The traditional bathtub has long been replaced by shower cabins consisting of a tray and glass or plastic railing. But technology does not stand still, and recently the shower without a tray has become more and more popular. This design solution saves space in the bathroom and makes it easier to use the shower. A drain is designed to drain wastewater, filter it, and protect the room from unpleasant odors. Self-installation of a shower drain is a laborious process consisting of several stages.
Checking the package contents
The types of ladders may differ slightly from each other, but there are basic structural components:
- water intake funnel - mounted in the floor together with a waterproof membrane;
- decorative grille - installed at the level with the sides of the ladder;
It is necessary to choose a shower drain taking into account the throughput of the system, which depends on the design and size of the siphon, as well as the diameter of the sewer outlet.
- siphon - consists of a water seal and a float structure;
- drainage ring - designed for emergency water drain in case of damage to waterproofing;
- steel flange - for a tight connection between waterproofing and the body of the drain.
When purchasing, check the entire system for cracks, defects and the health of the fasteners. In addition to the drain, you should purchase pipes and couplings suitable for the diameter.
Base flooring
It is most convenient to mount a ladder in a private house on initial stage construction prior to pouring the screed. If the drain needs to be installed in a ready-made room, the floor covering in the area allocated for the shower area is removed to the concrete base. In multi-storey buildings, to install a drainage system, you will have to build a podium with a height of about 15 cm.
Shower drain installation diagram:
- Drainage system installation... Insert drain pipe down a slope into a sewer hole (the slope height should not exceed 3 cm). Attach the siphon and drain body to the pipe. Secure all connections with sealant.
- Heat and sound insulation... If the base of the floor is cold soil, the bottom of the shower is lined with a layer of polystyrene foam 5-6 cm thick so that the temperature difference between the soil and hot water does not entail deformation of the screed. If the soil contains groundwater, you need to use extruded polystyrene foam as a substrate. A thinner layer of material can be placed on a warm base to provide sound insulation.
- Rough concrete screed... As a rough screed, a cement-sand mortar is used in a ratio of 1: 3. It is necessary to evenly distribute the load on the expanded polystyrene layer and ensure the strength of the entire structure.
In order for the drain to blend harmoniously with the floor design, the length of the drain pipe must be a multiple of the width of the tile, taking into account the tile joints.
- Surface waterproofing. Waterproofing membrane protects the room from the spread of moisture and the formation of fungus. For these purposes, you can use isoplast (a plastic and resistant to mechanical stress waterproofing sheet).
- Finish concrete screed. On top of the waterproofing layer, with a slope towards the drain, is laid out concrete mortar 4 cm thick with guides. It is better to use guides made of polymer materials, which can be left in the concrete as expansion joints.
The slope of the surface depends on the location of the ladder. If the ladder is located in the center, the slope is made from 4 sides. A slight slope towards the wall is made towards the drain located on the edge. If the drain is placed in a corner, the slope is triangular.
Tiling
The tiles are laid on the floor from the ladder to the walls. If a complete renovation of the room is being done, the floor is first laid out with tiles, and then the walls. This sequence provides more reliable protection screeds from moisture. Corner joints between the floor and walls should be pre-glued with sealing tape.
It is advisable to lay the tiles using a special water-repellent glue, which includes a modifier that gives it hydrophobic properties. There are also increased requirements for the tiles themselves. The percentage of moisture absorption should not exceed 1.5% of its own weight, while for ordinary tiles this figure can reach 11%. The surface of the tiles must be rough.
Before proceeding to work on installing the drain, calculate the height of all layers so that the structure grid does not protrude above the level of the tiles.
After the tile has set, the joints between the tiles should be treated with polyurethane sealant. Corner joints in the area of \u200b\u200bthe shower stall should be additionally covered with silicone sealant, having previously glued the adjacent tiles with adhesive tape.
