Ever since I was a kid, my Mother has been hinting about how much she would love to have an outdoor shower. And this past summer, I made her dream a reality and built her an outdoor shower with all of the bells and whistles. This “ How to build an outdoor shower” guide will walk you through the exact process I used to build an outdoor shower from scratch. Although there are MANY different ways to build an outdoor shower, this comprehensive guide will cover many of the overarching themes. My design focuses on a concrete shower pan, a 2” drain pipe that discharges to a “French Drain” type ditch, and privacy panels made with composite decking.
If you are more of a visual learner and want to see the entire shower building process in video format (instead of a blog article), you can check out my “How to Build an Outdoor Shower” YouTube Video linked below:
Before we begin constructing the shower, I want to list the tools and materials I used to complete this project.
Materials Needed To Build an Outdoor Shower (General List):
Shower Pan and Drainage
- Concrete mix
- 2″ PVC drain pipe
- Stone (for drainage ditch)
- Landscape fabric
- Concrete float
- Laser Level
Plumbing
- 1/2″ CPVC pipes
- CPVC cement
- Hole saw bit for cinderblock
- VIGO shower panel
- Plumbing fittings and connectors
Walls and Privacy Panels
- HOFT privacy panels
- Composite boards
- Screws
- Drill
- Measuring tape
- Level
Now that you have an idea of the tools and materials that are going to be needed to build an outdoor shower, let me show you how I built one.
Planning Your Outdoor Shower Location
Choosing the Right Location:
The first step in building an outdoor shower is determining the best location. If possible, you want to pick an area that has the following:
- Nearby hot and cold water connection locations.
- Good natural drainage or the possibility of connecting to your existing sewer drain
- Natural privacy from neighbors, etc.
As you can see from the photo below, most outdoor showers (like this one from the Outer Banks, NC) is positioned a few yards from the home. By doing this, you can have the drainage from the shower freely discharge into gravel, etc. with no additional provisions required.
For my outdoor shower project, my mom selected a location that would be near the pool (since the purpose of the shower is to be able to rinse off chlorine after swimming). Additionally, this location was nearby to the crawlspace – which is where I am going to make my hot and cold water plumbing connections.
Unfortunately, however, the selected location is near my parent’s home/foundation.. So direct drainage into the soil is not possible (since the water may pond under the foundation and potentially flood the basement or cause unwanted foundation settlement). As a result, I needed to install a drainage system instead of a “deck board” or gravel style shower pan.
This will result in additional work, but nothing too bad.
Design the Outdoor Shower Layout:
Once you have determined the location for the outdoor shower, you will want to spend some time planning out the shower design. I used Pinterest to get ideas for my Outdoor Shower and I recommend that you do the same by checking out this “Outdoor Shower Ideas” Pinterest Board that I created specifically for this project.
Plan the dimensions and layout of your shower, considering the placement of the drain, walls, and water supply lines. For my outdoor shower, I decided that a 4’x6’ rectangular design would work the best for the selected site location. Additionally, I decided that I was going to try and pour a concrete shower surround (think of a shower curb) to help contain the and capture all of the shower water.
Gather Permits (IF Necessary):
At this point, you will want to develop a sketch / drawings for your project and then Check with local authorities to see if you need any permits for building an outdoor shower. Code and Permitting requires vary significantly from City to City, so be sure to comply with your local requirements. The most common types of permits required for an outdoor shower are building permits and plumbing permits for work like.
Not to snitch on myself, but I did not obtain any permits when building this shower at my parents’ house.
Excavate the Area and Install the Shower Drain
Whenever I am working with concrete, I typically like to excavate down 8”-10” depending on the thickness of concrete I am pouring. For my “Concrete Curb” going around the shower, I will be using 2”x6” lumber for the forms. As a result, I excavated down 10” (4.5” for the gravel base and 5.5” for the concrete) – Note that a 2”x6” piece of lumber has nominal dimensions of 1.5”x5.5”.
I started to excavate by hand, but there were a ton of roots in the area since there used to be a fig bush planted in this exact location.
Thankfully, my dad coordinated a mini-excavator rental which made the excavation process a breeze. This rental was around $300 for a day and let me tell you, it was well worth it!
At this point, I also determined the location for the shower drain (I decided to go with a centered drain in the middle of the shower) and I dug a bit deeper in that location so that I could install the drain piping. I dug out a trench approximately 16” Wide and 24” deep for the style shower drain and then I placed some landscape fabric in the bottom of the trench.
PRO TIP: The landscape fabric is going to be wrapped around the drainage pipe and stone prior to backfilling to help prevent dirt from clogging the drain pipe in the future.
Next, I backfilled the trench with 18” of stone along the trench so that the shower drain discharge would be able to drain / percolate through the stone without a backup. I also used the stone to create the sloped “bed” for the 2”x10’ PVC Pipe I used for the drain pipe. I made sure that I had a minimum drainage slope of ¼” per foot to ensure that the water will drain from the pipe.
