Shower Enclosure

[Phil1975]

Anybody got any experience with shower enclosures?
I need to rip ours out & fit a 900 x 1200 quadrant enclosure, but there seems to be a massive variation in price, anywhere from £150 to £2000!
I'm sure there's a law of diminishing returns thing going on here, so I'm keen to hear your thoughts on what's good & what's not so good.

 

[fezman]

also interested in this as I have something like this planned in the near future

 

[Marineboy]

Got my tray, enclosure and fittings from Victoria Plum a couple of years back. Reasonable price, good quality and swift delivery.

 

[MikeG.]

Don't buy at either end of the price range. But you don't need to go much above the lower end to get a good product.

I'll heartily recommend JT Fusion shower trays, which are the very highest quality and yet well priced. I specify them for almost every bathroom I do these days, and the clients seldom change from that after shopping around. Be really careful with the enclosure, because the choice of one or two doors can make quite a difference. Be really, really, really careful if you have any reduced headroom over any of the shower, as that can be a nightmare with a quadrant shower.

 

[Just4Fun]

I fitted one (800x1200) in my mother's house a couple of months ago. I sourced the tray and the enclosure from 2 different suppliers on Amazon. I think those components combined were about £350 and I was quite happy with the quality. The fitting instructions were not the best and needed a lot of study to really understand how it all went together.

It was good that the tray came with a waste fitting; it seems not all do.

One thing to look out for is the door/opening size. I wanted a wide opening so my mother could if necessary get into the shower with a zimmer frame. Despite the 1200mm width a lot of enclosures had surprisingly narrow doors. Have to read the specs carefully and as MikeG says the choice of 1 or 2 doors is important.

I fitted a solid tray set on concrete. I think that was a good choice - better than the plinth arrangement I have in my house - but it complicates the installation and maintenance access would be an issue.

 

[worn thumbs]

I cant add to the discussion but as we have some knowledgeable people looking I would like some advice.When the worst of the cold weather is behind us I am planning a shower in the corner of my bathroom.The challenge is that the only location has a sloping ceiling along the back wall and I will need a side panel that is reasonably close to the shape.Can I buy the extrusion that holds glass in place and get a tame fabricator to make a frame?If I have a frame,can I get a glazier to cut glass to fit and then get it heat treated?Any recommendations welcomed.

 

[Homers double]

I fitted this shower enclosure this week, it was all bespoke made in 10mm toughened glass with mitred corners which added a massive hike in the price, you don’t need to have a frame made, you can buy chrome channel and fittings and make your own, any glass supplier should be able to glass cut to size and shape and get it toughened. I made a Mdf profile for the glazier to follow where the the ceiling slopes up to the raised tie.
I made a error cutting the channel and none spare so after Christmas I have to replace the short piece.
Sorry I can’t get the picture orientated correctly , if you click on it it’s the right way up

 

[Eric The Viking]

This has to be quick - I am trying to re-seal one of our shower enclosures right now (we live in a hard water area and it does horrid damage).

#1. We have a Kaldewei low-profile steel tray in the guest bathroom. It's brilliant. Not cheap, but very easy to clean and looks great.

#2. In my very limited experience, you might not need the screen right at the top where the ceiling slopes, so could get away with rectangular glass. Worth checking, as it will save a lot of fuss if it's possible. Bitter experience says avoid plastics as much as possible.

#3. Try to get extraction right over the cubicle or close to it. It keeps mould growth etc. to a minimum.

#4. The reason for my present pre-Christmas panic is the aluminium screwed-together nature of the shower screen, and the "seals (laughable term) round the glass itself. I think "naked" glass panels are far easier to maintain and not as easily damaged. The offending screen will be changed next summer for something a bit more sensible (I fervently hope!).

Meanwhile back at the silicone gun... ( <sigh>).

S.