The device of a shower ladder is a rather difficult task and requires certain knowledge and skills. However, if you follow the technology exactly, you can create a comfortable shower area on your own.
Video. Shower drain installation
Now, the majority choose, instead of installing ordinary shower cubicles, to carry out their own ideas for organizing the room where the bath is located.
There is no shortage of items and materials for decoration. If you do without a pallet, then you can significantly increase the usable area and make your own design of the shower cubicle. In order for all these advantages to work, you need to know how to install the ladder in the floor. Without the correct drain device, there is nothing to think about the convenient operation of the room where the bath is.
The correct installation of the drain can help to avoid flooding neighbors and damage to the renovation of your room where the bath is located.
What kind of ladders can there be?
the production material can be different, and these products can be metal, aluminum, plastic, cast iron, combined metal and plastic. The shape of the ladders is also different, but very often they can be round, square and with right angles. The height of the products can vary from 75 to 180 mm, depending on the model. By design, they are all similar and consist of the following elements:
- External panel (grille). As a rule, it has different sizes and shapes of drain holes.
- Siphon. Designed to prevent the entry of odors from the sewer system. It can be made in different versions: water seal, dry seal, mechanical seal. The final one is placed in clean air or in non-residential premises.
- Sealant.
- Parts to be coated with a sealant (pressing).
- Housing.
Structural distinctive characteristics of ladders
- Horizontal. The most commonly used type, because its installation is likely on different floors, regardless of the number of storeys.
- Sheer. Distinctively much greater throughputbut ask for special installation requirements.
What to consider when choosing a ladder?
It is important to choose the right ladder, because after the installation has taken place, it will not be easy to disassemble it: you will need to remove the floor covering and the screed.
Floor drain design with combined shutter design.
the material of production is not very important, everyone chooses what he likes best. Now, plastic ladders are especially in demand, because they have a particularly delightful design, there are various color configurations. You can fearlessly purchase metal products, they are durable and do not rust.
It is necessary to determine the dimensions of the ladder. Suitable for showers of medium size with good drainage capacity. If the drain is needed for a drainage or other structure, then the size is set based on the future waste volume. An essential point is the configuration of the gadfly structure of the drains in the place where the ladder will be installed. For example, a household waste system makes it possible to connect up to 3 outlets (pipes from a sink, sink, etc.). The direction and diameter of the bend is extremely important, this moment must be taken into account.
Ideal properties
Corner drains have a mechanical water seal PURUS Nood.
- throughput not less than 1.2 l / sec;
- built-in siphon;
- if the house has a plastic sewer pipeline with a cross section of 110 mm, then the ladder should have bush connections of a similar diameter for a vertical drain or 50 mm for a horizontal one;
- the grille must be designed for load class A;
- the ladder system must guarantee the adjustment of its installation depth in accordance with the mark flooring;
- completeness with seals;
- best of all is the presence of installation instructions.
Which ladder is better: dry or hydraulically operated?
Until quite recently, manufacturers produced products only with a hydraulic shutter. What is it? This is a tube bent at a specific angle, in which the liquid is located. Actually, it is considered the obstacle that aromas coming from the sewage system cannot overcome. Maintenance of such a shutter is simple: it will be enough to sometimes spill it with water.
What is the disadvantage of this design? The fact that the shutter dries up during infrequent use of the shower room: unpleasant aromas begin to transport confusion. The breakdown of the hydraulic seal is possible for other reasons: design oversights, heat indoor environment, underfloor heating construction application.
With the advent of ladders equipped with a dry shutter on the market, many difficulties have been resolved by themselves, and these systems have become quite popular. Such products are also comfortable because, as a rule, they will work both independently and in a configuration with a water seal.
How is the gate at the ladder arranged?
Membrane
The valve is equipped with a diaphragm to which the spring is attached. When the water is drained, the membrane opens and lets it through, and when the flow ends, it closes the inlet to the drain pipe under the influence of a spring.
