✓ Contractor Time Saver
Save 6–10 Labor Hours on Your Next Shower Install
The secret? Skip the mud bed. Skip the wall blocking. A factory-supported base and plywood-backed shower walls do the prep work before your crew arrives.
01 / The base
No mud bed
No mixing, packing or leveling mortar. Epoxy typically sets enough to remove weights in about 1–2 hours.
02 / The walls
No wall blocking
Built-in plywood backing gives grab bars and seats flexible placement, using the specified fasteners.
Less prep. Less waiting. Fewer opportunities for callbacks. More time for the next job.
What is a pre-leveled shower base?
A pre-leveled base has support built into its underside and the drain slope molded in at the factory. It installs on a solid, level subfloor without a mortar bed. Always follow the model's installation instructions.
Where the Hours Go on a Traditional Install
Ask any installer where a shower job bogs down, and you'll hear the same two answers.
The floor
A traditional base sits on a mortar bed. Someone has to mix it, pack it, set the base and level it in both directions.
Then you wait about 24 hours for it to harden before anyone stands on it.
The walls
Every grab bar, fold-down seat and hand shower bar needs solid wood behind it. That means measuring, cutting and fastening blocking between the studs before the walls go up.
It also means guessing today where the homeowner will want a grab bar ten years from now.
Neither job is hard. Both are slow, and both are easy to get slightly wrong. A base that rocks or a grab bar that misses the blocking is a callback.
Time Saver 1: A Pre-Leveled Base, With No Mud Bed
The support is built into the underside, so the base sets directly on a solid, level floor.
No mixing or hauling mortar
No bags, no buckets, no mess tracked through a finished house.
No leveling a wet bed
The slope to the drain is molded into the base at the factory. You are not creating pitch by hand.
An hour or two, not a day
The two-part epoxy that bonds a pre-leveled base typically takes about 1 to 2 hours to set and cure enough to remove the weights. That is enough time for a nice lunch.
No soft spots
A mud bed with voids leaves a floor that flexes underfoot. A factory-supported bottom takes that risk away.
A traditional mud-set base that isn't packed right is also known for another problem: it doesn't drain properly. With a curbless shower pan, drainage matters even more, because there is no curb to hide a mistake. Our guide on keeping water inside a curbless shower covers that in detail.
Time Saver 2: Wood Backing Built Into the Walls
The wall panels come with structural plywood backing laminated into the fiberglass, across the full wall. The backing is part of the panel, not something you add behind it.
No blocking to frame
You skip measuring, cutting and fastening lumber between the studs for every accessory.
No layout guesswork
Grab bars, fold-down seats and hand shower bars mount where the person using the shower needs them, not where a stud happens to be.
No tearing into walls later
If the homeowner needs another grab bar in five years, it goes on in minutes. Nobody opens a finished wall.
Don't underappreciate that last point.
It is easy to treat built-in backing as a small convenience. It is one of the most valuable features in the shower.
Needs change over time. The right spot for a grab bar depends on a person's height, their reach and which side they favor, and none of those stay the same for the life of a home. A surgery, a new diagnosis or a different person moving in can change the answer overnight.
A wall that accepts a bar anywhere fits the person using it today, and it fits whoever is using it years from now. Our grab bar placement guide covers where bars usually go.
Fiberglass is repairable
When needs change and a grab bar or seat has to move, a skilled contractor can fill and refinish the old mounting holes.
The repair materials depend on the finish. Best Bath showers have a gelcoat finish and a matching touch-up repair kit. EZ Able showers have an AcrylX™ applied acrylic finish, so ask us for the right repair materials before you start.
You are not doing that with tile
Moving an accessory on a tile wall means replacing tile. And we all know those spare pieces saved from the original job somehow got lost over the years.
The 60 x 36 curbless shower stall shows how this works: a multi-piece unit with plywood-reinforced walls that fits through an existing bathroom door.
Where the 6 to 10 Hours Come From
About half of the savings come from the base and half from the walls. These are typical ranges for one shower; your numbers depend on the crew, the floor and how many accessories the job calls for.
| Task | Traditional install | Pre-leveled base + backed walls | Typical hours saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting the base | Mix mortar, pack the bed, set and level the base, clean up | Set the base on a solid, level floor | 2–3 |
| Cure time | Wait about 24 hours for the bed to harden, usually a return trip | Epoxy sets in about 1 to 2 hours, so you keep working the same day | 1–2 |
| Wall backing | Measure, cut and fasten blocking for each grab bar and seat | Already built into the panels | 2–3 |
| Accessory layout | Find the blocking, adjust positions to match it | Mount where the user needs it | 1–2 |
| Total | 6–10 |
So, what is your time worth?
Multiply those hours by what your crew costs you per hour, with wages, insurance and the truck included. Then multiply by the number of showers you install in a year.
More jobs
Those are hours you could spend on the next job. Finishing a day sooner means starting the next project a day sooner.
Happier customers
Nobody enjoys living without a working bathroom. A homeowner who gets it back ahead of schedule is the one who leaves the review and sends you the next referral.
Fewer callbacks
The table does not count the callback you avoid when a base flexes or a grab bar misses its blocking. One avoided callback can be worth more than the hours above.
What It Means for Your Jobs
The savings show up for the crew, the homeowner and the schedule.
