have a downstairs shower room that I need to start work on. The wall that lines the shower is at quite an angle on oen side.
So the shower tray will be an odd shape, I did think about squaring it off, but the pipework would need to be moved as it would be cut off and I don't fancy doing it. Then I looked up shower trays you can cut to shape, but taht won;t work with the space I've got and they are really expensive.
So the shower area will be 1400 long, 900mm wide at one end and 1300 at the other end. I've watched some YT vids of DIY making a shower tray and it doesn't look too difficult, but TBH things rarely do on YT. But I'm not sure what is the right approach to ensure it's watertight, secure etc.
Anyone done this, got any advice, tips - it's on the ground floor going onto a screed. I'm quite keen to have a go, as it will be a great use of the space and I'd enjoy figuring it out. Cheers
Forget a tray and tile the floor
Can you get a custom made shower tray? I've been looking at custom Corian trays as we have a currently tiled walk in shower that leaks (its an odd size rather than shape).
Edit: not a cheap option though.
Make it out of what? I can imagine doing a tiled floor a la loads of continental bathrooms (not quite sure how the trap would work though), but trying to make an actual tray out of fibreglass or resin would be pretty mad I think.
I'm installing an Impey shower tray that can be cut to size then either tiled or covered with vinal.
I'm not cutting my tray but i'm squaring up the walls using the insulated board and re tiling.
If i was doing this on a concrete or ground level I would consider the screed option and make my own.
Treat yourself to a laser level 12 or 16 lines if you haven't got one already.
thanks, the vids I've seen all make it out of effectively screed then tile on top. Optionally a raised edge to prevent water getting over the top 🙂
Already done first fix, so pipes are in the plasterboard in the centre ignoring the angle, but if I square it all off, then they are in the wrong place and need re-doing (not a big job). The bathroom is long and only 1400 wide, so if I square this section off I lose more room, less than ideal.
I can't tile directly on to the floor for the shower, the main waste is already set in the floor screed. Which I need to build up (slightly) from to install the trap.
Will look at the Impey shower tray. the others I looked at for the size I needed were more than I could justify.
I just bought a floor trap and tiled a wet room around it. Just need to get your falls correct and it is a piece of proverbial
couldn't you just cut any shower tray if its well supported underneath? I imagine the only thing that goes wrong is support (the edge of a tray is probably integral to its structure) but if you sunk it in a screed\sand mix of some sort (to support it evenly) then mastic'd around the edge, I can't see how it could leak?
I just bought a floor trap and tiled a wet room around it. Just need to get your falls correct and it is a piece of proverbial
This might be a stupid question, but I assume that you use tile cement to achieve the correct falls ? Or is it something else?
There would be many ways to do it, depending on your subfloor and whether you are looking for a flat(ish) floored wetroom or don't mind building in a raised threshold. Will this be on a wooden floor or a solid one?
Edit: Sorry onto screed, you mentioned in your first post. Where is the crurrent waste though and how much fall do you have on that will be you big issues if not building from scratch. You may need to raise the floor level anyway in order to get the thing to drain!
Kerdi tray, kerdi drain, kerdi kerb (or not) and tile for whatever shape you want if you're creative enough.
Other 'modern system' options are available.
Old fashioned tanked mud pan and drain if you're old school or have a really bizarre shape to work with.
As long as your perimeter is level and everything slopes to the drain then crack on.
Constructing the tray to get the drop and waterproofing the drain is near on impossible to achieve for a tray that will last more than a year or so. Inevitably water will penetrate and lift the floor.
Have a look at Merlyn Truestone as this will work with the size you are looking and can be cut. They can also make a custom size tray as well.
How about a normal rectangular 1400 x 900 tray and then effectively a low level triangular shelf that's 400mm deep at one end and tapers to nothing at the other? Built up from floor level and then tiled at a decent slope for run off. If the pipes are currently on the middle of the angled wall then they would be approx 200mm back form the edge of the tray though so would need a long neck on the shower head to reach over the tray.
My first thought was that you could try and cast a tray form in situ from concrete and seat that, but then;
Forget a tray and tile the floor
^^is the obvious answer.
If you want it to be enclosed to prevent water running across the whole room you could construct some sort of lip using brick/block and then tile that.
But yeah think more Leisure centre changing rooms, rather domestic fibreglass shower tray.
thanks all - so ok, so building one out of concrete / screen mix is seemingly not a good idea.
How about a normal rectangular 1400 x 900 tray and then effectively a low level triangular shelf that’s 400mm deep at one end and tapers to nothing at the other? Built up from floor level and then tiled at a decent slope for run off.
I did consider doing this, but thought it might look a bit odd, then I considered making it a usable shelf (so only a very slight run off), or higher with two alcoves / shelves - all tiled, and sealed etc. But I thought that would be just inviting water to get somehow into this triangular construction. Bit like those fill-a-space shelves at the end of baths that always somehow get a bit manky.
