How to choose a shower cabin, taking into account materials, sizes and its type

When renovating bathrooms, bathtubs are often replaced with showers. They take up less space, which allows you to free up space for household appliances, especially in a small bathroom. To choose a shower cabin, you will have to learn to understand some of the intricacies. And armed with knowledge, you will make the right choice and will not regret your choice. 

Types of showers

Shower cabins can be divided into two main types, open and closed:

• open models. An open box without a ceiling, built into any space.
• Closed. Models with a one-piece, sealed design.
• Combined. These models have a bath instead of a pallet.

Based on this, shower cabins can be in different configurations:

• Shower corner. Usually this is a pallet and doors. Doors and a watering can fasten directly on a wall. This is an economy option, but very functional and convenient. There are options for shower enclosures with plastic walls, but in any case there is no roof. Therefore, such installations are also called “open showers”.
• Shower box or closed shower. This is a completely isolated space with its own stacks and ceiling. Such installations usually have a large number of additional functions, in addition to those related to water, different showers, water massage, sauna, and maybe a lot of others – built-in radio, telephone. For the most part, these are quite expensive devices, although there are also simple models without any frills.

• A big plus of combined devices is convenience. You can take a shower or bath.

Each of the options has its pros and cons. For example, having chosen a hydrobox (a closed shower cabin), if you wish, you can rearrange it to another place or even a room. You just need to disconnect from communications. When installing open cabins, all parts are attached directly to the walls or to the floor, so that they cannot be moved. But shower enclosures cost much less, they can be very modest in size. Therefore, it is impossible to say that an open or closed shower is better, they are just different.

Pallets

The tray in the shower is one of the two essential components. The dimensions of the tray determine the dimensions of the shower cabin, and its quality determines the level of comfort during use. In principle, there are cabins without a pallet at all, if a drain is equipped in the floor. Then they simply put walls that do not allow splashes to scatter, and all the water goes down the drain. Such shower cabins can only be made in the process of overhaul and the drain is sealed immediately into the floor screed.

Acrylic or composite

For the manufacture of shower trays, sanitary acrylic is mainly used. To make the product more durable, it is made reinforced, and a fiberglass mesh is poured with acrylic. Sometimes there are reinforcing layers, maybe two, three or even four. Such shower trays, of course, are reliable and durable, but they are expensive. Firstly, sanitary acrylic itself is expensive. Secondly, multilayer reinforcement requires a significant period of time, which also affects the cost. So it turns out that some shower enclosures with an acrylic bathtub cost solid money. But they last a long time.

To save money, some manufacturers make their products from ABS plastic. Outwardly, it is very similar to acrylic, but it has a high hygroscopicity, so normal firms do not use it. They make cheap Chinese shower cabins from ABS plastic. To prevent moisture from being absorbed into such pallets, the topmost layer is poured from acrylic, but its thickness is about 0,5 mm. Such pallets are called composite, and if you say in the description that the pallet is composite (suddenly you got an honest manufacturer), feel free to pass by. A thin layer of acrylic wears off very quickly, as a result, the pan starts to leak and you have to change it.

Steel tubs are durable when used carefully and are lightweight. The disadvantages include chipping during impacts or peeling of enamel with poor fasteners, as well as a lot of noise from falling water.

When choosing a shower cabin, pay attention to the shower tray attachment system. Usually it is a metal frame with legs. The frame is attached to the pallet with self-tapping screws, the more attachment points, the less likely the pallet will sag. There should be thickenings at the attachment points on the back of the pallet so that the screws have where to screw in. And in general, the frame itself must be strong and reliable, it is on it that all the load falls, both constant – the mass of walls and doors, and variable – the weight of the washing person.

If necessary, a leaky pallet can be replaced, and not only with a similar acrylic one, but also with any one that fits in size. In this case, the choice is quite wide, it will be possible to take a cast iron or ceramic pallet. This is with regard to factory-made products, but there are also home-made ones. The pallet can be made independently, from bricks, and then tiled, as was written on the pages of the site

Depth

In addition to the material, shower trays differ in depth. It is not difficult to choose a shower cabin according to this parameter. If you do not have a bathtub, a deep container with a side height of about 50 cm is more suitable for you (there are also higher). If the dimensions are also suitable, the pallet can be used as a bath.

If half a meter is too deep, choose the middle option with sides 20-30 cm high. Soak up how it doesn’t work in the bathroom, but you can bathe the child.

Low tray showers are great if you have a bathtub or don’t like it. This is the most economical option and installation is easier. How to install a shower cabin read here.

