New Bathroom

[warrens64]

Hi all need some help please, i live in a 1st floor flat with a concrete floor, and am replacing the bath for a shower as i cant use a low shower tray and cement it in is their a good make of shower tray which comes complete with shower legs and if so how is this fixed to the floor to as to avoid movement, i have been advised to get a tray with upstands,

Thankyou for any help

 

[dextrous]

Most solid way will be to make a frame from 3by2 or 4by2, allowing spaces for waste pipes, cover with 18mm wbp ply and embed a resin tray on wet mortar mix.

Tank the walls (use Bal shower kit or similar) prior to laying the shower tray, and when you come to install the tray, squirt a load of (sanitary) silicon between the tray sides and the wall.
This will "never" move nor leak!

Then tile, allowing 4 or 5 mm between the bottom edge of the tiles and the tray for silicon sealant, install the cubicle, lay masking tape and silicon the edges as per manufacturers instructions, removing the tape immediately (don't allow it to set before you pull the tape off!!!)

Stand back, enjoy what you see, and then curse yourself for forgetting to install the pipework first

 

[warrens64]

Hi Dextrous thanks for that, i have one more question i am going for a cubicle but only have stup walls would the sprial plaster board fixings been a good enough fix to hold the weight, and thanks once again

 

[dextrous]

Plasterboard plugs as you describe may be strong enough since sideways force trying to pull then out isn't great even when you open the door, but you'll have a problem since the holes requires for them will most likely be so big that the frame won't cover them and they will remain visible.

If it were me, I'd be inclined to cut holes in the boarding large enough to insert strips of timber behind where the frame will be screwed into (keep these cutout holes within the cubicle area since it will be tiled and not be visible). Use grab adhesive and screws to fix these to the back of the existing board if there are no local studs available, using more bits of timber to make a frame around the hole to give yourself something to re-fix/screw the cutouts you've made. When you put the cutouts back in, squirt some silicon in to seal the edges, then on with your tanking. Be bold with these cutouts- don't go pussyfooting around and make them too small to work through, and you may as well make them big enough to get your pipework in whilst you're at it.

The key to success is thinking it through and using the tray and screen wallplates and shower mixer (which may require it's own background support since pipes alone will not give you any) to identify exactly where things go.

 

[warrens64]

Thankyou once again thu think i might have to rethink my plan so as to insert the wood, thankyou

 

[dextrous]

Sounds a lot harder than it is - the whole bit about removing sections, sticking frames in etc will only take a couple of hours since screws will hold the timbers (2by1 roughsawn, preferably treated) in place so you don't need to wait for glue to go off! You only need a plasterboard saw and a hand saw for the timbers. So not tool expensive.

 

[warrens64]

Hi dextrous
Thanks for the info, i wont say last question because i have not even started yet, i am having all the tiles taken down and want to know should i get a shower tray with upstands or without, also the skirting is in a proper rough state, is it ok not to have skirting and take the wall tiles down to the floor tiles, thanks for any help

 

[dextrous]

Tiling to the floor is fine. The bottom edge can either be covered with carpet, skirting board laid over the tiles, or even 25mm piece of plastic trim if you're putting tiles or vinyl down; or even just as it is with a bead of silicon if it's not too bad.

By shower tray with upstand, do you mean a lip that goes up the wall slightly so tiles go over it? If so, then it's a matter of preference - nothing wrong with these (B&Q did a range of them a few years ago). Or do you mean legs, as in your original post?

 

[warrens64]

Sorry for the confusion i am getting a shower tray with legs and was told that getting a tray with upstands would give a better seal.

Thankyou

 

[dextrous]

okey dokey. Like I said, it's all a matter of preference. If fitted properly, they all do the job!