 

[Bm101]

No one's mentioned the 'self cleaning glass' . Just installed two showers and copped out as tbh I was starting to have panic attacks about finances and now the dust has settled (quite literally) I wish I hadn't. Really wished I hadn't.
Paid relatively more for the fittings than the enclosures and I still think that's not a bad plan.
Bath store did one shower on black friday super sale prices. It's quality. The fittings are mustard. I would never pay their normal prices. Ever. But the products are lovely. Fitting them you can see they are well produced.
Bought the other from Victorian Pluming. Fine, no issues. Not quite as nice. Not quite as expensive even in the sales. Eveything a bit lighter, not quite so good but still fine really. Priorities.

There is a product (or two) you can buy that claims to be a hard water repellent or shield. I've seen similar for windscreens (no good with wipers!) Any one used one on a shower?
Here's an example.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HG-shower-shie ... B000IU3W84

Cheers
Chris

 

[Steve Maskery]

#1. We have a Kaldewei low-profile steel tray in the guest bathroom.

You are soooooooo posh.
S

 

[RogerS]

No one's mentioned the 'self cleaning glass' .....
There is a product (or two) you can buy that claims to be a hard water repellent or shield. I've seen similar for windscreens (no good with wipers!) Any one used one on a shower?
....
Cheers
Chris

Yes. Came with our Matki shower already coated.

Does it work ?

No.

Snake oil. And our water isn't that hard either.

 

[Bm101]

Thanks Roger. Will do some rummaging.

 

[MikeG.]

My understanding of self-cleaning glass is that it needs (according to the manufacturer) direct sunlight to work. I installed some on a conservatory roof, south facing, and can't say I noticed it being any cleaner than ordinary glass. Save your pennies.

 

[Eric The Viking]

We have it in an otherwise-inaccessible large window on the stairs (the Pilkington version). It works brilliantly.

That said, Mike is right - the chemistry requires strong sunlight to work, so i'm surprised it's being used in shower cubicles - is it possible that a different technology is being used?

E.

PS: The Wikipedia entry is here.

 

[Steve Maskery]

FWIW, my self-cleaning shower cubicle doesn't work either.
S

 

[RogerS]

Been re-reading this and think that there might be two types of finish applied by the manufacturers - self-cleaning a la Pilkington and a coating on shower cubicles that is supposed to make the water form globules and run more easily off the glass and not have a build-up of limescale.

But then the coating could be the same for both!

Ours is the latter, worked for a few weeks and now doesn't.

 

[profchris]

I have only one tip, given to me by my brother in law at the weekend.

Don't seal down the tray when the cat is lurking in the floor space.

Twice!

 

[Bm101]

Been re-reading this and think that there might be two types of finish applied by the manufacturers - self-cleaning a la Pilkington and a coating on shower cubicles that is supposed to make the water form globules and run more easily off the glass and not have a build-up of limescale.

But then the coating could be the same for both!

Ours is the latter, worked for a few weeks and now doesn't.

I think that's it Roger. I'm not sure it's 'self cleaning' in the same way as external glass for windows (is supposed to be). As a commercial and industrial window cleaner who's worked on a vast variety of buildings I'm not sure that works either tbh.
It's advertised and sold as shower glass that needs less maintenance.
The stuff I was on about you apply yourself and is often clearly labelled as a temporary measure. (Might be a year but it's not sold as permanent.)

I was given some rain-X once but never got round to applying it to the van because some reviews suggested that while it worked well on motorways at speed. But in the rain at slower speeds you needed wipers and the cumulative effect of applying it and using wipers was worse vision in normal conditions than just using wipers. I know I've drifted off showers but still on the same page.

Quick google found this Nano4.
Video looks promising at least.
[youtube]gBl8lfoPlr4[/youtube]

I'll have a look around to see if I can find a UK supplier.

 

[RogerS]

Oh God - Rain-X...don;t remind me. Awful stuff. I tried it..smeary windscreen for ever.

 

[Phil1975]

Loads of good advice so far. Thanks for all the replies.
Looks Like JT Fusion shower trays are the way ahead. Has anybody got any specific advice regarding what makes of enclosure are a good choice (I'm after a 900 x 1200 LH offset quadrant)? I'm happy to pay for something that's going to be trouble free & last a while - but only if I have to, if the middle of the range stuff is just as good then that's where my money will go There is so much choice & such a range of prices I'm struggling to know where to start!