Walk in shower cubicle - any tips?

[MagpiePi]

I want to replace a bath with a walk in shower but am not sure of the best thing to do. There is a window at the end opposite the shower head so I would leave it there and have the new shower entrance next to the window.
Would I need to put a screen in front of the window or can I just leave it as it is and assume that there will be minimal splashing at that end?
The bathroom is currently tiled all the way up to the ceiling on the wall next to the bath but only to half way up on all the other walls, so what should I do on the walls where the bath has been taken out? I haven't looked to see if the tiles can be matched but I would prefer not to re-tile the whole bathroom.

Any tips about what sort of shower tray to get, or anything else I need to think about?

I've done a plan showing the existing bath.

Best thing I did was have the taps close to where you enter the shower and not near the shower head.

No getting hit with the initial spurt of cold water when you turn it on - brilliant!

Your window will be fine, no screen needed. The angle of your shower head will affect how much the walk next to wind gets splashed, but a normal bathroom paint will probably be sufficient, especially if the shower head is angled down.

I wouldn’t have a shower tray if I could avoid it. A tiled “wet room” style floor is much easier for cleaning and less slippery.

I have no advice I’m afraid but I will be following your thread with interest as I’m also planning a new walk in shower in my bathroom. My window is in exactly the same position but I already have a shower cubicle there, not a bath, with a screen about 2 foot from the window. It’s a little shorter than a bath as originally I had the bath taken out but I’ve noticed that the end screen wall does get splashed while I am showering so I assume the window sill will also get wet. I’m not sure if having another couple of feet before the window will be enough.

I will be having a full bathroom refit so could move the plumbing for the shower but cannot work out how much “splash zone” I need to allow.

My mum has a similar layout, as do we and the water gets all over the floor.

My mums is a wet room style too, and the water just gets everywhere.

I've put a very obnoxious looking shower curtain up to reduce the water on the floor.

Thanks all.

This is a house that I am (hopefully) going to be moving into, but with no completion date yet so it is still just at the planning stage.

@MoistVonL - good point! Although all the pipework is at the other end and I don't really want to get it rerouted. With my current shower you have to reach across under the shower head to switch it on and either be really quick withdrawing your arm or get wet. I curse this layout every time.

@Ihateslugs What did you do with the walls where the bath was? The window sill is tiled and the returns are partially tiled up to half way.
I assume that walk in showers are designed so that you don't get much splash at the far end, otherwise you'd need a door.

Sounds like getting a tray with a bit of a lip round or a raised entry area will be the way to go. Or, can you get a low threshold bar if you have a flush floor? How do they get a fall if you have a flush floor? Do they take the floor boards out or something?

Don't get a sliding door style one. Just a single sheet of glass is much easier to clean and less likely to break.

I have a remote switch for the shower that is on the wall of the bathroom. That avoids getting a cold wet arm turning the water on:
https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/aqualisa-unity-q-smart-shower-remote-control-single-outlet?s_kwcid=AL!15853!3!644412380112!!!g!!&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=89653930&gbraid=0AAAAAD_SoLaObtlHRnYvcANRHkaXim_n7&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0LDBBhCnARIsAMpYlArUOduZcR_HQiRXaGc4gPSZUNPvJAJuE7gmSi9pyhPohRVqaP786JEaAk5eEALw_wcB

Get as good quality shower as you can afford - and with some sort of door to keep the rest of the room dry. We have Merlyn 10 series which means the glass is 10mm thick - so strong and good quality. Any time I've used a wet room it's been a pain in the neck...water everywhere. Also being able to dry yourself in the cubicle with the door closed keeps you much warmer in the winter. https://www.merlynshowering.com/collections/series-collection/10-series.html

PS, also get as big a shower cubicle as possible for your room. They do come in different shapes and sizes.

We also have an Aqualisa with a push button. It's the best shower we've ever had.

@Lieinrequired Brilliant! I didn't know such things existed.

@HollieHock I am planning on using the whole bath area, hence having a walk in cubicle. My current shower has a pivot door and is a pain as it moves the rest of the frame slightly every time you open the door which means the sealent gets unstuck eventually and you have to re seal it, plus the plastic seals at the bottom and round the door get all grubby and mouldy. Any showers with sliding doors that I've been in seem to get manky and grubby round the fittings so I definitely don't want one of them. I just want a nice plain, fixed sheet of glass that is easy to keep clean.

Ours is essentially the same layout as you're proposing, except open at one end (where your window is ours just has floor space). Shower base is 6.5 feet long x 3 feet wide. The glass is 5 feet long, so leaves about 1.5 feet open. Shower head is at the end near the wall, and we haven't had any issues with water getting to the other end, so I'd think you should be fine re the window.

