The Pan Beneath the Tile
Liners, membranes, mud beds — the layer your shower stands on.
Under every tile shower floor sits the pan: a sloped bed plus a waterproof liner or membrane that catches what grout lets through. When Bristol showers leak into ceilings below, the pan has failed — torn liner, flat spots, clogged weep holes, or a 1970s lead pan giving up. A pan rebuild replaces that hidden layer properly: pre-slope, liner or bonded membrane, sloped setting bed, flood-tested before tile. It's the difference between a floor that lasts five years and one that lasts thirty.
Bristol notes
Bristol's capes have the smallest shower floors in the footprint — a one-day re-tile that transforms the whole bath. In Bristol we flood-test free whenever ceilings below show staining: Bristol tub walls are the textbook case: 50-year-old 4x4 tile, missing grout at the tub line, a cracked corner tile letting water behind. Shower floors in the capes are small enough to re-tile in a day. 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.
Pans that hold in Bristol
What goes under Bristol feet: the shortlist we install and warranty.
2x2 porcelain mosaic
The workhorse — grippy, cheap, perfect.
Penny rounds
Vintage grip, endless joints.
Pebble sheets
Spa texture, expert grout.
Small-format rects
Modern lines that turn slope.