Foam Tile Pan 

Before ordering a pan from RSS, I for one would sure like to see some kind of updated comment from TileCoach and/or RSS in regards to the shower pan being promoted in "this" video. FACT: On Oct 26, 2021 TileCoach posted a video titled: "Small Tile on Foam Shower Pan --- Is it a Good Idea?" - In the video he demonstrates and explains why he personally doesn't install foam pans and lumps the foam pans from RSS, Schluter and RodK (foam not great, dent when kneeing on them and don't use tiles smaller than 2 square inches.) - Fast forward to this video from June 2023 where Issac shows a RSS pan (that is green in color) where he states at 1:42 "I don't even know if this is a foam product. This is a recycled plastic, so this form is made out of recycled plastic..." more or less implying this is a new pan offering from RSS. HOWEVER... as of today Sept 21, 2023, no where on the RSS website do they advertise or describe any of their pans being made from recycled plastic. On the RSS website, which displays the order form from a year ago, makes no mention of this new plastic material but instead still says "RSS PRO Custom Shower Pans are constructed from high-density foam". UPDATE Oct 17, 2023 I contacted RSS via their 800 number and said I was seeking additional information in regards to their shower pans made from recycled plastic. The RSS rep said there has been some recent confusion over the recycled plastic claim... and that I should understand RSS pans are not plastic nor made from plastic but are constructed of a "high-density expanded polystyrene foam" WTF? So who is confused here? I wish Tile Coach or RSS would clarify the material used and if Issac was wrong he should publish a retraction and identify the actual product material. I would hate to spend the big bucks ordering a RSS custom pan thinking I was getting this new denser recycled plastic material only to receive one made of the white polystyrene foam he found fault with back in 2021. FYI: The Link provided above by TileCoach to RSS foam pan displays Error 404 - Oops! That page can’t be found. (Anyway, once you navigate to the correct page there is no mention of recycled plastic pans.

It’s refreshing to see a contractor get excited and have real passion for his trade, love the videos Isaac!

Ya know people can talk all day about what CAN be done and what someone COULD do, but when buddy pulled out that trowel to put that pan in, the only Sound was work. That was beautiful. I’ve done this, and he made that look WAY easier than it is lol. Man I thoroughly enjoyed that.

when you feel the first inkling of burn in your knees, don't delay the knee pads. otherwise be ready for a bit of a vacation from work. love the show. keep it up.

Between new videos with tile coach and Luke's goldies, I am a happy man.

Tile Coach , i must say i like your style. You are super aggressive with just the right finesse to make you a champ. I was brought up by my pop the same way 😎🙏👍🏼💯I really appreciate you brother i install alot like that 🍺

You should try liquid water proofing membrane instead of mortar to apply water proofing membrane. I did it with the USG liquid membrane, because mortar whether it is modified or not migrate moisture through it bypassing those membranes, but when I used the USG liquid membrane to apply/wet out the water proofing tape membrane and corners it fully saturated it. Sort of like resin is to fiberglass. Which I’ve found provides a truly water proof through and through finished product that still accepts tile adhesion with mortar. I think the manufacturers simply say to use mortar, because that is what guy are used too, but I’ve seen multiple times where moisture migrates through the mortar used to apply the membrane and cause wrought/mold…

I emailed RSS a short while back for a quote on a floor pan. Did not realize it was $35 a square foot, wish it was more realistically affordable. Looks like I'll stick to packing deck mud for the time being.

Great content...thank you. I put in a RSS pre sloped pan 1 year ago (didn't have the membrane attached option)...Very happy with it...I learned a lot (I'm a DIY'r)....Our upstairs bath is due for a refurbish and I'll be using RSS again for sure.

Is that a margin trowel or a magic wand?!?! That pan was completed so fast compared to mortar beds!! Tile Coach is the Tile G.O.A.T.!!!!🔷🐐🙌😎 Thank you so much for your videos that are filled with a wealth of knowledge, both new and old! 🙂

Great videos Issac. It's only because of you that I considered RSS, unfortunately getting someone to respond there is impossible. Love the channel, keep 'em coming.