Float
An unusual float is placed on the water surface in the hydraulic seal tube, which, as the water flow decreases, descends and closes the passage opening.
Pendulum
His work is based on the principle of gravitational force. Under its action, the device that works mechanically of the shutter constantly strives to take the position at which it closes the pipe.
Installation of a drain
Installation of products with a dry seal and a water seal is virtually the same. The main rule: you should make a similar floor to ensure the necessary level of slope to the drain for free drainage of water into the riser. And therefore the installation of a drainage funnel is often associated with raising the floor level or disassembling an existing floor covering.
Important installation rules:
the material of production is not fundamental, the most important thing is that it is moisture resistant.
- the finishing lattice of the ladder must be on the same level with the plane of the finishing floor covering;
- cladding begins with laying tiles directly from the ladder;
- connections between using tiles should not be more than 2 mm;
- the grout is applied moisture resistant;
- the floor must guarantee a slope for water flow.
Materials you need:
- cement;
- sand (sifted);
- waterproof membrane;
- heat and soundproofing material (foam is often used);
- mastic or glue for laying tiles;
- tiles providing anti-slip floor (rough).
Distinctive characteristics of installing a ladder in apartments and houses
If a shower room is equipped at the stage of building a house, then in most cases there are no problems, because the installation of the sewage system is constantly carried out taking into account the characteristics of the project. In obsolete buildings, the question arises: where to drain? There are 2 solution options: either raise the floor and make a stable flooring with an outlet to the existing sewage system, or remove the screed and make a new branch.
To do this, a groove is hollowed out in the monolith of the floor, into which the material for insulation, material for waterproofing and a drain pipe for sewage with a cross section of 50 mm are placed. If the house has beamed ceilings, then installation without increasing the level of the shower room is possible only in case the floor above the beam has the required thickness. The drain must go parallel to the supporting beam.
Stages of work on the installation of ladders
- first of all, it is necessary to carry out the markup in the area where the installation will be carried out and design the drainage structure;
- it is envisaged that the smallest slope of the branch pipe must be 1 mm per 1 m;
- if the drain funnel is placed indoors, the screed is removed;
- the protective film is removed from the grill;
- the beginning of the installation of the ladder: it is attached to the sewer pipe;
- its height changes taking into account the upcoming floor covering;
- investigates whether the slope of the pipe is sufficient;
- all joints with the pipe are covered with sealant;
- waterproofing is spread;
- a heat insulator lies around the ladder;
- the screed is poured. In the work procedure, the slope towards the drain is constantly monitored;
- the surface of the raw concrete is leveled;
- laying of tiles from tiles is done (the obligatory bias is maintained).
So they put a drain if the floor level of the shower stall should be the same with the level of other rooms. Another installation option is very simple: the construction of a flooring from a strong frame (iron or wood) and the installation of a drain from the ladder to the sewer pipe or specifically on it. In the latter version, the funnel is much easier to install. As before, the slope towards the drain point must be maintained.
The elevation can be done using the screed device. For this, a formwork of the required size is installed, a material for waterproofing and a reinforcing mesh are placed inside it. Next, you need to install the drain so that its cover is in the same level with the formwork + the thickness of the floor covering. Concrete is pouring (remembering to keep the required slope). After its development, the formwork is disassembled, and the finishing works are started.
A lot of people choose to create their own bathroom designs. Now you can move away from the usual models of shower cabins and bathtubs, create an original shower cabin with an unusual shape and finish. It is not too difficult to create a pallet on your own, but in order for everything to work without failures, it is necessary to equip a sewer drain. This will help the sewer drain, which must be properly installed in the floor.
Types and features of sewer drains
These details can differ in different ways, first of all, they can be divided by materialfrom which the ladders can be made. Each of them has its own characteristics, pros and cons, and the purpose also differs:
Ladders may differ and by other criteria:
- Vertical the ladder has a large throughput system, but due to this, special conditions for installation are required.
