Help with my shower pan failing

shower
Photo by Emili Spencer

We bought our dream 1950s MCM ranch. The tile is in great condition, but the shower is an issue. Previous owner tried to do the epoxy base, but it was peeling. I think water is leaking into the basement. We were told it needs replacing. Can the floor tile in shower be removed without disrupting the wall tile?

Members of our facebook group for midcentury home owners were happy to help.

Below are some examples of members thoughts on the topic. These are only a few of the thousands of tips that are shared in our exclusive Facebook Group dedicated to midcentury modern home owners. If you own a midcentury house and are not already a member, join us now!

  • “My husband worked for 15 years as the bathroom remodeler/restorer for a termite company back in the 80’s, he’s torn out and replaced probably hundreds of shower pans. Usually the way it was done is you tear out the bottom tile but it’s very difficult to avoid the bottom two or three wall rows of tile, especially because a new pan needs to be installed. So pretty much those bottom rows would just be replaced with a similar tile. Because it’s inside a stall shower and down low, it’s not very noticeable.”
  • You probably even get away with removing just one row of wall tile, but most likely two. You have to have room for the new pan and water proof membrane (or hot mop) to go up the wall about 4 inches or so. Then that will get tiled over with the new tile.”
  • “How about using class positions to make the tub a shower/tub and making the shower a closet?
  • “Would polyurethane be an option? (Is the floor/joists still in good shape?)Is more flexible than epoxy.”
  • “I have the exact same situation! My floor & side tiles and pan were replaced maybe 27 years ago. Side tiles are now cracking so looking to do it again.”

You can read more tips about this topic and offer your own suggestions here.