Really nice to see RSS stepping up their game and giving us more tools and products in an trade that (no haters please) “can be stuck in past” when comes to “how things should be done”. If not willing to try and learn and “conquer” new tools, products, tech for the trade/industry you are in; well, you can become left behind and not even willing or considering learning new techniques isn’t the best way to build your skills as a person or help a biz grow even if your just a worker and not owner etc….imo. Everyone can bring something to the “table” and make the project better. Cheers✌🏻

Thank you for this great video... I have often been taken advantage of by shady contractors in the past, so I am educating myself and this video is exactly the type of video that makes all the difference in being an informed female customer. Thank you many times over!

Bro you are so clean with the trowel !! Not a spec of thinset on you after you are done, respect

GOD Bless you brother And All your family! Thank you for posting your videos!

I've only done traditional shower pans...pack mud and put a shower pan liner, but this looks promising. It's harder to puncture or hinder the waterproofing on a thick foam like this

Good luck cutting the tiles from pan to top of the curb. I always making bigger space around 2 inch tiles looks much nicer but yes you have higher curb.

The best shower system I have used🙏

That high density foam is a game changer! So glad RSS is filling that void!

Fantastic tutorial. Love your attention to detail and systematic approach!

RSS pans are the best foam in the market by a long shot!! Cornel is the man

Thanks coach! I'm ready to be put in the game now

this guy is the truth. pure passion

Tile coach scares me because the way he makes it look easy makes it really tempting to do things myself, but I sure as shit know that I am not producing those kinds of outcomes 😂

Best shower pans I ever used !!

Tip make sure you measure your drain from the wall when setting to make sure its square....

Issac, love watching all your videos and keeping up with new tech as it comes to tiled showers! I am a general contractor in southern Cal. I just bought the square Flo FX drain which I am excited about and was planning on bonding to the deck mud and then hydrobanning with brush and roller afterwards. Have you seen any showers fail using this method? Wondering if it will be ok or if I should lay the membrane sheet you recommend in your other vids.

Excellent video, as always. Thanks for sharing with us.

I appreciate how RSS uses the waterproofing bands around the pan/curb and pan/wall junctions. It's hard to trust the sealant-only systems imho.

That was so cool. Great job Coach! 😊👍 👏

Foam board compresses a tiny bit under pressure such as stepping on to and off of it repeatedly over years. Curious how the grout joints hold up over time. I'm curious how the foam wall boards that are meant to replace cement board for shower walls do over ten years or so as well. I didn't like how I could compress the board with finger pressure. Over time a little bit of movement might affect grout joints or not; have to wait to see. Lots of new products reveal issues over a few years. Sticking with what I know works until a few more years.

Come on Isaac no keying in to substrate!

I love your work!

Hey TileCoach, love your pro-quality, super informative videos on Tiling! Ahead of my own bathroom remodel project, I have watched many videos and read lots of commentary recently on sealing tile-and-grout showers. From what I have learned, the main focus and $ spend is on the sealing system of the walls and pan to the studs and subfloor. However, once water gets behind the tiles in front of the sealing system, isn’t it game over? Doesn’t matter how well the walls and pan are sealed, mold growth behind the tile is a failure and a big problem. A well-sealed shower pan and curb with a leaky tile installation is kind of like closing the barn door after the horse is out. Seems like a solid backing surface that supports the weight of the tiles and a fatso like me, and one that takes into account the inevitable structural shifts should be sufficient…unless the presence of mold under the tile is considered ok as long as the studs and subfloor don’t rot out…what am I missing?

My y wife’s going to visit her mom in Ireland Hgonna surprise herewith bewczhiwer. Thanks Brae for this video. I’m in.

Love it! Cornel makes great products!