I know you don't want to retile, but I do think you'll need waterproof membranes put in under the shower base and up the walls, so suspect you're going to need to redo what's there anyway.

Mine doesn't have plastic seals and being 10mm and we wanted a plain one too - we've had ours for 10 years now. I'd have a Merlyn 10 again personally. How nice to have such a large shower though if you are replacing your bath.

we did this & absolutely don't regret it.

Use a shower tray with a rougher finish to avoid slippyness.
We have a large sliding door & it's great, no harder to keep clean than than a fixed sheet of glass.
Worth thinking about putting in a shower recess for all your bottles, make sure it has a very slight slope towards the shower so the water runs off
controls at the opposite end to the shower head to turn it on & warm without having to go in & ease of cleaning things
Large tiles are great or an aqua panel - easier to keep clean as minimal grout

I would recommend having a niche fitted so you don’t have to put any bottles on the floor. We have a really big one with 2 shelves.

I’d also say get a hinged door, rather than sliding.

We have done exactly this. We used panels instead of tiles, as it is possible to fit them over the tiles without removing them, saves a lot of time and mess ( and money). I asked our fitter to put the panels into the window embrasure , sill and reveal and ceiling, and above so we have a nice seamless finish which is very easy to keep clean.

@lunaswand I was thinking about aquapanels - can they be fitted over the existing tiles. Not sure how that would work on the wall where the window is though.
@PorgyandBess the whole point is to not have a door of any sort!

ETA: you read my mind @Allthegoodnamesarechosen !

I’ve got the same as you @Lieinrequired, it’s ace. The button flashes until the water is at the set temperature so you don’t get cold waiting for it to warm up.

We did basically this last summer in our bathroom. My builder urged very strongly against a wet room for any upstairs bathroom and we wanted to leave the flexibility to swap back to a bath if we came to sell. We used a "bath replacement shower tray" which worked well and put up a screen that covers about 2/3 of the length and is almost floor to ceiling. We did retile as we didn't like what was there but if you don't want to retile you could look at the large panels they now sell as a shower lining as they would be quite a quick job to put up. Some of them even have a tile effect. https://www.panelcompany.co.uk/collections/shower-panels

This is the exact layout of our old flat. We've also recently renovated multiple bathrooms in our current home.

-Change the door to swing out into the hall, or add a slider. It saves you 1m2 of floor space within the bathroom. Its also a safety feature if someone ever collapsed against the door.
-We also only have tiles half way up the wall on 1 side, and above that is a massive mirror which goes to the ceiling. Its flush with the tiles, not a framed, type mirror you could remove. It was there when we bought it, so I have no idea how it was installed, where it was bought from etc

In our new house, we also have a aqualisa system in 1 bathroom. Its great, but doesn't work if there is a blackout!
We bought our supplies from an independent bathroom shop, having looked at B&Q, topps tiles, wickes, howdens etc.

I can't recall the brand for our shower trays, but none leak! 1 is open at 1 side, with a 1/2 width flippy door and this too has never leaked. Our taps and toilet buttons are Grohe and the sinks are Rak brand. We went with rimless, comfort height toilets, which are off the ground. SO much easier for cleaning the bowl and the floor and the added height is great.

I believe you can fit over tiles but best to ask where you getting them from or your bathroom fitter

I'd look at Bette for shower trays - very good quality and when there was an issue with the one supplied they dealt with it asap.

We recently fitted a walk in shower and used shower wall panels. Lots of designs available or you can keep it plain. You need to consider the even level of the wall you fit to so you can't attach to a part tiled wall, it's either all tiled or tiles removed first. Knocking tiles off a wall is pretty easy though. The panels cover the wall floor to ceiling so no fiddly tiling but it is a two man job really as the panels are so big. Obviously, it's vital to fit tight and seal well.

The wall alongside the bath was already fully tiled as there was a shower in the bath - I did not to climb in and out of the bath!

It’s a downstairs bathroom in a bungalow so I think I can have a sunk in tray with no lip for me to trip over! I will definitely have the shower controls where I don’t have to reach past the taps to switch it on, I’m fed up of getting cold water on my arm! My main concern is whether the window sill will get wet when I shower, I’ll have to see how long the screen needs to be.

I am thinking of getting underfloor heating as well as replacing the large heated towel rail so it will be cosy when I get out, no blast of cold air which I get now when I step out of the cubicle!

My new bathroom needs to be trip free and have a high toilet so that I can age proof it, the bungalows near me are very popular with elderly down-sizers!

@Ihateslugs The wall alongside the bath was already fully tiled as there was a shower in the bath - I did not to climb in and out of the bath!

I don't understand this layout. If the shower was in the bath then how did you not have to climb into the bath?

Polo ties, should have read “ I did not want to climb in and out of the bath”