First time doing this... the way I understand it I need to build a pre slope bed... then put down the membrane... then pour another bed for the tile. Anyone ever do this? Any tips would be appreciated.

Buy the pre made corners and glue, do not try to fold the corners yourself. Believe it or not lead is easier to do then the rubber stuff, but EXPENSIVE. Super fine sand mix is also a very important part the finer the better.

install your new pvc shower drain, lay down pan liner and attach to drain, even out your liner and fold up the corners forming a funnel pointing up and draining into the pan. nail top edge of pan liner. install your wallboard level,with the bottom edge about a 1/2 inch higher than your drain. use the wallboard as a straight edge to form your mortar bed slope to the drain.

I'd like to see/here more on this also, for it appears I'll be undertaking the task on my own soon.

Don't even bother with the old rubber liner - it is old school. I know it has been done for years but the mortar bed still holds water. If you want it done right pay a little extra to have the Schluter Kerdi membrane installed with their drain kit. You don't even need to install cement board as your backer board although most do.

My bathroom renovation started with a rubber liner. When I learned more about the Schluter product, I ripped out the liner and installed the membrane and their drain. I would not do another shower without it.

Schluter is the bomb, no doubt about it. Thing about it is you have to have your drain in the exact right spot for their preformed tray's. It's a little more expensive than the traditional way but it was worth the peace of mind to me.

If you want to go old school and make a mud bed then I'd suggest you go start a thread over at the john bridge forums. Those guys know their stuff and they are more than willing to guide you with whatever system you decide to go with.

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?s=061f09ed3f901624ebbeb72445566392&f=1

John Bridge forums - Yes, that is where I spent about two weeks lurking and reading before I made another move on my shower. AFter those two weeks, my old pan liner was ripped out as fast as I could.

Don't need to use their preformed trays - I have a sloped mudbed with the schluter thinsetted to it then tile right on top. Works awesome and with our vent fan on a timer running for 30 minutes our shower is dry an hour after two consecutive showers.

Ive been on the sales end of this for 20+ years, and yes we may be old school,but we still use the vinyl pans and a mud bed.The Schluter product looks very interesting,but when Im warrantying the job its vinyl.Not knocking the Schluter product,just not enough experience with it.

tgravley gave a good outline for the proper way to do this...

However I WILL not do a shower without backer board.What do you suggest Jman ? green board ?

the liner goes down first, then build the bed on top of it, the liner is your leak stop.
make very sure the drain is sealed to the liner, the corners and sides extend up at least 3" and bring backer board down at least 1/2" over the vynl. if tile is going on the walls use hardi backer (concrete board) instead of sheetrock.
the bed should be equal amounts of sand and portland cement, mix very well dry then add very little water. you just want the bed mix to be slightly damp not wet. to set the bed cut one or two 1x2 or similar that will fit in the shower floor about 1/2" shy of touching the walls use these to get the pitch of the drain, 1/4" per foot is good, slightly more is better.
pack the sand/portland mix down hard, take a trowel and bear down on it hard, smooth the bed as best you can, the thinset will take care of the minor low spots.
this has to sit for at least 24 hrs and 36 is better, you can use some thinset on top of the bed mix to seal it, apply about 1/4" thick and smooth it then let all sit to cure.
DO NOT cut the vynl, use aluminum roofing nails to secure it to the wall, make sure the glue has dried in the corners before doing the pan.
remember to leave enough room under the drain grate to take the tile when its set.
good luck

Here is a link to a pdf showing how Oatey drain is used with mudbed.

Pan liner and drain.

The Schluter is nice but not cheap and has a five year warranty. A lot of options with the Schluter setup.

If you go to the Schluter website it will tell you a lot. John Bridge forum is indespensible if you are wanting to do it yourself or know more about it to make an educated decision.

You can use any form of drywall - in fact, Schluter likes drywall. Most however like the comfort of using some type of cement board - me, I'm partial to cement board as I find it is a heckuva lot easier to work with than hardiboard. I started with a few pieces of hardi then switched to cement board as the other was a PITA. The membrane when done right creates a water tight barrier so the concept is it doesn't matter what is behind it. I think I saw where Schluter is now making some type of wallboard but I haven't looked at it lately as my shower is done.

I'm not saying the vinyl installation doesn't work but the difference in water management and control is unsurpassed with the Schluter product.

Nobody has mentioned on the vinyl product installation to make sure you don't cover up your drain weep holes before creating your mortar bed. Don't need to worry about that with the Schluter drain.

I will not have it if it does not have hardibacker board. I have seen too many with dry wall or cement board that have degraded after just a few short years. Hardibacker board will not degrade.

I hate to be a downer but call a tile installer for this. I have put in hundreds of pans and floated thousands of feet of mud and its not something you just try for the first time. If you choose to do it yourself go to www.schluter.com. You can watch the installation videos and they will show you the dirrection. You can go to the John Bridge Forums and they will give you great info, however I will warn you it is a Schluter Cult in there. If you want you can send me a PM with your number and I can give you some insight.

I have seen many showerpans installed that will not last for more than a few years.

For some reason I see people put nails thru them to hold them up.

Once you have the showerpan in place, put it under a water static test for 24 hours before tiling....

pay someone to do the "pan" request the Schluder system as it is the "old" way done new but if the pan is not done proper you will have to redo the entire shower and fix all of the things that the leak will damage! It is cheaper to let the pro's do that part then finish it up my $.02