I wish you were in VIRGINIA because I have a damaged tile shower floor due to poor installation. I have springtails that my exterminator can’t seem to get rid of. This happened in my last house which caused a tile installer gut the entire shower, walls and floor. Mold traveled across the floor outside of the shower under tiles. Drywall was ripped out as well as carpet in my master closet. My new house now is 9 years old and I’m seeing the same issues, ugh. This time I know who the tile installerIt was. I don’t know how tile installers can get away with crap jobs.

14:25 you was bout to throw it back in the drain🤣🤣

i am going to give RSS a try!

Keep up the great information Sir 👍

And I assume another advantage to that foam pan is theoretically you could use 2x2 mosaic. Whereas Schluter does not recommend using 2x2 on their foam pans.

Do you have a video on the wall with the niche installation? I’d like to see how you do that layout so you avoid slivers with the tile where it meets the niche. Learning a lot and appreciate it!

Do it right use the flat side of trowel to spread it good onto floor so you get good adhesive the teeth alone isn’t going to get a good spread and I’d wet the floor a lil for curing time

ok, Mr. Tile Coach, I have placed my 1st order with RSS for a pro pan and curb and walls and all the necessary extras to install. I will let you know how it works out after delivery!

Love the two step nice moves dancing with the stars is in your future 🇺🇸😂

FYI, the link to the custom pan is broken. Great video and thanks for taking the time.

I've torn out some pretty old showers in Alameda and found copper pans used as waterproofing.

I hear people selling these systems as faster. But it shouldn’t have to be like this. There’s still flood tests that are required Im and not sure how much faster they actually are lol. Are they a better system? I’ve been installing for a long time now and been doing mud jobs for awhile and I will say this is less labor intensive but if not done right it can be a failure very easily. Flood test is what your supposed to do and honestly some still can fail if not done right

For the sake of DIYers or occasional shower installers, could you do a comparison with a product like KRBS? They are also ready to tile. My understanding is they are also custom made to order, but come as an integral unit - base & curb. So from a time/cost perspective, (not to mention less chance for leaks), it would be an interesting comparison. 👍

Thank you for the video man. Great tip on using the inside corner on the outside corner of the curb! Could I clarify at 31:01 when you apply the band to the curb. Doesn't that one inch lip on the curb makes the water proofing ineffective? I'm thinking perhaps you could overlap the band over the top of the curb, in a Z shape, to achieve the full 2 inch from seam requirement?

Friends will Isaac be putting corners and banding on the outside of this shower curb?

So curious, does it matter with the RSS if you have your walls up first and pan up against wall. Can I do pan first with wallboard on top of pan?

How the hell do you crawl around on your knees like that? I wouldn't be able to walk after that. Great video!

So why don't you need to waterproof joints before tile installation? What's stopping water infiltration at all of the joints?

Any reason why you not burning the thinset to the subfloor? Love your work Brother, keep spreading the word!!

With those foam shower curbs, how do you screw down the shower glass and doors? The screws will be secure in foam??

Does RSS require the 2” overlap on the band and corners? The short curb is awesome, but doesn’t appear to allow for the 2” minimum everywhere.

Should take a spray bottle of water to premoisten the floor before thin set. Do you need a half inch notched trowel or 3/8" for the thin set ? Great videos

Love your videos! I have installed 2 custom tile redi pans….very spendy for sure. Love the easy install. The RRS looks nice but why not put a few inches (or 6) of fabric on the pan so you can just wrap the sides up the walls and curb? Part of the reason I went with the tile redi was it was all incorporated with no seams. It’s obvious they built it with seams but then sprayed with what looked like bed liner on all sides. Seems every day I see the adhesive that join the seams fail, I’m all about the technology moving forward but I guess time is the factor that is hard to factor in.

My knees hurt just watching this. Pretty sure they make work pants with knee pads built in now.

Can you do a compare to a tile-redi shower pan? Tile ready has the pan, the curb, and the drain all in one waterproof piece. Why dont you use these sometimes?

Does this have the same tile size limitation as Kerdi? (not less than 2" or something like that?)

Thanks!

For the pebble floor, ever consider clear epoxy instead of grout?

