How to choose a shower tray

In order to choose the right pallet you need to know for sure:

1. Where it will be installed.
2. The size.
3. What form is required.
4. Depth.
5. Material of which the pallet is made.
6. How strong he is.
7. What will be the sound when hit by a jet of water.
8. Is it possible to make a pallet yourself.

Let us dwell in more detail on each question.

Place to install the pallet

Whether we like it or not, we have to consider the location of communications. If with water pipes it is still possible to solve the problem, stretching them to the right place, hiding them in a wall, then with a sewer pipe these actions are not always acceptable. You will certainly need to take into account the angle of its inclination, otherwise problems can not be avoided. It is advisable to place the pan as close as possible to the main sewer pipe. Now that you know where exactly the pallet will stand, let's proceed to the next question.

Dimensions

The size of the bathroom often does not give us the opportunity for a large selection of dimensions of the pallet, but you can safely change its depth. However, before choosing a shower tray, one should not forget about the overall height of the shower stall, if it is installed.

A siphon will be installed under the tray, for which space is required not only for its installation, but also for maintenance.

Imagine that the siphon is clogged, but in order to remove and clean it, you need to remove the pan. It hardly seems convenient to you. nevertheless, there are pallets and with almost zero depth, because they are built flush with the floor.

In general, with regard to the depth of the pallet, here each selects according to their needs. “If you are used to taking a shower often, but you cannot boast of excellent health, so that you can get into a deep pan each time, then there is a fairly large selection of these products that have a small depth - from 4 cm.

Another need for young parents who have children who love to splash in the water. In this case, you can choose a pallet 30 cm high. In addition, deep models are preferably installed in old houses with "clogged" pipes, because if the water flows slowly, then in the low base pan it will overflow to the floor through the edges.

The dimensions of the sides of the pallet can vary from 70 to 120 cm, although, if necessary, you can find even larger specimens.

The form

Square, round or triangular? There is a wide variety of shower trays, but the most in demand are square, rectangular, triangular with a beveled or rounded corner, because they can make the best use of the available space.

Several factors can influence the choice of form:

1. The pallet must fit the place where it will be installed.
2. The taste of the host.
3. Room design.

The best option for a small bathroom is to install it with a shower in one of the corners. With this approach, a pallet that has at least two corners will be suitable. If the bathroom is large, then the choice is expanding, and you can choose the pallet of the most bizarre shape - round, semicircular, polygonal, angular, elliptical, and even twisted into a snail.

Material

Choosing material for your pallet, you need to pay attention to the fact that it was:

• wear resistant
• with good sound and thermal insulation,
• with reliable anti-slip coating

Acrylic shower trays

Acrylic pallets are very popular because their distinguishing feature is ease of maintenance and practicality. Although such a surface can be easily damaged, it is nevertheless very easily restored. Although the thickness of the acrylic layer is only 4–6 mm, this does not prevent the pallet from being durable. In order to strengthen the design, in the lower part of the pallets are reinforced with metal, fiberglass or plastic. The undoubted advantage is the low weight of the structure.

Steel shower trays

Enamelled steel pallets are also quite popular. The demand for them is due to the fact that such pallets are heated quickly and are inexpensive.

Steel pallets are very noisy, because when a stream of water hits them, a roar is heard, and the thinner the metal used to make the pallet, the louder the sound produced.

Ceramic shower trays

For the manufacture of such pallets used sanitary ware and sanfarfor. They are durable, easy to care for, but at the same time, this product has a very large mass and they are afraid of mechanical damage. The ceramics is cold, so before you stand on such a pallet, you need to warm it up using hot water.

Often on ceramic pallets there are "patterns" - a device against slipping.

Wooden shower tray trays

Trays made from this material are available only to those firms that produce premium-class goods. Do not confuse wooden pallets with wooden grids that are designed to protect against slipping.

Cast Iron Shower Trays

These pallets could be very popular, as very strong, practical and durable, but this did not happen because of their high cost. The disadvantages include the fact that such products are very heavy.

In order not to slip in the shower, the bottom of the pan should not be slippery. The best solution to this problem would be to purchase a pallet with a rough or grooved bottom. If you purchased a pallet with a smooth surface, then put a wooden grate or rubber mat in it.

Shower Pan Manufacturing

Work begins on a frozen concrete screed. The first step is to take care of draining the water. For this purpose, a drain neck and a discharge pipe are mounted, which are placed on supports from wooden chocks of different heights. This is necessary in order to ensure the required slope of the drain pipes.

The water in the sewer pipe must go "by gravity", so the pipe running from the pallet must be laid with a bias towards the main highway. It is important to provide more in the design.

Concrete screed can only be made under the pallet. Now we make walls of brick, apply several layers of plaster. If desired, the construction of walls can be made concrete, but for this you will need to make formwork, knead the concrete, and pour, which is not always convenient, especially in the apartment.

Next, you need to make a concrete screed on the bottom of the pallet with a mandatory bias towards the drain neck. The screed must be made so that the drain hole is at the level of the laid ceramic tiles.

Dried screed and walls should be grounded and treated with waterproofing compound.

The final step will be laying tiles. In this case, special mixtures will be required, as a simple glue-cement will not reliably keep the tile in a constant moisture. You will also need a special grout for joints.

At non-observance of technology of manufacturing of the pallet there is a high probability to flood neighbors.

From how seriously you get to the issue of choice and installation, depends not only the life of the pallet, but also the convenience of using it.

We recommend to read:

• shower cabin do it yourself with a pallet;
• how to assemble a shower cabin.

Video

This film shows how you can independently assemble and install a shower cabin. The first part is devoted to the pallet.