Low profile shower tray - help!

[Kai1981]

I've bought a 1700mm x 800mm low profile shower tray. My Dad's taken a look at where the builder will be fit the tray but my Dad thinks it needs to go on a riser as it will be too low for the plumbing.

All the riser kits seem to be specifically made for brand shower trays (Mira etc) and they are nearly all too small for my 1700mm length tray anyway.

I think you can build your own riser with wood and tiles but if so, what do I need to tell the builder in terms of making it watertight and creating a stable base??

Your tray may need to be seated on a bed of mortar.

You can run the waste below floor level.

They are meant to go flat on the floor, you may need to run a new waste pipe lower down if the builder hasn’t put it in the right place.

The builder built a wooden riser for ours, which was then tiled. It was one metro tile high.

Should have added in the main bathroom they were able to put the shower tray in without a riser.

But in our en suite it wasn't possible without a structural change to the floor joists.

See what the fitter says but I imagine they'd have come across this loads of times,

Is the shower tray on a Woden floor or concrete floor ?

I did that with mine. Used 2” x 3” chunky wood in strips underneath, did the plumbing, put planks round the outside of the structure, and tiled over it.

The downside is that my shower chrome plug hole surround thing has discoloured, corroded and pitted so I want a new one. But in order to get a new one in, I would have to remove the tiles along one side, unscrew the plank, and then I’d have access. However I’m scared I break a tile.

So the moral of the story is, fit it with an access point to allow you to get into the trap etc if you ever need to. Or keep a box of spare tiles so you can retire if reqd.

Retile if reqd

Hi OP I think your Dad is deciding something is an issue before your plumber says it is. It is much easier to fit as a riser, but then why would you buy a low profile tray if it is going to be raised? Your plumber will be able to come up with options. As a pp said you may need to alter joists and floorboards to accommodate Pipework below but this is not really difficult. If you are doing this, definitely get a tanking kit and tank the area before installing so that you reduce the risk of water escaping. As a pp said, keep spare tiles in case of future issues/access and get a professional to mastic the areas surrounding.

Our builder raised the shower tray with wood. It was a 'special' wood for use in wet / humid areas. It had a code printed on it to indicate this, but I can't tell you what it is as it is now tiled over.