- Horizontal the ladder can be used in all rooms, regardless of the number of storeys of the building, they are used much more often.
Also changes ladder size, its height, depending on the model, varies from 75 mm to 180 mm. The shape of the ladder, or rather, its upper lattice, can be round, square or rectangular.
All ladders have a similar structure, which includes the following the elements:
Ladder selection criteria
The choice of a ladder is a responsible task, since it is dismantling extremely difficult. To replace an already installed ladder, you will have to disassemble the floor covering and remove the screed. First of all, when choosing a product, its size is taken into account, usually it is determined based on the average volume of drains. The shower cubicle usually fits medium-sized drains. with a good throughput system.
The ladder material has no of great importance, most often used plastic... But you can stop the choice on of stainless steel, it is resistant to corrosion, durable and reliable. Heavy cast iron structures in apartments are usually not installed. The diameter and direction of the wastewater discharge are very important.
To select a drain with subsequent installation in the shower system, you can highlight optimal performance, but some points need to be considered on an individual basis.
Sewer drain installation technology
The very first and most important condition for the installation of any drain is the slope of the floor covering. It should be made in such a way that waste water can gradually and easily flow into the drain. Usually the ladder is installed on-site shower, therefore, many floor finishing is performed exactly tiled tiles... Rules for installing a sewer drain, which must be observed:
- The grate of the ladder must be on the same level with top floor covering.
- Floor finishing begins directly from the ladder, tiles must be laid from it to the walls.
- All seams between tiles must be no more than 2 mm.
- Their grout is made only moisture resistant.
The installation of the ladder has its own sequence:
This option for installing the drain allows you to keep the floor height in the bathroom on par with other rooms, so the work is quite laborious. You can go another, simpler way, you need to build wooden flooring or steel frame, the main thing is that it is durable. Further, the installation of the outlet from the ladder to sewer pipe, it is also important to maintain the slope.
Floor drainage systems are very popular because they allow the use of shower cabins without purchasing pallets. Water flows directly to the floor, from there it goes into the sewer. The drainage of water into the sewer pipes is provided by shower drains mounted directly in the floor.
The principle of operation of the drain
Plumbing fixtures such as sinks, bathtubs or showers are connected to the sewerage system; no other way to remove used water in apartments has yet been invented. The pipe through which the draining water is fed into the bell sewerage system, willy-nilly, turns out to be a conductor of unpleasant odors from the bowels of the city cesspool into the apartment atmosphere.
To prevent the entry of stench into the room, various closures are used. The classic solution to this problem is a siphon, the design of which allows you to create a water lock, called a water seal, that restrains the passage of gases from the sewer. But if a siphon of any proposed size is suitable for draining water from the sink in the kitchen, then it is not so simple for a shower cabin, since the height of the siphon requires a certain free space to place it.
The functions of the ladder are simple and few:
- Collection of draining water;
- Delivery of the collected waste liquid through the drain (drain) pipe to the sewer;
- Filtration of effluent from polluting components in order to prevent accidental blockages;
- Creation of a barrier for the passage of fetid gases from the sewer through the drain (drain) pipe into the room.
The dimensions of the ladders are most often in the range from 70 to 120 cm.Since the branch pipe should have a slight slope of about 3 degrees with respect to the horizontal floor (see figure), then to place the drainage system, a headroom of the free space between the catchment area is required (then there is a shower room floor) and concrete base under the floor about 8 - 20 cm.
For concrete floors of high-rise buildings, the option of deepening in the floor is categorically unacceptable, since the device of a drain in the shower floor in this way means an emergency weakening of the concrete floor above the head of the neighbor from below. In this case, you have to build a small podium or raise the bathroom floor level. A 4 cm thick concrete screed is sufficient to raise the floor level.
