Tiled shower or shower tray? Which tiles?

Hello dear readers,

my husband and I are starting to build a new semi-detached house in the spring. At the moment we are working on the bathroom planning: the open question is whether it should be a tiled or a low-installed shower tray. Visually, I prefer the tiled version: has anyone of you already had such a shower or can someone tell me a bit about the advantages and also disadvantages (!).
As dimensions, we have imagined a shower 90 by 90, what could it approximately cost with everything included? Which tiles would you recommend?

Many thanks for all helpful answers.

Regards,

nikca82

Hello,

Visually, I prefer the tiled option: Has anyone of you already had such a shower or can someone tell me a bit about the pros and cons (!)? We are considering a shower measuring 90 by 90; what could it roughly cost with everything included? Which tiles would you recommend?

If the floor construction allows it, I would always recommend a walk-in shower; 90 x 90 might be a bit small – 1.00 x 1.30 would be better, provided your bathroom allows these dimensions.

The advantage is obvious: it is not necessarily a matter of age (this type of shower is also called an accessible shower), a bone can easily break and then it might be difficult to lift a leg over the shower tray edge.

Cost-wise, it’s manageable, although it depends on how high your supplier tiles in the bathroom. The element for the floor as a replacement for the shower tray costs around €1,000 in the recommended size, plus the costs for the so-called partition wall, which should be tiled from the inside. Since it is built in lightweight construction, it is not a big effort either. And here we come to the next advantage: if you separate the shower from the bathroom with a partition wall, you can save yourself the glass door or whatever; putting a sauna towel in front of the shower and that’s it – the water doesn’t splash further (therefore 1.00 x 1.30). On the one hand, you save yourself the tedious cleaning and annoyance over lime stains, on the other hand, you won’t freeze after finishing your shower bath, because – without the cabin – the air in the room and thus the temperature are evenly distributed.

Kind regards

Hello construction expert,

since we are currently working on the bathroom planning, I have read the above-mentioned posts. Our shower area is approximately 1.00 m x 1.00 m and we are also considering whether to tile the floor or to install a shower tray and a two-wing glass door.

I am not quite clear what you mean by a floor-level shower: a shower tray installed flush with the floor or the floor tiled with a slope?

Best regards
Nikolaus

Hello,

I am not quite sure what you mean by a floor-to-ceiling shower ...

No shower tray ... a flush-level shower is a shower where the shower area is on the same level as the surrounding floor.
Kind regards

Hello construction expert,

thank you very much for your quick response.
I have already read many of your posts and you really seem to know your stuff => may I ask you something on a different topic?
We have very hard water. Therefore, the heating engineer recommended a water softener system for us, which requires salt to be refilled regularly. What do you think of such systems? Or are there other options to get "better water" without having to use salt?

Best regards
Nikolaus

Hello Nikolaus,

I have read many posts from you and you really seem to know your stuff =>

But I am really not a plumbing expert

may I ask you something on a different topic?

The "language" of the internet is "Du" (informal you)

We have very hard water. Therefore, the heating engineer recommended a descaling system, where salt has to be refilled regularly. What do you think of such systems? Or are there other possibilities to get "better water" without having to use salt?

Recommendation from our site manager:

"So-called scale converters offer the most comprehensive protection against scaling in house pipes. These scale protection devices are mounted directly on the water pipes. Through electromagnetic fields induced by coils wrapped around the pipes, larger scale crystal accumulations are broken down into smaller pieces so that they lose their adhesion ability to fittings, heating fins, and the inner walls of the pipes. These devices can be easily installed without high costs and expensive special tools. They are also very durable and eliminate the annoying disassembly of piping systems."

Just feed Aunt Google!

Kind regards