Their pro pans are tile ready. I have used several over the years.

With all these shower systems any handyman can do it

You could miter the curb

To be honest, I would red guard or something else around that top collar ... there is no way that thin set alone will waterproof it. Other than that, its a good system.

More stabila please. Nice vid.

I've wondered why the tile pan doesn't go to the wall frame and have the backer board hang over the pan. You would think any water that would leak down the walls would then fall onto the pan vs between the pan and the backer board.

Just curious why the corner peices and not a peice along the entire seem? Wall to floor and floor to curb?

Be nice to have an alternative, although from other comments same general pricing. I don’t trust a company that is hard to find, doesn’t post prices, and has no distribution.

you are awesome!

I just tore out a very poorly done shower down to the studs and foundation in my house because of various leaks and carpenter ants burrowing in wood in the vicinity. I have read that carpenter ants will burrow in foam, (and have been known to burrow into various types of foam applications in houses including insulation panels) so I am afraid of foam shower products since I know I have carpenter ants around "somewhere" even though they have been out of sight and mind since I did the tear out. It appears as though they only tend to burrow in wet wood, not dry, but they easily burrow in foam, regardless of condition. Any thoughts on this in your experience?

I’ve got my order in for my custom shower. I ordered the RSS pro series pan. I’m curious to see how well it goes in.

Awesome 👊

Curious . . . Can some of you who have purchased RSS Products disclose how expensive it was or was not? There is no public/open disclosure of what to expect and when you go to their site there still isn't a clue. That's not a good feeling. How expensive can foam board be ?

Question... Of all the different shower pans you have worked with, which do you think is the best? I'm really thinking about going with Tile Redi. It seems to be 100% waterproof. Do you agree? It is a bit expensive.

NICE!

Tap Dance Routine @7:37 😂

What about shower glass door install I guess you can’t screw down onto the curb right. ?

Gr8 work. I learned a lot. Thx for sharing

Do showers "sound" different based on the pan used? Meaning, does a deck mud shower pan sound more "solid" than a foam system?

Awesome

On the website RSS identifies its tile pan as pre-sloped foam. I did not see anything that met the description of what you were using. What am I missing??

Issac, is water able to speak through under the membrane at the drain?

Do you ever use Mapei Aquadefense ?

Nice video as always. However that foam pan is 685 dollars. A similar sized kerdi pan is 200 dollars.

So after watching many of your videos, what is the product you feel is waterproof for installing the corners and banding

Went to their website, but wasn't able to easily get a price for the standard sized HD option on the site. I'm sure it's more than I want to pay, but still would have been nice to know for sure.

Do you overlap the inside corners with the band? It's kind of hard to see.

Thank you for the video. Man I've been tiling for about 25 years now. What are you using in your buckets? Looks like another bucket inside?

There have been a gazillion questions for Issac on this video and I wonder why he hasn't responded to even one of them ?????

tile coach: question: I am tiling an exterior patio with 8"x8" 1/2" porcelain tile. I worked from the middle drain towards the wall. I ended up about 1" from the wall which is fine. But, I need to fill this 1" wide space with something. My idea is to use the same color sanded grout (make it like a border). Can I use a sanded grout to fill a gap that is about 1" wide by about 1/2" deep? Would exterior caulking be better?

Don’t you need 2” from pan to top of curb? California code. Could be wrong.

have you ever tried musselbound instead of thin-set? seems like it would speed things up a bit, but not sure if it would hold up.

Hey Isaac I am curious, do you consider the corner / seam tape enough waterproofing from your wall to floor seam? I've always installed my pans first and the wall board over the pan edge then taped.

Do I understand right that the whole thing is leveled with a horseshoe spacer in that corner? is that robust enough? won't that leave space under the whole RSS pan not directly touching the floor around it?

Hi, first off, thanks for your video. I am considering using RSS for my shower remodel. Is this okay to use over a second story wood subfloor? Last thing is, I had a question on the banding. Does it over lap the corners? Thanks!

@8:58 that's so Hollywood