Shower enclosure & tray buying guide
Whether it’s a compact shower cubicle for a small en-suite bathroom, a modern and spacious shower for a large family bathroom or a walk-in shower for a wet room, we’ll help you plan your shower enclosure so you can be sure you're choosing the right one for your bathroom.
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Where will the shower enclosure go?
When planning your shower enclosure, you’ll first need to decide where it's going to go in your bathroom. When deciding where to put it, consider the space needed for the door opening and any other features you want to add, such as towel rails.
One wall
If you have a large space then you may want to make a feature of the shower by placing it in the centre of one wall. This means you’d need two side panels and a door panel for the front.
Two walls
The conventional and more common approach is to fit the shower in the corner of the room, against two walls. This is most suitable for small to medium-sized bathrooms. For this you’d need one side panel and a door panel.
Three walls
You'd just need a door panel for the front.
How much space is available for the shower enclosure?
Now you’ve decided where the shower is going, the next thing to consider is how much space you have. How big do you want the shower to be? Use a tape measure to work out the dimensions, which you’ll need when shopping for the enclosure. Make sure you leave enough space to use other fixtures in your bathroom such as the basin and toilet. If you want to see how things might look, use masking tape to mark the outline of your new shower on your bathroom floor.
Shower enclosure shapes
There are a number of different shape options when choosing a shower enclosure and tray. The most appropriate will depend on the size and layout of the space you have available.
Square shower enclosures
Square shower enclosures take up a small amount of space so are suitable for most bathrooms. A square enclosure offers you a wide choice of options, as many of our ranges include a variety of door styles and glass finishes.
Square enclosures maximise the space in the corner of a room, whilst still giving you plenty of room to position other essential bathroom fixtures.
Rectangular shower enclosures
Rectangular enclosures are ideal for anyone who wants to bring a more luxurious shower experience to their bathroom. These enclosures are placed against two walls and offer more space than a square enclosure.
As many of us move away from having a bath in our bathrooms, the larger, rectangular shower enclosure has increased in popularity as more space can be dedicated to a shower. These enclosures are ideal for anyone who wants that ‘walk in’ wet room experience without the complexities that come with their installation.
Quadrant shower enclosures
A quadrant shower enclosure is a curved or rounded corner shower enclosure that is designed to fit snugly into the corner of a bathroom. They are a popular choice for small or compact bathrooms as they give you a large space to shower with a relatively compact footprint. The sleek, curved shape of a quadrant enclosure will add a stylish touch to your bathroom, perfect if you want to avoid the more angular lines of other shower enclosure types.
Bigger than quadrant showers, offset quadrants are more spacious as they use a larger proportion of one wall, which makes them ideal for larger bathrooms.
Shower Doors
You’ve decided where the shower is going and what shape it will be, so now it's time to decide what sort of shower doors you want.
Choose from either a left or right-handed enclosure and tray to fit the shower into your chosen space. To establish which you need, stand with your back to the corner of the room. If the longest side is on your left then you need a left-handed enclosure and vice versa.
Pivot shower doors
Pivot doors open as a normal door would – they swing outwards. Full pivot doors, also known as hinged doors, fully open as the hinges are on the side of the door, like a standard door.
Half pivot doors have hinges at the top and bottom and so open halfway. If you’re short on space, a half pivot door would allow for more room.
Bi-fold shower doors
Space-saving bi-fold doors have two panels that fold up when opened.
They're ideal for smaller bathrooms as they don’t use up any space outside of the shower enclosure. They also won’t drip water onto the floor when opened, which can happen with pivot doors.
Sliding shower doors
Sliding doors are available with two or three panels. Two panel sliding doors are larger and suit square or rectangular enclosures.
Three panel sliding doors are designed for more compact enclosures. We also offer corner entry shower enclosures, featured on quadrant, offset quadrant and square enclosures.
Walk-in shower enclosures
A walk-in shower adds a luxurious touch to any bathroom and is an ideal choice for wetrooms. There are several variations of walk-in showers. Choose from one fixed shower screen for a more open walk-in shower, or add another fixed screen for more of a cubicle.
We offer straight, curved or L-shaped shower screens, depending on the shape and style you want for your walk-in shower. We also offer shower screens with a smaller additional mobile panel that pivots so the user can adjust it to where they want it, enabling easy access but still preventing water from escaping.
Shower trays
Our shower trays come in different shapes, styles and depths. For a traditional-look shower enclosure opt for a high-walled, deep shower tray. For a more contemporary look, particularly for wetrooms and walk-in showers, go for an ultra-low profile shower tray so your tray merges neatly with your flooring. We also offer low-profile shower trays which are in-between the two - to create a clear distinction between the shower enclosure and the rest of the room, but low in depth to make it easy to get in and out.
Ensure that you get the correct depth and type of tray (left-handed or right-handed) to fit with your enclosure – check the enclosure product page for compatible trays.
Wet rooms
- Level access – waste is fitted between floor joists (wood floors) to give a completely flat wet room floor.
- Raised wet zone – For installations where the waste can’t be inset into the floor (for example concrete floors). Creates a raised zone above the floor where the waste can be installed.
We offer complete wet room kits for either of these options, both of which can be tiled over to create a bespoke look.
Tiles
Regardless of whether you opt for a shower enclosure or a walk-in shower, you need to cover the walls to protect them from water. The most common approach for this is to tile the walls.
We offer a large variety of tiles so you can create the look you want.
To fully waterproof the walls, we offer tile backer boards that are suitable for putting behind tiles on the walls or floor, to keep your bathroom in good condition.