Thank you for your feedback. DreamLine does recommend that our products be installed by professionals. The shower base is, in fact, installed to the studs and with a bed of mortar underneath it as outlined in the installation manual. Next, your backer board is then installed to the studs and to the top of the flange around the shower base. The Acrylic Walls are then adhered to the backer board with adhesive. This is all outlined in the manuals in great detail. DreamLine does place our Customer Support Team contact information on the front of every manual, should the installer have questions about the installation. We are available by phone, email, and LiveChat to handle any and all installation issues that may arise. We are hopeful that you took advantage of this during your installation process. We thank you for choosing DreamLine and for your feedback.