Prefabricated shower cubicles

[Roger Hayter]

I want a prefabricated shower cubicle for use on a floor with bouncy castle-like properties of horizontality,[1] rigidity and flatness. Therefore, unlike many of them, it cannot rely on rigid connections to the walls. Presumably some flexible sort of safety chain would be ok. There isn't even a solid wall I could bracket it to, assuming that were possible.

Other requirements are that it has to be dismantleable so it can be taken upstairs through the gaps between floor joists, and it should have one horizontal dimension of at least 75cm

Has anyone got any suggestions? I have in mind a mains pressure mixer valve from a combi boiler supply, though I suppose I could consider an electric shower. I am not sure a second one on a 60Amp mains supply is ok even with diversity though.

Oh, and it would be nice if it were cheap, not too heavy and waterproof!

[1] I presume I can correct for initial slope so it moves about a horizontal initial position.

[Brian Reay]

They (UK Power) will upgrade a 60 or 80amp supply to 100A FOC, provided your 'tails' are 25mm (or more I assume). The service is very slick- all arranged on line, took about 20min in our case, plus a chat about PME.

[tabbypurr]

In Russia you get an 8A feed on 2 core aluminium.

NT

[Roger Hayter]

Thanks. Good to know. Though I don't know if the smaller leads for the Economy 7 timer will upset them.

[Roger Hayter]

Has no-one got any advice about these things? Even what not to buy would be useful!

[Rob Morley]

This satisfies only some of your requirements

[Roger Hayter]

Thanks. That appears to meet all my technical requirements (assuming it is built in situ) but the price is a bit steep. It's also a bit bigger than I would have liked, but I suppose that adds to stability.

[GB]

Isn't it also extremely ugly? YMMV.

Have you tried googling for shower pods? That seems to produce what you want.

[Roger Hayter]

I like it. One could base a gothic horror film round it.

Yes, but I have three problems. Firstly, are they any good, which is one reason i was asking here? Secondly, do they need to be fixed rigidly to the wall? Thirdly, how narrow is the smallest panel it can be dismantled to? The latter two questions can usually only be answered from the detailed assembly instructions and, often, not even then. I have several times resorted to emailing, and not always got a convincing answer then. I was just hoping for a recommendation.

[Rob Morley]

Could you build a steel cage tying into the floor and ceiling joists to provide support, then just stick in a regular corner enclosure?

[Roger Hayter]

There aren't currently any ceiling joists, although I may rectify this omission. They won't be very strong though, just carried on the rafters near the purlin. And the floor is not strong. I am concerned that a sufficiently rigid cage not to flex by the few millimetres that would cause a leak would be inordinately heavy. Thanks for the idea though. Perhaps a couple of brackets fixed to the floor and preventing shower walls from moving relative to the floor might be feasible. It might not look pretty.

[GB]

You seem to have a problem. Just use a damp sponge. Anything more will be too heavy for the structure of the house. :)

More helpfully, I did come across a fibreglass shower cubicle once in the plumbers merchant. It consisted of 3 or 4 cross sections through the shower cubicle that stacked on top of one another with widely overlapping joints. It was claimed to be leakproof-ish, and I can believe that. I can't remember how the door was done. Perhaps a curtain would be better? I've never seen another one like it, but it sounds just like what you might want.

Try googling sectional fibreglass shower cubicle. That brought up, for example:

If you look at their brochure you'll see that they have fibreglass shower pods that stack in the way I described.

[Roger Hayter]

Many thanks, looks promising!

[Rob Morley]

An all-around curtain is very light and could flex without leaking as long as it stayed inside a deep shower tray. Then you just have to support the plumbing. ISTR seeing somewhere a "telescopic" curtain, a cylinder of fabric supported on hoops that hung on a pulley system.

[Theo]

I was interested to note this solution to the problem of having a funny-shaped room and nowhere for the plumbing to go:

picture 8

Theo

[Roger Hayter]

Thanks both for more ideas.

[Rob Morley]

They've avoided rather than solved the difficulty of installing a fixed shower head in that style. A squirty telephone is better than nothing I suppose ...