After establishing the drainage slope with stone, I glued the 2” PVC drain pipe together as needed to create my drain pipe. This consisted of a 10’ run of 2” PVC drain pipe over the “French drain” style system, a 90” bend transitioning the horizontal drain pipe to the vertical drain connection, and the connection to the drain. I also drilled many ½” holes in the bottom of the drainage pipe to ensure that there would be plenty of opportunities for the water to drain from the pipe.
After wrapping up the shower drain portion of the build, I moved onto the next step.
Building the Concrete Shower Curb
For my outdoor shower design, I first needed to build a 4’x6’ rectangular shower curb as the perimeter. This concrete curb will be approximately 8” wide and will help to keep water within the shower pan while also providing a solid mounting surface for the privacy panels that I will be installing in a later step.
As noted, whenever I am working with concrete, I typically like to excavate down 8”-10” depending on the thickness of concrete I am pouring. For my “Concrete Curb” going around the shower, I will be using 2”x6” lumber for the forms. As a result, I excavated down 10” (4.5” for the gravel base and 5.5” for the concrete).
After excavating the area, I compacted the soil using a hand tamp. Next, I placed approximately 4.5” of stone based in the entire area, making sure the stone base was level. Then, I compacted the stone base.
At this point, I built the forms using 2”x6” lumber. My shower will be a rectangle so I assembled the “outer rectangle” forms and then the “inner rectangle” form – leaving 8” between them. The 8” opening between the forms is where the concrete will be placed.
After placing the forms, I ensured that they were “square” by measuring the distance between opposite corners. The measurements should be the same between the opposite corners. After confirming square, I used stakes to secure the forms in place.
One the forms were constructed and positioned properly, I cut some rebar using a Sawzall with a metal blade. This rebar will go around the perimeter of the curb and help reinforce and strengthen the entire curb.
FYI: I tied the rebar together using rebar ties and a used some spare bricks as “rebar chairs” to elevate the rebar around 2.5” so that it would be centered in the middle of the concrete curb.
At this point, it was finally time to pour the concrete curb. I used the Mud Mixer and Rapid Set 24/6 Concrete mix for this pour – which made the process as simple as it could be.
After loading the Mud Mixer hopper with a few bags of Rapid Set 24/6 Concrete Mix, I connected the water supply and turned on the auger so that I could fill the form area with mixed concrete.
I used a concrete finishing trowel and an edging trowel to give the top of the concrete a finished look. After giving the concrete 24 hours to cure, I removed the forms – leaving an outdoor shower perimeter curb.
Setting the Shower Drain and Pouring the Sloped Concrete Shower Pan
At this point, I cut the 2” PVC drain stub using an oscillating tool and then I applied PVC Primer and Glue to the shower drain that I bought on Amazon.
I used a level to ensure that the shower drain was perfectly level and plumb.
Next, I placed a laser level on the shower drain which cast a level line around the perimeter of the shower curb approx. 2” above the drain. I used this line as a reference “ledger” to mark the location for a 1”x2” piece of lumber that I attached to the inside of the curb. Essentially, this ledger board will serve as the “high point” for the shower pan slope and the shower drain (approx. 2” lower) will serve as the low point.
To create the shower pan, I decided to use Rapid Setting concrete (Specifically, Rapid Set 24/6 concrete mix). I used the Mud Mixer to mix the concrete and I adjusted the amount of water coming out of the nozzles to that the concrete mix was as DRY as possible. By pouring the concrete dry, I was able to create a slope for the shower pan used a trowel and a piece of wood as a screed.
PRO TIP: I don’t think that you could pour a sloped shower pan like this unless you use Rapid Setting Concrete.
After finishing the shower pan with a trowel and ensuring that I had a minimum of a ¼” per foot slope (I had plenty more than that), I allowed the concrete to set up for around 30 minutes, I removed the shower drain. I am going to re-install the shower drain as part of the tiling step of the project.
Tiling the Shower Pan
Although you could technically just seal the concrete sloped shower pan and use it as the actual shower drain, my Mom and I decided that we wanted to tile the shower pan. My mom selected a “large format” style of tile so I started by creating the layout template for the shower using ripped down pieces of 2”x4” lumber. I used hot glue to fasten all of the wood strips around the inside perimeter of the shower pan and I used a similar process for the shower drain outline.
Next, I laid out all of the tiles and positioned the 1/8” tile spacers appropriately. I positioned the template on the tiles and I marked the perimeter and the shower drain location using a sharpie.
For large format tiles, you will also need “relief” / “envelope” cuts. To make these cuts, place a straight edge on the tile and draw a line that connects each corner of the shower drain to its corresponding shower corner.
After establishing all of the tile cut lines, I cut the tiles to size using a tile saw and an angle grinder for the smaller more intricate cuts.
PRO TIP: It is highly recommended that you “dry-fit” all of your tiles before trying to set them in Thin-set mortar.
To set the tile, I used Rapid Set “All Tile Mortar” and I applied it to the shower pan using a ½” trowel.
PRO TIP: I also “back-buttered” the tile before placing it into the pan. “back-buttering” is the process of applying a thin layer of thinset mortar to the backside of the tile using the flat side of the trowel.
I placed the tile based on my layout and I used 1/8” Spin Doctor Spacers and tile levelers. For more information on Tiling, I recommend that you check out my other videos and resources linked below.
