Right shower!

[T i m]

So,

I took Mum into Homebase today (there's some stuff on sale and 10% off everthing else) and I think she's settled on a rectanglar shower cubicle with sliding door. Now this comes with a 'plastic' (acrylic?) base as std, or a stone one for more money.

1) Are these acrylic ones ok? 2) What would be the advantage of 'stone'?

The shower base is one of the low ones so I assume the waste will be under the floorboards. Knowing my luck, the waste will have to go 'across' the joists, but what does one do if the trap ends up 'on' a joist?

They have a range of thermostatic shower mixers, some with really modern controls. others more traditional. With the discounts we are talking about £250. Looking on Screwfix something similar is a similar price (plus I can get it easily from Homebase and take it back if there's something wrong etc). I assume they would use someone elses units .. anyone know what make they might be please (for future spares).?

They also do a double ended pump (didn't note the make or spec) for about £130, but should I spend a bit more and go for the Stuart Turner (as we might ebay the pump later if she goes for a Combi boiler thing)?

Pre-empting the instructions .. do I fit the shower tray and tile down to it or tile the wall first?

The ceiling is lathe and plaster and has quite a few crack / holes etc. *My* intention is to pull it all down and fit plasterboard instead .. I don't like the idea of fitting stuff over the top of existing? (Ignoring time here as I'm doing it (or as much of it as I can) to help my Mum).

Will it be 'ok' to run the shower into the drain that the bath has been using (for the last 60 years .. I'm thinking regs here). Talking of regs .. do I need to tell anyone about this refit (I'm not trying to avoid doing so . straight question) ;-)

The shower is going to go up against one wall and what is currently the airing cupboard. We thought about extending (deeper) the cupboard (the same depth as the shower cubicle) and I though I remember there was a sheet material ideal for these wet areas? What is it called and where would I get it from please?

Last (possibly stupid) question .. does one have a skirting board in a bathroom these days? Mum want's it tiled top to toe if that makes any difference?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. In spite of her tumble in the carpark yesterday my 74 yr old Mum asked me if she could borrow my hammer and bolster and start getting the tiles off the wall! They don't make em like that any more .. ;-)

[John Rumm]

If you are thinking of the possibility of using a stool in the shower (as per your previous post) then I would discount all thoughts of anything other than a stone tray since you are likely to get hole through a acrylic/fibreglass one.

The resin caped stone trays are not that expensive. I got a 800mm square one from B&Q for under 60 quid.

Position it so it does not!

You may find it simpler to build a small plinth for the shower to sit on. The stone trays are quite low profile, so even sat on a 4" plinth they whole base will be no lower than many fibreglass trays.

Sorry no, not looked at them. FYI I fitted a thermostatic bar mixer that I bought in Makro for 45 quid. Seems to work very well. Screwfix do something similar.

The STs certainly have a good reputation, especially regarding noise.

Fit it and then tile down to it. That way you ensure that the run off from the tiles is already over the tray. On my one fitted the tray first, rendered down to it, and then tiled over the render just to be absolutely sure!

Can't see anything wrong with putting the PB over the existing ceiling so long as it is screwed to the joists and not the lath. Taking down a lath and plaster ceiling is a seriously unpleasent and messy job!

As long as it is 38mm diameter or better you should be fine. I am not aware of any notification requirements for fitting a shower.

Aquapanel? Builders merchant probably.

You can also DIY with a sheet of WBP ply, staple expanded metal lath over it, then render with a mortar mix containing some water proofer. Tile straight onto that.

Down to personal preference I guess. Our existing bathroom (came with the house) is tiled floor to ceiling. No skirting, but has coving. The one I just built however has skirting.

Giver her a SDS and stand well back! ;-)

[BigWallop]

If this shower is for your elderly parents to use, then why not go for a wet floor system. A wet floor is just a very shallow non-slip glass fibre tray that sits directly on the surface of the floor. The floor around the tray is built up slightly to match the narrow edge of the tray so you only need to walk straight on to the showering part of the floor.

Any kind of screen can be built around the wet floor area to stop splashes getting all over the place.

