Shower, tray, tiles, and all the rest...

[Crofter]

I'm on the final stretch now with this little house. The last room to need significant decisions made is the en suite so I figured I would stick all my questions in the same place on this thread.

 

The room is 1600x2400 and has a basin/wc unit (already in place, although the install is temporary for now). The shower will run along one full wall and have a fixed glass screen and full length tray. Flooring is just going to be vinyl, and I'm planning on a part tiled, part paint finish on the walls. An electric heated towel rail will fit on the wall beside the door- a tight space but I can get a 500mm wide one in, just.

 

So.. first question. When looking at the tray and screen, is it best to get these as a package? If sourced separately, am I running the risk of incompatibility where the screen seals to the tray?

 

[Nickfromwales]

Your tray will usually be delivered with a completely flat upper surface, unless you ask for an 'up-stand' tray, so 'compatibility' isn't a problem. A bit of glass is a bit of glass, so buy the cheapest one you can. 6mm will need a wall brace, but 8mm may allow you to have one stand alone. 10mm would be best so it takes a knock or two, as its a rental. . 

You want a good 1000-1100mm of glass so...Victorian plumbing have this offering. Quite a nice unit with the end pole going up to the ceiling, if you don't mind the glass having a 'frame', or this one for a £100 less and no end frame. 

Reasonable places to start benchmarking the types / costs . Do you not have a local glass supplier you could ask to quote?

[jamiehamy]

We've got a 900mm shower screen from Bathstore we just found out is the wrong size - they mis-measured, that's clear, but we took delivery some time ago - it's https://www.bathstore.com/products/playtime-walkin-shower-side-screen-900.html  - it came with an integrated shower head so might need a support be acquired. 

 

If they won't do a return (we've done a redesign anyway so can't use a full height screen), you'd be welcome to it for a very good price. That would leave a 700mm entrance to the shower - which would hopefully accomodate any well proportioned visitors  We got our trays separately btw. 

 

[Nickfromwales]

 

That one was a 2000mm x 850mm shower area ( mosiac tiled ) and the glass was iirc 1400mm long. Aluminium wall profile can be seen in the second pic, but I always bond the glass straight down to the tiled floor with clear CT1 as bottom channels look rough as toast and harbour water, grot and worse. 

Point being, you don't need anything complicated, but you do need to do a good job of fitting the screen.

Masking tape either side of where the glass will hit the floor / tray, smear a bit of CT1 along the 1000mm long run and rub it in and get some adhesion going, then apply a generous 10-15mm bead of CT1 along the bit you just smeared ready to drop ( lol ) the glass down onto. Two man job tbh, but I have done them on my own when I have had to. Set the glass down gently and let it displace the CT1. Clean off the excess with wet wipes and multisolve spray, the bit you'll love the most  More on that when you get to that stage   

 

[Nickfromwales]

 

Same again ?

[PeterW]

3 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

 

Same again ?

 

Like the recess for the towel rail ..!

[Onoff]

So there's no "lateral" fixing to the bottom of the glass? The glass doesn't butt against say the floor tiles or in a channel between floor tiles and mosaics?

 

And does the glass go from floor to ceiling or is there a gap at the top?

Edited July 30, 2017 by Onoff

[Nickfromwales]

20 minutes ago, PeterW said:

 

Like the recess for the towel rail ..!

 

Works ok if you don't get 'busy' and splash the water everywhere. ? Pipes out of the wall so mopping is easy. 

[Crofter]

One of my concerns was that my towel rail was too close to the shower- but that picture puts my mind at ease

[Nickfromwales]

10 minutes ago, Onoff said:

So there's no "lateral" fixing to the bottom of the glass? The glass doesn't butt against say the floor tiles or in a channel between floor tiles and mosaics?

 

And does the glass go from floor to ceiling or is there a gap at the top?

Gap at the top with a 45o stay bar I think on that one. Nothing on the floor, and certainly no big gap between the tiles. How dare you. ✊

 

 

Nope. ''Twas a straight one

[Nickfromwales]

2 minutes ago, Crofter said:

One of my concerns was that my towel rail was too close to the shower- but that picture puts my mind at ease

Steady on pal, yours is at 230 volts !! 

[Onoff]

I might be looking at floor to ceiling glass "wings" either side of the wet room corner if I find the wc or towels on the rail are getting wet. So CT1 to the floor and leave a gap at the top and fill with CT1?

[Nickfromwales]

7 hours ago, Onoff said:

I might be looking at floor to ceiling glass "wings" either side of the wet room corner if I find the wc or towels on the rail are getting wet. So CT1 to the floor and leave a gap at the top and fill with CT1?

You really don't want the glass going to the ceiling. No way for steam to escape, plus, personally, I think it would look pants. . 

[Onoff]

6 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

You really don't want the glass going to the ceiling. No way for steam to escape, plus, personally, I think it would look pants. . 

 

Fair enough. I'm back on arch topped pockets at the mo anyway. Looks like it's a goer, with mosaics for the soffit! Not sure about lighting it though.

 

I'll get a better idea when I project my tile lines around the room.

[Ferdinand]

IMO you really want a screen with a cross-brace to the wall.

 

It looks as good, and adds a hell of a lot of robustness.

 

Not sure whether the glass in our student houses are 8mm or 10mm, but the shower style is exactly like that with a fixed screen and a brace. No problems 4 years later across 4 bathrooms.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/66008860@N08/

 

Try eBay.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sis.html?_itemId=330747771143&_nkw=1800+x+760+Walk+in+Recess+Shower+40mm+Stone+Tray&_trksid=p2047675.m4099.l9146

 

Mine came from a UK company manufacturer called MX Group, and were under 300 delivered for a tray and screen. Bought via their shop on eBay.

