Give me shower enclosure /open shower advice

[rainstorm101]

Old 1920s house getting stripped to the brick.

upstairs family bathroom and master en suite - both quite big due to age of house (box room and part of hall was turned into en suite I think at some stage and a small bedroom into family bath) also we’re deep in the northern Irish sticks where everything is bigger but also the weather cooler and rainy and air much more moist than eg south of England.

designer has put in 1600 x 900 shower trays (so huge) with one clear glass panel but no door so open with cross water belgravia shower head. He maintains this will NOT spray water into bathroom.

Builder says that inevitably moisture WILL come out, that moisture will get under the (tiled) floor and affect wooden boards and joists in the long run. Says I should get fully enclosed shower max 1200 x1000

bathroom shop has the trays and panels ordered and can sell on trays and one of the panels but not the other panel (special fixings)

Any anecdata about open showers????

Also paging @pigletjohn as is traditional and necessary!

I have an 1800 x 800 shower tray in my. En-suite, it’s no door but a 500mm opening. I don’t get the floor wet; I’d be a bit worried about one less than 1800 though.

Listen to your builder <bitter voice of experience with teenagers here>

Ours is 1700 x 800 (with 700mm opening) and floor always gets wet. Also, despite having extractor directly above the shower, whole bathroom gets v steamed up within a few mins and is prone to developing mould. The shower looks nice but I wouldn’t choose it again

Of course water will splash out. Get a glass door.

BTW extractor fans fitted by builders are traditionally weak and ineffectual. You can get a very good 240 cu.m/hr ducted fan, which is sufficient for a shower room, automatically started by the light switch, with a timed run-on. They are usually fitted in the loft, above the bathroom ceiling, but can be concealed in a tall cabinet or something.

The better ones are very quiet, and use as little electricity as a lightbulb.

Another thing to consider, I find the fixed panel open style showers rather cold and draughty. I like a door I can close to create a nice steamy sauna effect, especially in the winter.

I’ve got a 1500 x 900 tray with a 1000 fixed glass panel and a 300mm flappy panel. By angling it correctly, I don’t get spray on the floor - but I’m a middle aged woman and fairly sedentary in the shower; you may have different requirements 😊

I have one similar to this so it's walk in but consists of 3 pieces of glass so it's a bit more enclosed. The water never escapes from the shower.

In our previous house we had a 1700 length shower with just a glass panel, can't remember size of the opening but it wasn't huge. Water would splash out even if we tried our best to angle shower head away. It was also cold because the heat just escaped. I would definitely chose a full enclosure. I currently only have showers over the baths in this house and it is always a lot warmer and less water spraying everywhere than previous shower

How long is your ordered shower panel OP?

I was advised by a bathroom company that you need a 1200 panel to stop water escaping. Ours is either 1200 or 1300 and we don’t have a problem. With a 1900 shower you should have plenty of space for at least a 1200 panel.

I prefer walk in to a door if there is space because the seals on a door always go manky over time. But only if there is space.

Builder ought to be putting a waterproof membrane under the entire floor anyway no?

Who’s gonna clean the glass? That’s my main concern 😄 looking at showers at the moment and I either want a (stylish) curtain (whack it in the washing machine!) or a wall as I’m not spending my time cleaning shower glass.

I'm in the cold and draughty camp. A door helps keep in the heat. Obviously not a problem if your bathroom is heated to 25+ but mine isn't.

Yes I should be getting a membrane too.

The panels that are ordered are 1200.

@MassiveSalad22 sadly it’ll be me cleaning the glass BUT the main upside in this damp cold environment is that it’s very soft soft water! Few watermarks.

Okay. I think I might have to eat the cost of one of the panels as it had special fittings and get proper enclosures.

Should I get the enclosed doors for the 1.6m long tray? Or is that insanely massive?

God I wish I could have an interior designer for this stuff but failing that thank goodness for mumsnet.

@rainstorm101 our open shower that size is fine, any splashes get caught by a bath mat.

We've got a 1400 by 800. Two 800 panels one on the long side, one on the short. Large head digital power shower. The water does not escape into the bathroom even when on Max power. In fact the panel at the end doesn't really get wet! As for steam, we have a powerful extractor, and some clever sealed flooring tiles which the shower tray sits on top of, so no moisture gets through to the boards.