Sizes and shapes of shower cabins

The shape of shower cabins can be:

• square;
• rectangular;
• trapezoid;
• in the form of a sector of a circle.

These are standard options, but there are also unique complex forms. These models belong to the category of “premium” class, you need to pay a decent amount for them.

It is not difficult to choose a shower cabin in size, basically it all depends on the available space. If we are talking about a standard apartment, then they are not happy with the size of the bathrooms. Even after combining the toilet and bathroom, the room remains small. Therefore, both the shape and size are selected based on the existing conditions. Most often, the shower is placed in the corner. In this case, the best option with a rounded front wall. But it is worth considering that rounded doors are more expensive, which means that the shower cabin itself will be more expensive.

The smallest shower cabin has dimensions of 80 * 80 cm. But keep in mind that a slender person can hardly turn around in such a space. You can’t wave your hands much, sitting down is also a problem. You can feel more or less free if the walls of the shower cabin are at least 90-100 cm long, and it’s quite good at a distance of more than a meter. So, if it is possible to choose a shower cabin for comfort, take at least a meter with sides.

The height of the shower cabins is designed for different ceilings. It can be from 170 cm to 250 cm. Just keep in mind that if you are going to install a closed-type shower cabin, then the ceiling height should be at least 15–20 cm higher. From above, tropical showers and ventilation are connected, and for them it is necessary to lay communications, and even work in some way.

shower doors

Most often, shower doors are made of glass, less often of plastic. They differ in the way they open, there are sliding and hinged ones. For swing doors, the fittings must be of high quality, the opening method should be inside the booth or outside.

Sliding or hinged

Sliding doors take up almost no space, but the mechanism must be chosen carefully. It is best if the “wheels” on which the sliding doors ride are located both at the top and at the bottom. In this case, it is less likely that they will come off the guides, which can happen if the canvas is simply hung on the top guide.

And also attention should be paid to the presence and quality of seals responsible for tightness at the joints, so this is a very important detail. They should be made of elastic rubber, they should not have creases, cracks.

Plastic or glass

Glass doors for showers are made of tempered glass, so it is difficult to break them. Visually, such booths look good, they are easy to fit into any interior – they are neutral, almost weightless and invisible. The disadvantage is the complexity of cleaning, and also the high price.

Plastic doors are a more economical option. But there are many different textures and colors, so you can choose the finish for any interior. Another positive point, plastic can be opaque, since transparent doors in the shower cabin do not please everyone.

Modes and additional functions

When choosing a shower cabin, you still have to decide on the function that it can perform. The simplest models have a conventional watering can and mixer. More complex ones have many different functions:

• Hydromassage. A popular option, which is provided by nozzles built into the walls. The option itself may be good, but it does not always work. To obtain a normal massage effect, the water pressure must be high, depending on the mode, 2–3 atm or 4–5 atm. The second point is the quality of our water. The nozzles have small holes, if the water is hard or contains a large amount of iron, the nozzles become clogged. They are hard to clean and need to be replaced.

• Contrast or rain shower. This is a watering can, fixed at the top, through which either hot or cold water is alternately supplied.
  

• With the function of a sauna or a Turkish bath (hamam), there are models with infrared emitters. Not a bad option, but in this case a separate supply line is required. If it is a sauna or a hammam, then a solid power must be allocated, which is also not always possible.
  

• Illumination or chromotherapy. According to a certain pattern, colors change, which positively affects the mental state.
  

• Telephone and radio. Radio has long been available even in cheap Chinese cabins. Do you need these options, or can you live without them, decide for yourself.

To choose a shower cabin, you will have to decide whether you will have only a shower or some other functions. When choosing functionality, think carefully about how much you need them. Each option is a solid price increase, and most of them are simply not used. In general, when choosing, read the description in the passport for the shower room, and if the budget is limited, it is better to take a cabin only with a shower, but of good quality.

Which company to choose

Which company to choose a shower cabin is an equally important question, if you want it to serve you for a long time and without complaints. Both in Europe and in Asia there are firms specializing in the production of such products. Hueppe, CRW and Hyber are popular German shower enclosure manufacturers. In Italy – Jacuzzi and Cerutti. The Finnish company Ido will have excellent quality. These are expensive options.

Having an average income, feel free to focus on Czech Luxus, Polish Cersanit. A good choice would be the excellent and affordable Chinese brand Appollo.

Inexpensive budget options can also be found among Czech Luxus models, as well as Chinese Appollo and Aquamarine. In this case, just pay attention to the quality of components.