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Shower trays are an important component of your entire shower “kit”. Their main purpose is to ensure the proper flow of water to the drainage point so that your shower doesn’t overflow with water at the bottom and to keep your bathroom dry.
For those who are looking for more information on shower trays, this guide is for you. In this guide, we explore the different brands, sizes and materials of shower trays as well as touch on the installation and repair process. So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at what you need to know about installing or repairing your next shower tray.
Leading shower tray brands
Whether you choose a regular or a non-slip shower tray, it’s worth considering some of the best manufacturers on the market so that you can make the right choice for your bathroom and shower enclosure.
These brands include Just Trays, MX Trays and Roman Trays. In essence, each of these shower tray manufacturers are the leading ones in the industry, creating the perfect shower trays for your needs.
Predominant shower tray colours
When it comes to choosing your shower tray, it is worth noting that you can get a variety of different bathrooms to suit your bathroom’s colour scheme and decor requirements. For example, among all the different colours you can get, there is black slate, grey slate or white slate.
Of course, you can also choose a more conventional colour, which is the white shower tray. However, you can choose a black gold stone effect, too. It’s all about your interior decor and ensuring that you match it appropriately.
Predominant shower tray sizes
Next, you’ll want to choose the right shower tray size for your unique bathroom needs. While there is a vast difference in sizes, the smallest type you can get is a 700 x 700 square mm shower tray while the largest can go up to 1,700/1,800 sq/mm x 900 mm wide.
Overall, the size of your shower tray will depend on the shower enclosure size, the size of your bathroom and the effect that you are trying to achieve.
The standard shower tray size is difficult to determine because there are many different types of shower trays, each of which comes with its own size specifications.
However, in many cases, you are looking at the following standardised sizes for shower trays:
- Standard shower tray – 700 mm-2,000 mm (width and depth); 25 mm-80 mm (height)
- Quadrant shower tray – 800 mm-1,200 mm (width and depth); 25 mm-80 mm (height)
- Square shower tray – 700 mm-1,500 mm (width and depth); 25 mm-80 mm (height)
- Rectangular shower tray – 800 mm-2,000 mm (width and depth); 0 mm-45 mm (height)
- D-shape shower tray – 700 mm-1,700 mm (width and depth); 40 mm-65 mm (height)
What materials are shower trays made of?
All manufacturers use different materials to make shower trays. For example, you get plastic shower trays, which are highly durable. However, other manufacturers use resin trays. These are basically comprised of cement on the tray and they are significantly heavy in terms of weight.
Also important to note is that each manufacturer has their own specifications about the kg weight requirements that each shower tray can stand. Furthermore, there are the so-called “normal” shower trays, which are simply shiny and polished white material or you can opt for an anti-stick tray, which we’ll cover in more detail below.
Of course, in terms of the materials, you can also get a stone shower tray, slate shower tray, resin shower tray or other materials. However, some of the more popular options, especially for safety purposes are anti-slip shower trays.
Anti-slip shower trays
With an anti-slip shower tray, you have a shower tray that has a coating on it to make it slip-resistant. In many cases, this is a type of resin that is added to the top of the tray where your feet come into contact with it. It usually has a matt finish and it provides more of a grip and stability for your feet when you are showering.
Worth noting is that although most anti-slip shower trays are called such, there is still around a 1% chance that you can slip on these trays. However, these trays do minimise the risk of slips when compared to conventional trays.
Walk-in shower trays
We also get the walk-in shower tray. Essentially, these shower trays are not visible to the eye. In cases where you are either building or renovating your bathroom, once your bathroom is done, you will have to rip out the flooring completely and reconstruct the floor to cut into it and ensure that your shower tray fits flush to the floor, after which it is then tiled on top.
This is a long and costly process but it can give you the true wet room effect and the shower tray itself will not be visible. At the end, when you see the end product, it will all look like just the floor. That’s because everything is tiled on top of the shower tray and water will be able to seamlessly run down through to the drainage point.
Installation of shower trays
Installing a shower tray is a complicated process that requires careful reading of the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are looking at a wet room type of shower tray installation, it’s worth bearing in mind that these don’t really require a tray. However, it will require a lot of labour-intensive work along with the materials, which will be within the floor and which will be invisible.
Furthermore, you can have raised shower trays, which means that your shower tray stands on legs. It’s always important to carefully study the manufacturer’s requirements regarding how many legs you should use within a certain size of tray and what the kilogramme or weight requirements are.
Finally, some manufacturers’ instructions will also specify what materials you should use for the installation of your shower tray (such as sand and cement), what ratios you need to put down onto the flooring, etc.
Repairing shower trays
Shower tray cracks can happen. This may sometimes be due to the movement within the property or it might be because someone has dropped a really hard and sharp item onto the tray with force.
Alternatively, it may be the weight of the individual that’s the issue, which is not structurally supported and falls outside the weight restrictions of the manufacturer’s guidelines. As such, a crack in your shower tray can develop.
In such a case, there are many factors to consider. Firstly, there are temporary repair kits that can be placed onto the cracks but these will simply mask up the cracks. The alternative is to take the tray out and replace it completely. In addition, it’s possible to ensure the sealing of a shower tray.
And our recommendation is always anti-mould bathroom acrylic resins or silicone, which are mould resistant. But it’s important to ensure that you keep your bathroom clean because, without this step, there is no deterrent and mould can continue to grow there.
The process of adding silicone or acrylic resins is fairly simple. It is firstly taken out, then it is cut and lastly, a wiper blade is used to clean it and then reseal it with new silicone.
Final thoughts
Whether you’d like to go for a wet room shower tray style or you’d like a more traditional shower tray, you need to ensure that when fitting a shower tray, this is done properly, accurately and with attention to detail because many factors can affect shower tray installation.
Meanwhile, if you need to have shower tray repairs, you need to make sure that you speak to a specialist who will not just mask up the cracks in your shower tray but who will be able to resolve your issue with the right tools and materials.
When in doubt, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Bath Barn. Our specialists are friendly and highly experienced, ready to help you with your shower tray installation – whether you’d like a large shower tray, a corner shower tray, a square shower tray, a double shower tray or any other type.
As a blog writer, he shares expert knowledge and industry trends, offering valuable insights to homeowners and professionals. Join Rahul on his blog to explore tips and inspiration for your next bathroom remodelling project.
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