Concrete, vibration, latex?

[Rendelf]

Hi all,

Current project is building a customised shower for our boat. The design hinges around cheapness, but one that fits into an unusual space.

Currently, plan is to create the shower tray from successive layers of marine-ply, glued together and then coated with a marine-grade resin from Reactive Resins.

Because boat showers don't have drains (diaphragm pump removes water from tray) the tray has a sump.

To get the water to fall into the sump, I'd like to create a fall - as in a poured showertray.[edit] The sump itself is to be a stainless steel container (used for cutlery or similar) in one corner of the tray. This collects water, and allows efficient pumping through a 15mm pipe.

My intuition suggests that I use sand/cement to do this. It wouldn't be particularly thick.... perhaps a few cms at the edges, smoothed down to nothing at the sump edges. Resin should prevent the need for damp-proof membrane between concrete and ply. The cured concrete would be coated with a 'liquid rubber' type waterproofing product, and then either tiled or painted.

So, I suppose I have two questions....

1. Is this an idiotic idea...

2. The boat is a narrowboat, so engine vibrations aren't that strong or regular....there is existing tile work. I'm wondering if I should add some latex-based flooring screed or similar product to the mix, in order to make it more resistant to vibrations. For such a small amount of concrete - is this a good idea, or even necessary?

[edit] 3. As there will only be a small amount of material, are there any other clay/concrete-like products you might know about which would allow me to shape curved corners and a fall, while retaining a degree of elasticity once cured?



Thanks in advance,


Ren

 

[roboughton]

Seems plausible but why not use fibreglass for the sump at least then if it does crack/break you can repair it.

I have seen one where they made it out of that thick non slip flooring as used in hospitals kind of like lino but they can hot seal the edges to prevent leaks.

 

[Rendelf]

Do you mean fibreglass over the concrete? Or would fibreglass allow me to build up smooth curved edges and a fall into one corner of the tray?

 

[roboughton]

Build up the fibreglass, how do you intend to create the sump or are you using a pre made unit?

You could practise it in fibreglass before you do it in situ to?

 

[Rendelf]

Well, tray to be created from marine ply, and sump to be a stainless steel pot...similar to a culinary container (roughly a cube with a lip designed to sit inside a frame - the lip can be bonded to the plywood, and the sump will then offer a small profile to allow water to be pumped effectively) . So then, the problem is that the ply base is flat, but the water needs to be in the corner of the tray to be collected.

So, I need a product that can be sculpted and shaped like clay / sandy concrete, to make attractive curves for the edges, and enough difference in height to cause the water to move. Was considering latex-based fillers, or even plain liquid latex... but I don't really know enough about these products and their capabilities.

My understanding of fibreglass is expoxyresin added to glass-based matting.... I thought it required a frame beneath it to be moulded to to give it shape?

 

[roboughton]

Well, tray to be created from marine ply, and sump to be a stainless steel pot...similar to a culinary container (roughly a cube with a lip designed to sit inside a frame - the lip can be bonded to the plywood, and the sump will then offer a small profile to allow water to be pumped effectively) . So then, the problem is that the ply base is flat, but the water needs to be in the corner of the tray to be collected.

So, I need a product that can be sculpted and shaped like clay / sandy concrete, to make attractive curves for the edges, and enough difference in height to cause the water to move. Was considering latex-based fillers, or even plain liquid latex... but I don't really know enough about these products and their capabilities.

My understanding of fibreglass is expoxyresin added to glass-based matting.... I thought it required a frame beneath it to be moulded to to give it shape?

Ok what sort of heights do you have? how will you access the sump> will it be under and thus require access to pump etc or will you have some way of accessing it?

Can you do a little diagram of the area and the sizes (aprox)

As for a frame if you are putting in ply then that could be the frame.

I have another idea but I need to know sizes.

 

[Rendelf]

Sketch attached

The sump will sit about 50mm below the level of the floor. The entire unit is designed to be a single, movable object. The pipe to pump water out of the sump is to enter it from above. The shower tray is not going to be made in situ, so will be transported to boat and essentially just placed on the prepared floor in the bathroom.

 

[foxhole]

Seem over complicated and leaves many areas which could fail. I would just used a sheet of plastic or shower panel to form the base, hole in a corner and install with a slight fall to that corner, though a fall is not that important as you will need a deep tray to ensure the 'pump out' of the sump is not overtaken by the shower pressure coming in.