February 14, 20197 yr So, for our upstairs master bath, I would like a semi-wetroom, i.e. tiled showering area with small glass screen not sealed to the floor. We have an awkwardly sized showering space now due to having to build out the wall to accommodate various gubbins. Large, highflow shower. Not much money left. Linear drain, no diagonal cuts in 600x400 tiles, so the former needs to have 2 falls, not the standard 4. The only option I can find for a former is an impey linear 2, which is £600 just for the tray! Noooooo. So, my husband has come up with this plan. The architect says it's good. The joiner and steel fabricator think he's mad. The plumber is remaining noncommittal. He is 100% convinced that he has created a work of genius. The substrate is posi joists, overboarded with OSB. Was planning on marmox boards for walls (and floor?). Tiles are 15mm jura limestone. Plans below. Judge away!
February 14, 20197 yr I like it. As an engineer I design things everyday and coming up with new or unique solutions is what I enjoy best. The joiner and fabricator are just typical unimaginative "no" people who lack the ability to come up with new ideas and just follow blindly. Notice the person who likes it is the one who designs and creates new things for a living. The fabricator just need to be given a spec and told to build it, I really wouldn't care what anyone thought of it, the plumber probably secretly loves it because it should be an easy enough thing to connect up and shouldn't leak. Just check the dims with your plumber for the waste pipe stub - I would probably use SS pipe TIG welded to the tray that will push-fit or compression fit onto a standard waste connection - I am sure this has been thought of but get the plumber to help with that aspect to get what he would like to see - they you get him on board with it. Alternatively have them simply core the SS tray and then fit a standard type waste - I would ask them to punch a waste type "dimple" into the steel so it was the lowest point too. People will comment that you could just tank the floor and build it up with off the shelf materials, however, I think the saving on install time and the sure fire water tightness will help balance this out. Give your husband a pat on the back and compliment him on his creative thinking - this is exactly the sort of thing I would come up with. Got for it.
February 14, 20197 yr I think it's a good idea, too. My only concern would be how to ensure that the stainless tray is very well supported over the whole of the load-bearing area. It's quite probable that the stainless sheet will end up with some slight ripples in, as a consequence of welding the seams, and I think it will be important to ensure that whatever is underneath it is able to both bond the tray down well and take up any very slight unevenness. I doubt that there would be a problem in tiling over the tray, as long as it's very well supported so that it can't move. Not sure how best to bed the tray to the underlying floor, perhaps bed it on tile adhesive?
February 14, 20197 yr It genius for this country but years behind the rest of the world you can buy them in oz pre made to set sizes and custom you fit them first and then board down over it you can also screed in it to create falls. They make them in fibreglass in oz to in oz when you build a new house there are a couple of things you are not allowed to diy, one of them is bathroom waterproofing has to be done by a licensed installation team. It’s normally a fibre reinforced liquid applied to the whole room perimeter.
February 14, 20197 yr as non of this stainless steel unit is showing ,don't see the point in using it my vote would be construct frame from anything you like that's solid and GRP minimum 3 layers ,then tile or what ever -job done and alot cheaper and any shape you like and half way up the walls if you like
February 14, 20197 yr Needs TIG'ing for sure. Not sure how whatever mortar will adhere to the st/st. How about have the st/st exposed and making from chequerplate? Would need to be 316 and the welds acid cleaned. Pathology table anyone?
February 14, 20197 yr 12 minutes ago, Onoff said: Needs TIG'ing for sure. Not sure how whatever mortar will adhere to the st/st. How about have the st/st exposed and making from chequerplate? Would need to be 316 and the welds acid cleaned. Pathology table anyone? I don,t think you know how much that would cost .LOL
February 14, 20197 yr 2 hours ago, JSHarris said: how to ensure that the stainless tray is very well supported over the whole of the load-bearing area. It's quite probable that the stainless sheet will end up with some slight ripples in, as a consequence of welding the seams, and I think it will be important to ensure that whatever is underneath it is able to both bond the tray down well and take up any very slight unevenness Big thick layer of neoprene?? I know it's not a building material as such, but it (was) often used in power-lifting straps as a cushioning/weight distribution material - same for weight gloves. I had a chunk of it sewn under the base seat material of an Elise some years back and it worked there fine.
February 14, 20197 yr also - i don't see a real problem with it but would love to see it exposed. Is it sort of best to think of it a bit like a ktichen sink - at least in terms of sealing it?
February 14, 20197 yr it could look like a urinal as the delorean did - and how slippy +cold would it be? non starter for me - on lots of grounds ,first one being cost of materials all doable if you wanted too
February 14, 20197 yr 40 minutes ago, scottishjohn said: I don,t think you know how much that would cost .LOL Having worked with a fabricator who's TIG work is sh!t hot for over 30 years I think I might! Mate's rates etc... Chequer plate might actually aid in masking any distortion. I'd fold on the 4 sides and only weld there. I'd bed it down on 5 Star grout maybe.
February 14, 20197 yr At guess I'd say that a TIG welded stainless tray probably wouldn't cost more than a decent shower tray. Not a lot of work in folding and welding one up, and the plate cost would be somewhere around £200/m² at a guess, less if you have a local metal factor who takes cash for small quantities...
February 14, 20197 yr You could join and find someone local on the MIG welding forum: https://www.mig-welding.co.uk This is the site of one of the mods there: http://www.paul-holland.com/work.html
February 14, 20197 yr Can you repurpose something like an ss worktop.? https://www.uktoolbox.com/products/sealey-tools-stainless-steel-worktop-1360mm.html F
February 14, 20197 yr Author So, an update - we know a very good fabricator who will work for cakes and a reasonable amount of money. The stainless will not be seen in the final finish - only tiles. Although our architect has his exposed and they look great. We’re thinking to line the bottom with mesh to provide a key for tiling adhesive. I have forwarded this thread to husband for him to bask in glory.
February 14, 20197 yr I’ll go against the grain and say it’s a bad idea ... Stainless here would need to be quite thick, and you would need a serious mesh to get good adhesion (purely mechanical) to the the steel. Materials would be more than a former, and given you want to also tile it there is no real benefit over mild with 2 coats of red oxide. You could manufacture the same in fibreglass for £80-100 at most and do it in situ.
February 14, 20197 yr Stainless costs a small fortune that's before its worked on, unless you are a fabricator or have a very good friend who would do it for the love then not really a starter imho, (I am a fabricator BTW ?) fiberglass can be fun to work with.
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