If the free space is limited, implying the installation of a siphon, drain drains are installed, which provide the drainage of used water directly from the horizontal surface of the room. Depending on the degree of localization of the drain, the drain for the shower stall is located:
- On a small floor area in the form of a drainage channel or gutter;
- Point-to-point anywhere in the room.
Types of shower drains
Shower drains or channels
They have a rectangular cross-section and consist of a protective grill and a housing. The most preferred place for their placement is at the entrance to the cab or near the wall. The plumbing market offers:
- straightforward,
- curvilinear,
- canals angular in shape.
Numerous design concepts are embodied in the designs of the grilles, which are, for example, illuminated shower channels! Consumers clearly don't want their simple rectangular canals to resemble street rainwater discharges.
They work in a similar way to the canal overflow method, that is, sending sewage through pipes to the sewer. And the shapes of point ladders are also diverse, that is:
- Square,
- Round,
- Triangular.
But if square and round ladders are mounted anywhere on the floor, then the corner options are designed to mask the place of the drain.
In the corner of the bathroom, they are almost invisible, while due to the specifics of the placement of square and round sinks, it has become fashionable to install decorative grilles of the most expensive options. For example, the brass lattice shown here, made "for gold", will cost the customer 10 thousand rubles.
Shower drain design
In accordance with the functional purpose, the ladder includes:
- Drain body made of stainless steel or plastic;
- A shutter that serves as a barrier to stench from the sewer;
- A protective grill that allows you to decoratively adapt the shower drain to the tiles and other flooring options in the bathroom;
- Pipeline.
It is important! It is necessary to be able to correctly determine the required waste flow rate. If a bath requires a device with a passage of DN 100 mm, then installation of a drain DN 50 mm is sufficient for apartment conditions.
Which shutter should you choose?
The type of shutter used, or rather, the method of preventing odors from passing towards the living space, is fundamental for the development of the design of drainage models. As already mentioned, just a small amount of water is enough, which plays the role of a water plug, and the task assigned to the water seal will be solved.
With constant use of the shower (meaning use at least once every one and a half to two weeks), its level remains unchanged, since it is replenished with each passage of the next batch of drainage drains. 
Immediately on the shortcomings of the "wet seal"
With occasional irregular use of the shower stall, and, accordingly, the drain system, sooner or later there will be complete evaporation of the liquid from the shutter. A "gas attack" of an aggressive gas environment from the sewer will begin, resulting in the appearance of unpleasant specific odors. A shower ladder with a water seal is not able to resist such periodic use, therefore it is not used in baths or utility rooms, which may not be visited for months.
Since the operation of the "wet hydraulic seal" in some cases is ineffective due to the drying out of the water plug, logic suggested the need to use, figuratively speaking, a dry hydraulic seal, which does not depend on the presence of water in the siphon.
What does dry seal mean?
The functioning of shower drains with a dry seal is based on the return of the actuating elements to their initial (shut-off) working state after the end of the impact on them of the drainage flow. Here are some popular dry seal options:
- Membrane type, the actuating element of which is an elastic membrane that opens when exposed to a flow to pass the liquid into the sewer. When the flow dries up, the membrane will return to its original state, ensuring the tightness of the device;
- Pendulum type, equipped with a pendulum valve with one fixed point. Passing drains deflect the valve from the equilibrium position, and gravity returns it to its original state.
- Float type, which is a symbiosis of dry and hydraulic valve designs. The float valve (in homemade products, ordinary balls play its role) floats in the presence of liquid and does not interfere with the drainage of the liquid. When the water evaporates, the float will drop into the nest and close the flow valve. At the next discharge, the structure will be filled with water, the ladder will begin to work as a water seal.
The use of the dry principle of operation ensures the reliable operation of the entire drain system in case of its irregular operation, provoking the evaporation of moisture from the hydraulic lock. The reliability and durability of functioning will also increase the stainless steel shower drains, which are absolutely indifferent to contact with the chemically aggressive water of our water supply systems.
