shower cubicles

[andywatson]

I can't help being seduced by those huge all in one shower cubicle thingies with phones and radios and stuff that are advertised on ebay for about £1000.

Has anyone had any experience of them? What are they like to fit for a non professional etc.

 

[Bahco]

You part with £1000 on an Ebay purchase and you will regret it if there is a problem.

Buy from a reputable and national supplier.

Can't help you with fitting sorry.

 

[andywatson]

Im not necessarily going to get it from e-bay. More interested in the practicalities of fitting it and whether they are worth it compared to a normal shower.

 

[Durgo]

An obvious one but often overlooked by the seduced - make bloody sure it'l go in! check for fit and waste run conciderations etc ...i don't know where you'd be fitting it but I'd double check everything for a couple of reasons -
1. ebay sellers aren't the best when it comes to customer service, and
2. theres no way to make it fit...properly, if it doesn't.


Oh, and check it properly for damage (loads of seconds/returns on the bay) - unwrap/pack everything defore signing for the delivery. Don't just check glass panels/showertray for cracks - make sure all the small bits like seals and caps are there...even the fixings - I ALWAYS do

 

[andywatson]

Well the room in a garage at the moment, so I am in the enviable position of fitting the wall to the cubicle!!!

I am close to a supplier of these cubicles, so I can go have a look at them. Just wondering whether people think they are worth the extra, or if a built in cubicle & power shower might be better.

 

[hi-spec plumbing heating]

they are hopeless fitted a few never again,
been to no end of people with problems with them
leaks from the panels at the rear
the pumps on them playing up etc
they never sit against both walls square

if running of a gravity system, they require an extra pump

stick with a descent tiled shower cubicle.

 

[Durgo]

I agree. I'd prefer large format tiles, 1200 x1000 level access tray, Matki frameless door, hansgrohe mixer (run off a good combi NOT a poxy pump (I despise all shower pumps and I despise pumped wastes even more) or a megaflow (I hate them also)

 

[memor maplin]

Saw a neat one in B&Q for £350.
Didn't realise they were a B*st*rd to install and were trouble.

 

[hi-spec plumbing heating]

they are easy to install, it's just the agro you get trying to sit them nice in the corner
they can look so out of place and cheap
if you don't mind all plastic and gaps between the unit and the wall for dust to collect your ok.

 

[mrgas]

Most Fancy showers need at LOT of hot water for them to work well. Both high pressure and good flow rates are needed. I think they are a waste of money and water, but each to there own................

 

[lagunaglen]

The first thing you must check is if your heating system is compatible for all the functions in these things, ideally you need an unvented system or a large combi , terrible to fit, ive done 3 and crap destructions usually supplied.

 

[Durgo]

Stored hot water is inefficient with todays combis. Apart from the
cost of them, they add many possible points of failure to your DHW suppy over a combination boiler that can deliver 18 litres/minute at 34 degrees.
Also, with your cylinder, you can run out which I hate when I'm the last to get in the bathroom (I have a wife and three daughters who you untild water )

 

[Softus]

I've assembled/installed three.

All were highly labour intensive.

One was good quality, one was middling, one was appalling.

All three had faults and/or missing bits.

All three had poor translations of foreign instructions. They were comical, but in the end "funny" is no substitute for "straightforward".

I would never, ever, ever, EVER, install one that was bought on eBay.

If a new customer asked me to install one, I wouldn't, but I would for an existing customer, but only if they bought it from somewhere they would be willing to pay me to drive to in order to collect the missing bits.

 

[lagunaglen]

Ditto softus