Three sided shower cubicles

I'm looking at redoing my bathroom, removing the bath[1] and fitting a decent-sized shower cubicle, and due to the position of the windows and a large conduit (about 8in square, I think) containing central heating pipes the only place it can logically go is in the "middle" of a wall, against the conduit. It can't go where the shower head on the bath currently is because it would block the window. (Indeed, one reason for the plan is so the shower isn't spraying down onto the windowsill, because this causes water to collect on there, causing mould and other problems e.g. leaks).

However, I've found that practically nowhere seems to sell three-sided cubicles, except the *very* premium end of the market.

Does anyone know a place where 3-sided cubicles can be obtained for a reasonable price, or if not have any other suggestions as to how I can achieve a similar effect? I don't just want to put up a plasterboard wall or similar because it would block the light from the window. I have considered having half the window bricked up, but I like the light I get from an almost-full-width window in what is quite a small bathroom. The only other corner that would be available has the toilet in it, and moving a toilet is not necessarily an easy venture, as I understand it.

[1] Several people have said to me that'll reduce the value, but as I don't intend to move for the foreseeable future, and I never have baths, only showers, I can always put a bath back if it helps sale later.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams
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Is the conduit in the corner of the room? If so, I'd be tempted to turn that into a narrow deep cupboard for storage and then install a two sided enclosure up against that. A picture of the existing floor plan would be a big help.

Tim

Reply to
Tim

I've been thinking about the same thing for at least 5 years but everything I've seen looks tatty and costs a bomb. The pre-assembled free standing cubicles would be ideal for me but I hear they have no rigidity. I've even thought of building my own with those glass blocks (very 80s I guess) but finishing the front edges and making it look like a shower enclosure doesn't seem easy.

Reply to
stuart noble

Yes. The trouble with doing that is that it would block half the window, which I'm trying to avoid.

The floor plan is a bit like this (use fixed pitch font):-

-=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D-- [BBBBB]C S / T

where B=3Dbath, S=3Dsink, T=3Dtoilet and / is the door. The window is show= n as =3Ds on the outside wall. There's more wall on the conduit side.

I envisage it becoming something like this:-

-=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D-- S C sss / T

where s is the shower. The conduit takes up less than half the width of the bath (which is itself a fairly standard size) so the shower would be further across towards that than the ASCII plan shows and would leave a bit more space next to the bog than the diagram implies. I haven't measured things up properly yet so I don't know exactly what size enclosure would be involved, but there seem to be plenty of options.

As I mentioned, I've considered having the window made smaller - I just quite like the amount of light the large window lets in.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

It's surprising that so little seems to be available given that it's a fairly common feature of 1970s build houses (this is a fairly standard

1970 3-bed terraced Barratt box of the kind that tended to have road access to the rear rather than the front) to have very wide windows, leaving little brickwork either side. I generally like this feature as it makes it far lighter inside than the 1990s flat I lived in previously, and indeed it was one of the reasons I chose this house when I bought it last December. But it's a bit of a nuisance in this aspect alone.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

Depending on your budget, you can get modular panels that fit together in any shape you want from makers like Aqualux, what you seem to want want will cost between £500 and £1000 plus fitting depending on size. Or build a frame round a decent sized shower tray from metal sections and have a word with your local glass supplier about cutting some laminated glass or plastic glazing material to size.

Reply to
John Williamson

Replacing bath with shower only certainly reduces selling price and would dissuade some purchasers ... happened to my parents.

It is strange that 3 sided showers and baths are the norm in US .... as they simply drop in place and don't leak. They are a bit tatty, basic smooth thin plastic.

The UK ones do tend to be premium products.

An alternative would be make a 3 sided cubicle that 'sits' on an upstand tray .... if you use Respatex, then you have a very strong panel ... and waterproof. They do specific shower sized panels ... OK for standard tray ... but as I wanted bigger oblong and corner trays in my build I used the standard panels.

No tiles, no grout to fail ...

