Membrane mechanically locked at the drain, never just cut around.
  • Photo + test record. You see the pan and the test results before tile covers them.

Southington notes

Southington's 90s primary showers are failing in waves — loose floor tile and musty grout that no cleaner fixes. Re-tile the floor, save the walls. In Southington we flood-test free whenever ceilings below show staining: Hall baths carry the load in Southington family homes: original tub walls with soap-scum grout, floors with cracked tiles at the doorway. Primary-bath shower floors from the 90s boom are delaminating on schedule now. A sound pan saves you $500–$1,000 — we prove soundness instead of assuming failure.

Materials

Pans that hold in Southington

Six Southington shower floors, from workhorse mosaic to spa pebble.

Porcelain 2x2 — Slope-perfect standard.
Unglazed quarry
River pebble
Mini brick-joint
FAQ

Common questions

Liner + mud vs. foam tray — which do you install?

Both, matched to the job: liner-and-mud for custom shapes and maximum durability feel; foam tray + sheet membrane for speed and precision slope. Same warranty either way.

My ceiling stains only sometimes — pan or plumbing?

Intermittent staining usually means pan or wall-joint failure (shower-use correlated); constant damp means supply plumbing. Our diagnosis separates them free — different trades, different bills.

Pan rebuild vs. whole shower — savings?

Keeping sound walls saves 60–70% versus full rebuild. A floor+pan job at $1,500–$2,800 replaces a $6,000–$12,000 gut when walls qualify.

How long do pans last?

Properly built: decades. 1970s lead and flat tar pans are expiring now across Southington; modern liner and membrane systems outlive the tile above them.