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Original poster

Walk in showers. Are they cold?

25 replies

skippy67 · 21/05/2023 22:42

We'll be redoing our shower hopefully this year. We'll be getting rid of the bath and installing a big walk in shower. If you have one, do you have a flapper panel? If not do you wish you did? I've heard that walk ins can sometimes feel a bit cold, and also water splashes everywhere. Any tips or hints most welcome!

OP posts:
Yellowsubmarineunderthesea · 21/05/2023 22:50

I don't know what a flapper panel is but we have a walk in shower, took out the bath a few years ago. I love it, no doors to be trying to close, no wet curtain, no blast of cold when I do open the door or curtain. We have a large glass panel on the long side and it's treated with some kind of coating so it doesn't need cleaning with cleaning products, just give it a wash down while I'm in the shower, and polish water marks off when it's dry ( if I feel like it ). Water very occasionally splashes outside of the tray area but not normally. Get the biggest tray you can fit.

quietnightmare · 21/05/2023 22:56

Best decision ever

What I will say though is if you don't have much space for a big walk I. Shower then can get a semi circle sliding door rather than a straight one it gives you more room without taken up floor space and looks better than a rectangle box

KievLoverTwo · 21/05/2023 23:07

I had one in a 12 year old insulated flat and it was balls off cold. It had no window, just a fan. Maybe it's because it steamed up so much that I had to have the bedroom door open.

Now I have an entire wet room shower in another 12 year old highly insulated house that has a window, and it never gets cold.

The only difference I can think of is the walls and floors. The flat had tiled floors and walls. The house has more countryside type floor tiles than fancy modern ones and those wall panels that are everywhere, not wall tiles.

So perhaps the walls and flooring make a big difference to heat retention in the room.

MMAMPWGHAP · 21/05/2023 23:39

I’ve resorted to hanging a shower curtain off the support arm that is in the ‘gap’. Yes, cold, obvs worse in winter.

CallieQ · 21/05/2023 23:54

Love my walk in shower it's never cold and water stays in shower

Not sure about the flapper panel Confused

JimnJoyce · 22/05/2023 00:34

moved into a new build flat last year, had the bath removed and a walk in shower installed. Im arthritic so cant get into or out of a bath.
not cold at all

FiveShelties · 22/05/2023 00:38

We have walk in showers, definitely not cold.

Trying not to think what a flapper panel is.

notangelinajolie · 22/05/2023 00:42

Another 'what the hell is a flapper panel?'

CC4712 · 22/05/2023 00:48

I understand OP because I have a flapper panel (I think) 🤔

We have recently renovated and the downstairs bathroom has a 'walk in' shower. Admittedly there is a 2cm step, so not a wet room, but almost step free. There is no shower curtain nor completely closeable screens/doors. Its open at 1 end with a small panel that moves, which I assume is the flappy bit.

We have insulated as much as we could, and I've never been cold in that shower. We have a heated towel rail and underfloor heating, but only finished it a few months ago, and never needed these on. There is a massive shower head though, so that might also help keep my body warm.

A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 · 25/05/2023 09:43

We put a heated towel rail inside the shower area effectively, at the opposite end to the shower head. With a shower length of 1.8m, the towels never got splashed and it was lovely and warm. Alternatively you can get a tilable wet room tray, and put underfloor heating in. I've had both and the heated towel rail was much cheaper and lovely and warm

Mildura · 25/05/2023 10:43

notangelinajolie · 22/05/2023 00:42

Another 'what the hell is a flapper panel?'

I think it's an additional piece of glass that's angled off the side panel at somewhere between 45 - 90 degrees, which helps stop water splashing on to the area outside of the shower cubicle.

crossstitchingnana · 25/05/2023 10:52

I had one of these installed and my bathroom floor was like an indoor pool after I showered, and I don't have a wet room. It was a design error (IMO) as the tray was too small for it to work. The company I used had to replace with a sliding door at no additional expense. I had to battle to get this mind you.

Therefore I would not touch these "flapper" style panels with a barge pole.

crossstitchingnana · 25/05/2023 10:53

Oh and they're called deflector panels.

IamRoyFuckingKent · 25/05/2023 10:55

It’s fine as long as you have a big enough screen

orangeflags · 25/05/2023 10:56

We hav a large one with a flapper panel. It is always quite cold in there, I think the old small shower with a door was much nicer to shower in. I certainly never want to linger in this one

theemmadilemma · 25/05/2023 10:58

In the coldest of winter we just run the water for a moment before getting in the shower and it's fine. We do have the panel and it probably does stop some splashing out.

CMOTDibbler · 25/05/2023 11:00

We have a big walk in shower with a very low shower tray and it does have a flapper panel. Not cold at all and no water splashes

StamppotAndGravy · 25/05/2023 11:01

We've had several walk in showers. I hate shower trays because they're always cold and seem to go grimy the moment you turn your back. Our bathroom is very small with a decent towel rail so it's normally the warmest room in the house and certainly not cold. We do have very good water pressure and very hot water though it might feel cold if you can only get a dribble.

Paperbagsaremine · 25/05/2023 11:10

Worth looking at insulation around the bathroom, maybe get a thermal camera to see where the heat is going.

Our ensuite has a dormer window and once OH had commando-crawled through the loft to shove more insulation over the ensuite ceiling, things were all a lot warmer in there!

Original poster
skippy67 · 28/05/2023 08:23

Thanks for the replies! We can fit a 1.8metre tray in, which I'm hoping will be big enough to keep the water in. Towel rail at the opposite end to the shower head sounds like a good idea too. Thanks everyone.

OP posts:
BarrelOfOtters · 28/05/2023 08:31

We got one where you turn the water on with a switch before you get in, it’s digital…which is nice. It’s got a low profile shower tray so small step up. Underfloor heating, electric and radiator whic is a towel rail….and lots insulating board when we got it redone. Room used to be freezing, now it’s lovely.

Original poster
skippy67 · 28/05/2023 08:31

crossstitchingnana · 25/05/2023 10:53

Oh and they're called deflector panels.

Thank you😅

OP posts:
Reallybadidea · 28/05/2023 09:06

I've also heard them called flipper panels, so flapper isn't a million miles away! I don't think they add much in terms of keeping the warmth in because they're so small. I've never felt cold in there but we have a slightly oversized towel radiator for the room size and good insulation.

Reallybadidea · 28/05/2023 09:09

Oh and top tip is to get a shower with a separate control valve close to the entry point of the shower so that you can turn it on without getting into the shower.

sashh · 28/05/2023 10:43

I had one when I first moved in.

But the builders did a botch job on the floor, they had used ordinary Lino and it was patched.

So within one shower the joins started leaking out some horrible mushy stuff. The actual shower 'grill' was higher than the rest of the floor so water obviously did go everywhere,

Over 2 years my landlord tried a lot of solutions including changing the flooring, putting in a sort of waist height sort of gate, changing the grill to a plastic tray.

The extractor fan didn't work well, I'm now on my third.

Eventually they agreed to put a bath in.

So be careful who you chose to do the work.

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