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also do all the trims, and you screw your shower door direct to it.

If you have a corner of a room you are using ... then you would simply screw through the t&g overlap of panel into vertical stud, and slide in next panel. If you have brick wall .. then probably easier to put a batten up vertically then fix to that.

Reply to
Rick Hughes

Just looked there are details sheets on how to build a showers on:

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Reply to
Rick Hughes

That sounds worth investigating, thanks. Surprised B&Q etc don't seem to do such stuff.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

This is true, but I don't intend to move any time soon, so I'd rather have a bathroom the way I want it and take that risk, and if necessary rejig it again before selling. I suppose no bath is likely to dissuade families, but might well act as an encouragement for those who don't have or intend to have children (I'd have been swayed to some extent had a house I looked at had a power shower in a good sized cubicle instead of a bath, but none actually did).

Valid point, though.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

The last shower I did was with some panels, Formica (or a copy) with 10 mm of rigid foam on the back. Plastic strips to make the joints, front ones fitted into strips mounted on the wall behind the boards. They were 8x4 so I need three to make a shower. They were in packs of two from wickes and were reduced to £75 a pack. They were glued to the wall using silicone, the edging strips were screwed. Worked really well with the 4x3.5 shower tray.

Reply to
dennis

Don't know if it counts as reasonable, but there's a D-shaped Cooke & Lewis enclosure for £699 at B&Q. We got something similar last year but waited until it appeared in the regular half-price offers.

Ken.

Reply to
Ken

There was an article a couple of weeks ago in the Saturday Guardian Money about switching bath for wetroom with readers comments/feedback. Article at:

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connection with Guardian, other than as - ahem - a reader)

Reply to
Allan

That might be worth a look, particularly if it'll be half-priced at some point. I can always buy when cheap and put in the loft/shed until ready to do the work.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

It's an interesting one. I'm not a fan of wetrooms, but it's the same principle I suppose.

One thing I found interesting was that one of the houses I looked at while buying was being refurbished - and they went for a traditional style standalone bath instead of a regular panelled plastic one. This is not only not a proper shower, but completely unsuitable for fitting one unless you put in an all-round shower curtain and like it sticking to you (ugh).

So is the demand *really* that much in favour of baths? I know you need one if bringing up young children, but I find a good shower[1] so much more pleasant and so much quicker so you can have one in the morning before work every day.

I suppose I'm biased on one thing - being 6' 4" I don't fit a bath very well, so if I did want one for me it'd have to be a long one.

[1] Not a crappy cheapo electric one. I have a combi boiler which gives excellent flow for the shower - but if I didn't a pump would have been well up the list.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

Okay, hadn't realised it was by the window.

At a guess I'd say that the conduit probably contains the soil stack (is there a vent pipe showing about the roof or anything visible in the loft?).

If that's the case, would moving the toilet across to where the sink is let you fit the shower in the corner vacated by the sink?

Tim

Reply to
Tim Downie

Illness can catapult people from being happily shower-only to bath-is-vital in no time at all.

I would never accept a shower-only house having experienced just that - a partner who became unable to shower. Thank goodness we have a bath.

Reply to
polygonum

I will have a look.

That might well be an option if it's an easy-ish job.

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

For me personally that isn't much of a concern, mainly because I live on my own, so if I became dependent to the point where I couldn't stand in the shower (or I suppose shower seated on a plastic stool) I'd have to move in with someone else either temporarily or permanently, probably my parents.

And as noted I can always change it back when I want to sell. That might be a motivation to stick with *roughly* the same layout rather than moving the bog, so a cheap bath could be fitted at low cost.

But to look at it differently, why compromise my enjoyment of the house now for something that *might* happen? (OK, I probably will move at some point, but not in the near future unless forced to due to financial circumstances).

Neil

Reply to
Neil Williams

If it is only to vent the stack, that pipe could be reduced to something like 3 inch diameter.

Or, with suitable attention to air admittance, remove it entirely.

Reply to
polygonum

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