Be sure to clean out all of your grout lines and wipe off all the grout haze with a wet sponge before the thinset cures.
After setting the tiles, I needed to wait > 5 hours for the All Tile Mortar to cure before I could grout. I used this time to run the supply plumbing to the shower.
Running the Supply Piping / Plumbing for the Outdoor Shower
As mentioned previously, I needed to connect to the existing water lines in parent’s crawl space. To do this, I first used a hole saw bit and a hammer drill to drill holes through the cinderblock foundation and into the crawl space.
Next, I turned off the water supply to the house and I cut into the ¾” CPVC hot water supply pipe using a snap cutter. I used a ¾” x ½’ Tee to tap into the existing ¾” pipe and I ran this ½” CPVC pipe outside of the crawl space through the hole I drilled.
I completed the same process for the ½” CPVC cold water supply line. Additionally, I installed a ½” CPVC isolation ball valve for each of the shower supply lines.
Running the plumbing outside of the crawl space was much simpler. I simple glued all of the 10’ sticks of ½” CPVC pipe together using coupling and I routed the piping to the shower using a few bends.
Lastly, I installed a ½” threaded coupling to the end of the pipe so that I could connect to the Vigo Shower Panel I will be installing in a future step.
Grouting the Shower Pan
Once the thinset mortar cured, I grouted all of the tile gaps using some leftover gray grout that I had lying around. After mixing the grout, I applied it using a grout float.
After filling all of the gaps with grout and removing the majority of the excess grout using the flat side of the float, I removed the rest of the grout using a damp sponge.
Lastly, I applied a bead of caulk around the perimeter of the shower pan and smoothed everything out using a caulking tool.
Installing the Shower Walls – HOFT Privacy Panels
For my outdoor shower walls, I decided to use the HOFT Privacy Panel System complete with their composite board slats.
The HOFT system is similar to the design I used for my “trash can privacy panels” (refer to the blog / video below) but it is much simpler.
To install the HOFT privacy Panel System, I started by attaching the base plate to the vertical posts. Next, I positioned the vertical posts on the shower curb and I marked the bolt locations using a pencil / sharpie.
Next, I drilled holes for the ¾” expansions anchors that I will be using to attach the posts to the concrete. I used a Hammer Drill to accomplish this and I used a shop vac to remove the concrete dust.
After placing the posts in place, I installed all of the anchor bolts and secured them using a socket wrench. Use a post level to ensure that your posts are perfectly plumb. If you need to make adjustment, use shims as required and cut off the excess shim length using a utility knife or an oscillating tool.
Once the posts were set, I installed the “stop” at the bottom of the posts to serve as the “starting” point for the composite privacy panel boards. Next, I cut the composite boards to length using a miter saw and then I slid them into the grooves in the posts.
PRO TIP: Be sure to install the central connectors between each horizontal composite boards to prevent them from warping over time.
Once all of the panels were installed, I attached the HOFT post cap to the top of each vertical post.
Installing the VIGO Shower Panel
At this point of the outdoor shower build, all there is left to do is install the shower panel. For this project, I am installing a VIGO Shower Panel (Model No. VG08017MB) which has two hanging brackets. First, I marked the center of the wall and ten I marked the height for the mounting brackets. To install the hanging brackets I pre-drilled through the composite HOFT panels and placed a bolt through the entire board with a nut and washer on the backside.
Next, I had to cut a hole in one of the composite boards so that I could feed the shower panel water supply hoses to the backside of the shower wall. To do this, I used a Sawzall to make a “rough cut” since this hole will be concealed by the shower panel.
Then I simply fed the water supply hoses through the wall, mounted the shower panel on the support brackets, and then threaded the hoses onto the ½” threaded couplings I installed on the CPVC pipes in the previous steps.
Next, I tested the shower panel to ensure that there were no leaks. This Shower Panel has various functions (shower head, body spray, spray wand, etc.), and I tested that each of these functions was working properly.
Final Touches to Complete the Outdoor Shower
At this point the outdoor shower is nearly complete and there were just a few final touches that were needed to finalize the project.
- I built a custom shower door using the HOFT Privacy posts and the composite boards. This was a bit technical nuanced, so please refer to my YouTube video if you want to see how I built the shower door.
- I installed a 2-way gate latch for the shower door so that you could both open and lock the door from inside the shower.
- The HOFT Privacy Panel system comes with a bunch of accessories like shelves, towel hooks, etc. I installed a few of these accessories to try and bring the whole shower together.
With these final touches completed, the Outdoor Shower Project is complete!
Below are a few photos of the Final Product:
Conclusion
Building an outdoor shower is a rewarding project that enhances your outdoor living space and adds value to your home. By following this step-by-step guide, you can create a functional and beautiful outdoor shower that will provide years of enjoyment. Whether you’re rinsing off after a swim, cooling down on a hot day, or simply enjoying a shower in nature, your new outdoor shower will be a cherished addition to your home.
And I can attest, my Mom is extremely grateful for this outdoor shower.
DISCLAIMER: This is a reference guide only. Consult local code requirements. Links included in this article might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide, I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting ATimprovements so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!