Shower tray - which one?

[JoeJoe]

I am after a 1000x900 rectangle shower tray at a sensible price.

As the dimensions are less common, the choice is somewhat restricted. There are quite a few "acrylic capped stone resin" ones available (acrylic surface, reinforced with resin/stone from below I assume?), but hardly any all-resin/stone ones.

Of the very few later ones that are available, I am struggling to find one with the waste at the desired position and the correct depth for the tray (they all seem to be very shallow/low-profile nowadays, and there are too many people with long hair in this house, so a flood looks inevitable...).

What does the panel think? Are the acrylic ones as bad as people make them up to be, or is it just pure snobbery that makes people avoid them?

The 2 x resin ones that we have (one about to be replaced) have been impossible to keep clean after a while - the grime seemed to have embedded itself in the surface over the years, regarding of what cleaning product we have tried). On the other hand, the acrylic one that we have still looks as good as new.

[Martin Brown]

I reckon that apart from the tricky part of installing them once installed on a bed of mortar there is little to choose between them. Don't underestimate how hard it is to handle a big one in a tight space!

I have been impressed by how well the low profile trays behave when used with a high flow rate drain there doesn't seem to be a problem. YMMV

[JoeJoe]

You'll be amazed with what my lot are capable of... (My current waste is high flow)

[Huge]

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We have a 1400x900 low profile Mira tray, fed by a twin head Mira digital shower and it copes fine.

[JoeJoe]

We already have a high flow rate waste, but I suspect that the the problem we have is caused by:

- 3 long haired users who don't tend to remove hairs from the waste during and/or after showering, and can easily find themselves in 5-8cm of water (don't ask...)

- a long run for the 40mm waste pipe to the stack: around 3m with several bends

- Tray raised by 90mm off the ground, with waste pip running horizontally on top of floorboards behind cabinets to the stack.

[Huge]

Blimey, our tray only has about 1cm of "lip".

We have both of these, though. Sounds like haircuts and/or stern talkings to all round ... :o)

[JoeJoe]

They are the ones who will choose my nursing home...

[Iggy]

replying to JoeJoe, Iggy wrote: Nope, the acrylic's are fine and will give you decades of life. However and regardless of what the manufacturer or anybody else says, they need to be set into fresh cement (best) or under-filled with spray foam (mega-fatties can ruin) for a very solid and will never crack or leak shower.

[Huge]

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*grin*

[JoeJoe]

That's what I did with the old tray. The one I am planning to buy is this one (raised on feet):

4 feet screwed to the floor, plenty of silicon to the all and to a very solid 8mm enclosure. Hopefully should be solid enough.

[Iggy]

replying to JoeJoe, Iggy wrote: Looks like a great choice! No frame to sit on and no floor waffle nonsense, just nice and flat right to the floor. The only thing I might do to guarantee longevity, would be to fill the entry threshold with spray foam, concrete or timber. Plastic's good for a few decades, but does weaken as it ages and that's not good for someone that steps on the threshold with each use.

[Martin Brown]

+1

And with the SBR additive for good measure - you don't want it crumbling away to dust.

Just had some amusement with the guest bathroom. Noticed a bit of flex in the corner acrylic bath base so took the side off and discovered the baseboard had split in two between its supports and was hanging down. Probably a side effect of it mostly being used as a shower.

Lucky we haven't had any particularly heavy visitors or they could have gone straight through the unsupported acrylic base!

It is surprisingly difficult to replace the old fibreboard - they use a really nasty grade of glue and sawdust board with no redeeming features. Its replacement will be 16mm plywood when I get a roundtuit.

[Iggy]

replying to Martin Brown, Iggy wrote: Good add with the SBR Additive. Yeah, it's amazing what you find in bath-rooms. Anymore now, I only use Cement Board (Aquadry Backer Board at B&Q) and even caulk (silicone) its perimeter to hold water and keep any plywood or planking subfloor or structural members eternally dry. So much better and no problems ever with sink or toilet overflows nor shower leaks and over-sprays.