For the builder or remodeler
Hours saved on each shower add up fast. On a multi-unit project, a day of labor comes back every few showers. No cure day holds up the plumber or the finish work.
For the homeowner
The shower is ready for whatever comes next. A grab bar or seat can be added later without a remodel, and the floor feels solid underfoot from day one.
For both
There are fewer things to go wrong. The slope, the support and the backing are built in a factory, not on site at the end of a long day.
These showers are Made-Upon-Order in the USA and carry a 30-year warranty. If your timeline is tight, quick ship shower pans are available in the most common sizes. Still comparing options? Read our prefab shower pros and cons.
Save Even More Time: Get the Spec Sheets and Instructions in One Click
The fastest install starts before the shower ships.
The crews that finish early are the ones who framed the opening, set the drain and planned the day with the real documents in hand.
So we made those documents easy to get. Every shower and base has a Get Installation Documents button right on the product page. Click it once, and the installation instructions and spec sheets are sent directly to your email or your phone.
No hunting through a manufacturer's website. No waiting on hold. No calling the office to ask someone to dig up a PDF.
Rough in before delivery
Framing dimensions and drain location are in your hands the day you order, not the day the truck arrives.
Put it in everyone's pocket
Send the documents to your phone and forward them to your plumber and your framer in seconds.
Pull it up on site
The instructions are on your phone when you need them, not in a box that already went to the dumpster.
Order with confidence
Check the fit against the spec sheet before you buy, and avoid the return that costs you a week.
Never Lose a Day Waiting on the Shower
The hours you save on the install don't help if the crew is standing around waiting for a delivery.
Ordering too late stalls the job. Ordering too early leaves a shower sitting in a garage for a month.
The When Should I Order? tool takes the guesswork out. Tell us the day you need the shower on site, and we'll show you the best day to order and the last day to order.
Life gets busy, and an order date is easy to miss when you are running three jobs at once. So we'll even send you a reminder when it is time to order.
Before You Order: A Contractor's Checklist
Ten checks that protect the hours you are about to save.
Want the components together?
A walk-in shower kit pairs a pre-leveled base with plywood-backed walls that are made to fit each other. One order, one delivery, no blocking and no mud bed.
The Bottom Line: How Do You Save the Hours?
Skip the mud bed and skip the blocking.
Those two steps are where a shower install loses most of its time, and both can be built in at the factory.
The base
A pre-leveled base sets on a solid, level floor with no mortar and no overnight cure.
The walls
Plywood backing in the walls lets you mount grab bars and seats where they are needed.
The result
Together they save roughly 6 to 10 labor hours and remove two common causes of callbacks.
You're the Rock Star. We're the Roadies.
You make the customers cheer. We make sure you've got what you need.
From dependable products and accurate specs to installation resources and straight answers, we're working behind the scenes to help your projects run smoothly.
You take the spotlight. We've got your back.
Frequently Asked Questions About Faster Shower Installs
Click a question below to expand the answer.
Does a pre-leveled shower base need a mortar bed?
No. The underside is flat and self-supporting, so it sets on a solid, level floor without a mud bed. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for your model.
What if my subfloor isn't level?
Fix the floor first. A pre-leveled base follows the floor it sits on, so an out-of-level floor gives you an out-of-level shower.
Can I install a pre-leveled base on a concrete slab?
In many cases, yes. Many models need no recess for the base, only an opening in the slab at the drain. Check the spec sheet for the required opening. Our guide to installing a curbless shower without recessing the subfloor walks through it.
How long before I can keep working on a pre-leveled base?
The two-part epoxy that bonds the base typically takes about 1 to 2 hours to set and cure enough to remove the weights. A mortar bed typically needs about 24 hours. Follow the cure time in the manufacturer's instructions.
Can I really mount a grab bar anywhere on the wall?
The plywood backing runs through the wall panels, so you are not limited to stud or blocking locations. Use the fasteners and method the installation instructions call for.
Can a fold-down seat be mounted to the backed walls too?
Yes, as long as both the seat and the shower are installed per the manufacturer's installation instructions. Seats put more load on a wall than grab bars, so check the instructions for the wall mount folding shower seat you choose and the shower's instructions together before mounting, and call us if you are unsure.
Can grab bars be added years after the shower is installed?
Yes. That is one of the main advantages. The backing is already in the wall, so a bar can be added later without opening it up.
Can a fiberglass shower wall be repaired if an accessory is moved?
A skilled contractor can fill and refinish old mounting holes in fiberglass. The repair materials depend on whether the finish is gelcoat or AcrylX applied acrylic. That is much harder with tile, where moving an accessory usually means replacing tile.
Will a multi-piece shower fit through a standard bathroom door?
Multi-piece units are built for remodels where a one-piece unit won't make the turn. Measure your doorways and compare them with the piece dimensions on the spec sheet.
Do I still need to waterproof behind the walls?
The wall panels are the finished, watertight surface, so there is no tile backer or membrane to build. Seal the joints as the installation instructions describe.
How long does the whole install take?
It depends on demolition, plumbing and the condition of the floor. The 6 to 10 hours in this article is the labor these two features typically remove, not the total job time. See our walk-in shower installation steps and timeline for the full job.
Where can I get the installation instructions before I buy?
Click the Get Installation Documents button on the product page, and the spec sheets and installation instructions are sent directly to your email or phone. If you can't find one, get in touch and we'll send it.
Need Help Planning Your Next Shower Install?
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