Is a 760x760 shower too small? Design advice needed please

[trish1400]

This is my bathroom at the moment:

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• trish1400
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

I'd like to knock down the wall separating the toilet and the bathroom and remove the airing cupboard and put a lintel in the wall between the toilet and the airing cupboard / bedroom so I can have a separate shower N.B. that wall is load-bearing.

The width which the airing cupboard will give me is only 56cm so I will need to get a bit more from somewhere to make the shower wide enough. I will need to take some space from the bedroom to make it long enough, so I'm not very keen on taking width from the bedroom as well (it would probably mean I'd have to move the door too - ugh).

I've come up with three options (to start with)

1) To have a 760mm square shower which juts out a bit. There'd be three walls tiled and a glass door. I think the toilet clearance is ok and I think visually it would look "out" of the bathroom so wouldn't feel cramped. Like this:

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• trish1400
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

My designer (I'm having an extension built downstairs too and he'll be doing the building regs plans) said "760x760 might be fine for you but it'd be far too small for me" - which is amusing as he is a weedy little thing. My Dad (who is decidedly more rotund) has a 760x760 shower and has no problem with it but I'm now worried that it would feel small to most people with more modern tastes.

2) Following my designer's comments I thought a 900x900 quadrant might work better.

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• trish1400
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

Having held a tape measure out though I think a 900mm seems rather excessive. I'm also worried that it will make the bathroom feel really cramped (imagine a glass enclosure on top of that footprint)

3) A 760x900 quadrant:

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• trish1400
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

I'm not sure a 760x900 quadrant shower would feel bigger on the inside than a 760x760 square and I think with the extra fuss of the enclosure making the room feel smaller it's not ideal.

What do you think? My favourite is option 1) but the designer has made me hesitate. Do you think the toilet clearance is ok?

Thanks!

 

[Dean744PiN5]

How about making it a wet room , can have the shower whatever size you need then and just a glass partition to separate from room. Will also make it look more spacious.

 

[trish1400]

Thanks for the reply Dean.

I'm not sure I follow though. Would the glass partition hinge off somewhere and fold against the wall when not in use? If so, where do you suggest? Perhaps it could close the cavity created by the airing cupboard when closed and open to block off the toilet? Would that work?

Oh, I should have mentioned I'm planning on putting the heated towel rail on the little bit of wall between the door and the shower if that makes any difference.

To be honest, I'd not considered a wet room because the few times I've used them I've not been a massive fan. In one in a large room - every part of me which wasn't under the water at that precise moment felt cold (the shower cubicle normally keeps me warm) and one in a small room - everything got wet, soggy toilet roll and damp towels etc. Plus the expense... I'd consider it if it was a the best design though.

Thanks,
Trish

 

[blakie8]

9 x 8 quad tray, 760 is too narrow even in a quad

 

[trish1400]

Thanks Blakie.

I think I might have to go to B&Q tomorrow and stand in some shower cubicles.

Trouble with the quadrant option is I really don't know how the shower enclosure would work with the wall. The standard enclosure would have glass right against the wall and you'd never be able to clean it so I guess it would have to be custom made / fitted.

 

[Agile]

Must be nice to be able to afford to live in all this luxury!

Many of us have to put up with a shower over our bath!

My inclination is to just have a large shower and no bath!

Nice plans though!

Tony

 

[kbdiy]

A 760x760 shower is quite acceptable - have used mine for years. BUT, if you can fit something bigger and you predominately use showers then get the biggest you can.

 

[trish1400]

Must be nice to be able to afford to live in all this luxury!

Many of us have to put up with a shower over our bath!

My inclination is to just have a large shower and no bath!

Nice plans though!

Tony

Thanks Tony. I don't know about luxury, it's my first house, a very small post war semi and it took me 10 years to save for the deposit and have some money to do it up. As the whole house needs renovating and everything replastered (needs wiring chased into brick walls) - it's kind of a now or never thing!

I'm not sure about getting rid of the bath - they're good for bathing children (my two best friends are currently pregnant) and although I'm planning on living there I do have to think of resell-ability.

Plus the ceiling slopes at the window edge so a huge shower in the place of the bath would have to have a custom screen cut.

Thanks for the suggestion though - I hadn't really considered that as an option.

 

[trish1400]

A 760x760 shower is quite acceptable - have used mine for years. BUT, if you can fit something bigger and you predominately use showers then get the biggest you can.

Thanks KB!

Good to know I'm not the only one who has been using one for years without realising they are considered too small!

 

[Dan Robinson]

Think I'd better better off staying dirty than showering in something that small.

But then I'm 6'7" and 120Kg... Can't stand electric showers either for obvious reasons.

 

[trish1400]

I went to B&Q after work. They didn't have many showers on display though, the only ones on display were:

800x800 square
800x800 quadrant
900x900 quadrant

no offset quadrants.

I had a go in each. The 800x800 square ones felt about the size of the shower I currently use in my Dad's house (I actually think that's a 740 square) - it's small but not uncomfortably so. The 800x800 quadrant did feel too cramped even for me. The 900x900 quadrant was noticeably larger but it didn't feel spacious.

Then I noticed something weird - although the sizes were given as I've described above none of the shower enclosures went anywhere near the edge of the trays. I borrowed the sales assistant's tape measure and basically all the 800x800 trays had enclosures that meant they were really 760x760 showers.

Like this:

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• trish1400
• 8 Apr 2014
• 1

There were 9 showers in the show room and not one of them had a shower screen that went to the edge of the tray. Is that normal? Or is it just that the quality at B&Q leaves something to be desired?

If that's normal then one of those "800 square" showers would be the same inside as if I had a 760 alcove shower like this - with a door on the front:

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• trish1400
• 7 Apr 2014
• 1

I suppose I'll have to try to go to a different showroom at lunchtime and see if they have a better display.

 

[trish1400]

Think I'd better better off staying dirty than showering in something that small.

But then I'm 6'7" and 120Kg... Can't stand electric showers either for obvious reasons.

Thanks Dan - it's good to get some perspective. I'm 5'1" and 54kg!

 

[Dan Robinson]

Oh christ - you're not my mum? She's called Trish and tiny as well.

FFS - I thought we got you shipped off to the Canary Isles 10 years ago




Kidding....

 

[trish1400]

@Dan_Robinson

 

[big-all]

can you not put the sink on the wall beside the shower then you can have as large a shower as you wish without loosing any space around the toilet which will also give you more elbow room over the bath