[quisquiliae]

Aquapanel -- like plasterboard but cement based -- made by Knauf

-- useless flash plugin required site), can be found in Wickes etc

Or Wedi board

DJC

[T i m]

Ah, good point (and they did suggest the use of a seat or stool). At some of the Campsites we use they have a small plastic stool (with soft wide feet) in the shower cubicles and they have acrylic shower trays (or they looked like it to me?)

Could still be worth a look then .. (if not that much more expensive).

Well, I'm not sure how I can? If It goes back against a wall and the joists happen to run longwise under the plughole, there's nowhere I can go?

They are discarding the bath because of the 'difficulty' for my Dad to step into a bath. I can't see a plyinth being a problem but in this case I think the lower the better?

I did spot that .. so that plus a riser bar (~£40) and the shower flex and head?

Ok, that would be big plus for me but as they are both getting deaf now ... ;-)

Got it .. make sure it's well tucked under etc ;-)

True but it just feels wrong to put plasterboard over over the existing .. ;-(

If it isn't it can be ;-)

I am not

Ok, thanks ..

Cheers .. at least I can start with a sensible question .. rather than "do you stock any of that waterproof shower wood backing sheet type stuff please"

That was what I was thinking I'd have to do till I remembers this 'special stuff' ;-)

Ok . well I'll have to give her the choice then ;-)

I know she would!

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Thanks for that ... it sounds like a good idea but their bathroom isn't that big .. if they want the storage etc .. ;-(

I noticed someting similar (but smaller) in some of the displays .. sort of a baffle you walk past so you don't need a door or curtain. Would look great in the right space ...

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Cool, we got one of them ;-)

Spoilt for choice ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[John Rumm]

If the stool had wide soft feet you may be ok as long as the fibreglass tray has a decent thickness of ply bonded to the underside to give it support.

Well you could have a look at the joist layout before you buy the tray. Some have a waste outlet in a corner, some the middle of one side. Beteeen the different designs and also rotating the tray to position the waste for best fit, you should be able to get away with it.

(that should have said "no higher" ;-)

As you say, lower is probably better. If you did need to use a plinth then you could mitigate the issue by making the plinth twice the width of the tray such that there is a staged area in front (or beside) of the shower. That way the step into the shower is no higher than the tray itself (although there is a step onto the stage - it gives you two bites at the total ascent).

The tray I got was 10cm tall in total IIRC. I put it on a plinth to ease the drainage since the joists ran the wrong way to make running the waste under the floor.

If the step is a real issue then perhaps you would be better looking at a wetroom type setup where you build a waterproof floor section.

Either way, designing in hand rails as you go would probably help.

For the screwfix one that sounds about right. The one I got was actually

45+VAT all in, including the head and riser etc.

And lashings of silicone at each stage of assembly ;-)

[Nick Atty]

In my experience (having taken the family round all the shops, then going back to get the one SWBMO liked) Homebase will have a big pile of cards all saying "available from stock" but when you've queued up for half an hour behind people taking things back they'll tell you that they don't have any, they can be ordered, and it won't take more than a few weeks. They may well then tell you about another HB that the computer says have some in stock. You can then repeat the queueing and offer to order process.

That was Sunday morning. Sunday PM was web search for same model, and delivery from TLC was Tueday. And it was more than 10% cheaper.

[T i m]

Hmm, we had a different experience with them ... We had a quick look round and was gently approached by a nice sales 'girl' asking if we needed any assistance. Mum had a few questions re models and prices and they were all answered with honesty and a smile. We were told up front that these things would all need to be ordered, would take around 6 weeks and she printed out a list of items we had discussed so they could be formally added to an order when we were ready.

She showed us where then stayed with us while we looked at tiles etc and even got an assistant to get a trolly and stick 25 packs of tiles in it for us!

They may well then tell you about another HB that the computer

Well, we have a bit to do before we start fitting any bits back in but you may be right re the ordering and delays etc .. nothing like collecting it there and then .. ;-)

Well, that's where I'm at with the extra bits like shower mixer and pump etc. I think I might wait and see how the bathroom (building) modifications pan out before I go any further with the other bits ..

All the best ..

T i m