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 New Britain 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.

New Britain notes

New Britain landlords are the highest-volume tile customers in the footprint: surround re-tiles and regrouts between tenants, priced to repeat. In New Britain we flood-test free whenever ceilings below show staining: New Britain baths work the hardest: rental tubs with painted-over tile, missing grout, cracked floors at the toilet base. Landlords need fast, durable, cheap-to-maintain — porcelain, epoxy grout, sealed caulk lines. A sound pan saves you $500–$1,000 — we prove soundness instead of assuming failure.

  • 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.
Materials

Pans that hold in New Britain

What goes under New Britain feet: the shortlist we install and warranty.

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

Common questions

Q01
Do I see the pan before tile?

Always — photographed membrane plus witnessed flood test. Any bidder burying untested work is scheduling your next leak.

Q02
What is a flood test?

We plug the drain, fill the pan two inches, mark the level and wait — typically 24 hours for diagnosis, shorter for post-build verification. Any drop means pan failure, located and shown.

Q03
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.

Q04
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.