 

Not sure about delivery charges to Remote places :-), but my screens weighed 73kg. Took lots of carrying yo the 2nd floor.

 

F

Edited July 31, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Ian]

8 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

A bit of glass is a bit of glass, so buy the cheapest one you can. 

@Crofter....as long as it is safety glass e.g. toughened or laminated.

[Nickfromwales]

33 minutes ago, Ian said:

@Crofter....as long as it is safety glass e.g. toughened or laminated.

Yes, I worded that poorly . Cheers. 

[Nickfromwales]

3 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

adds a hell of a lot of robustness.

It does tbh, but avoid the small angled ones that go back against the short tiled wall at 45o. They do next to nowt. 

[Crofter]

OK next question...

I had planned for the space to be 1600 exactly, which on hindsight was bloody daft because now that it's actually built, PB'd, and skimmed, it's more like 1590. And there's still tiles to add to that.

Trays come in 1600 or 1500 and nothing inbetween.

I could attempt to shoehorn a 1600 into the space, and certainly by cutting back the PB that should be possible, but it's not going to be easy. My main concern doing this would be that the extra thickness of tiles still to be added, and most suppliers don't tell you how wide the upstand around the edge of the tray is. Secondly, I don't really like the idea of the tray tucking in under the PB in case anything leaks.

So the other option is to go for 1500, and then space out the wall a wee bit at the end to make up the gap. This is going to mean more work- another tiled surface and an exterior corner- but probably is the sensible option, yes? 

[Ian]

2 minutes ago, Crofter said:

So the other option is to go for 1500, and then space out the wall a wee bit at the end to make up the gap. This is going to mean more work- another tiled surface and an exterior corner- but probably is the sensible option, yes? 

@Crofter

yes, probably best to locate the bottom of the wall to suit a 1500 tray but what I'd then do is form a ledge at the end of the shower at a suitable height for shampoo bottles etc and move the line of the wall back in above the ledge position to maximise shoulder room for you getting in & out of the shower past the glass screen

[Crofter]

7 minutes ago, Ian said:

@Crofter

yes, probably best to locate the bottom of the wall to suit a 1500 tray but what I'd then do is form a ledge at the end of the shower at a suitable height for shampoo bottles etc and move the line of the wall back in above the ledge position to maximise shoulder room for you getting in & out of the shower past the glass screen

 

That's quite a neat idea!

The other thing I'm wondering about it whether it would be OK to position the mixer valve in that wall. If I put it where I've drawn it, I need to space out a whole wall. In an ideal world it's probably best where it is, but it would be nice to not have to space out *both* walls...

 

EDIT- like this:

[ProDave]

On 30 July 2017 at 22:33, Nickfromwales said:

 

That one was a 2000mm x 850mm shower area ( mosiac tiled ) and the glass was iirc 1400mm long. Aluminium wall profile can be seen in the second pic, but I always bond the glass straight down to the tiled floor with clear CT1 as bottom channels look rough as toast and harbour water, grot and worse. 

Point being, you don't need anything complicated, but you do need to do a good job of fitting the screen.

Masking tape either side of where the glass will hit the floor / tray, smear a bit of CT1 along the 1000mm long run and rub it in and get some adhesion going, then apply a generous 10-15mm bead of CT1 along the bit you just smeared ready to drop ( lol ) the glass down onto. Two man job tbh, but I have done them on my own when I have had to. Set the glass down gently and let it displace the CT1. Clean off the excess with wet wipes and multisolve spray, the bit you'll love the most  More on that when you get to that stage   

 

We will be wanting a similar look to that. BUT I don't want the glass to touch the floor, and I don't want a channel where it joins the wall. Instead I want the glass to stand a few mm above the floor on two stainless steel feet, and similar stainless steel brackets to fix it to the wall with a very small gap (absolutely no channel or sealant to attract grot allowed)  the only ones I have found seem to have one to many zero's on the end pf the price tag.

[Nickfromwales]

Clear CT1 won't go shitty like stinking silicone does. Not sealing the glass to the wall is going to bite you on the arse, I promise you. Splashing water will go through and also be attracted by the brackets....grot will be the least of your problems. . 

The wall channels harbour zero grot so where's your thinking coming from regarding that?

For eg, the current bathroom job I'm on is pergamon off white tiles with jasmine grout. House is £1.2M worth and they'll not be accepting grot either.

CT1 is the dogs bollocks and with light regular cleaning stays almost like new, unlike silicone. It also doesn't flake, tear and rub away like silicone does. 

[ProDave]

It's SWMBO who has decreed "No sealant, no channels"  EVERY shower door, screen etc we have ever had that has had some form of channel that the glass fits into usually with a rubber bead strip of some form, ends up going mouldy unless you keep spraying it with bleach.

 

It's a wet room we are having, so  I don't see an issue if there is a few mm gap between the glass and the wall and the glass and the floor with just a few stainless feet and brackets to hold the glass.

[Nickfromwales]

3 hours ago, ProDave said:

It's a wet room we are having, so  I don't see an issue if there is a few mm gap between the glass and the wall and the glass and the floor with just a few stainless feet and brackets to hold the glass.

Not a problem if the slope in the floor extends beyond the defined shower area that the glass covers. That's when you need a "true wetroom" where you can pour a bucket of water in the middle of the room and nothing gets to the doorway.