Low level shower tray?

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Gazowl1975, Dec 3, 2019.

  1. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    Any recommend a 1400 long x800 or 900mm wide shower tray that's really slim in depth and supplied with a decent screen from a online supplier preferably?
     
  2. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    I used a Merlyn Level 25 1400 x 800 tray, although it is available in both of those sizes. Lots of online retailers have it, costing about £350. Very pleased with it now, although when originally installed it was lethally slippery. Like most solid trays, it needs a non-slip coating and, surprisingly, Merlyn actually recommended a competitor's product: JT Anti-Slip Kit. That works well,however I would recommend applying it before you fit the enclosure/screen, masking off the area that the enclosure will sit on the tray. The reason is that the coating sets in about 15minutes and it was just going off as I was finishing applying it because of limited access through the enclosure door. After applying the anti-slip coating, which is almost invisible (you have to shine a lamp at grazing incidence to see the slight roughened surface) I am very happy with the Merlyn tray.

    I used a Merlyn 10 Series Pivot Door & Inline Panel for the enclosure/screen as I preferred the solidness of 10mm glass to the lighter but thinner 8mm and 6mm options. Some online retailers supply the enclosure and tray as a kit, saving a bit over buying them individually. Got mine from QS Supplies.

    I finished it on Christmas Eve last year and its been used several times almost every day since and still looks freshly installed.
     
    Gazowl1975 likes this.
  3. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    Frontline are decent and reasonably priced. Fitted quite a few last year.
     
    Gazowl1975 likes this.
  4. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    How do you install your trays on bathroom floorboards lads strengthen tray area with ply and use a sealant/adhesive like ct1 or geocell to stick it down? Cheers
     
  5. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    Do you stick your trays down on ply over floorboards mate with ct1 or similar?
     
  6. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    I followed the instructions for the Merlyn tray, mainly because the warranty is void if any other installation method is used, so check the warranty on your tray.
    The warranty "approved" method is remove floorboards, add noggins around the drain to joists, cover with a sheet of marine ply (seal the faces and edges to avoid swelling) then a layer of cement and place the tray on top of that. Can't recall the exact thicknesses, but it worked out that the base of the tray was 3-5mm proud of the 22mm flooring panels, which after hardie-backer board and floor tiles made the 25mm tray about 10mm proud of the floor.

    I couldn't say if it is any better than alternative methods, but it works, isn't too difficult and didn't void the warranty.
     
  7. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    Put in on Cement or just stick em with
    What did you bed tray down with mate? Cheers
     
  8. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    After levelling, I put a couple of bags of sand on it till the following day to let the cement set. Just in case it needed re-doing, I then had a good walk around on it watching for any movement to make sure it was solidly bedded in. Probably not necessary as it was solid as a rock, but I didn't want to find it moving after the wall panels and the enclosure we fitted.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2019
  9. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    I don't suppose you have a link for the tray do you please pal? Also is it proud with tile finish pretty much or slightly above?
     
  10. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    There is a link for the tray and where I got mine in Post #2 above.

    After fitting according to the instructions, and putting 12mm Hardiebacker board on top of the flooring (which, in my case was 22mm thick chipboard floor panels) and then 9mm floor tiles and adhesive, the tray sits about 12mm proud of the floor tiles. I did consider putting another sheet of Hardiebackerboard down on the floor to make it almost flush, but a millisecond later realised that it might cause problems with the enclosure door snagging when it was opened.

    You'll need to measure the thickness of your floorboards and any tiles you might use, to work out how proud of the final floor surface your tray will be. If you are using tiles, you can always put some plywood under the Hardiebacker to reduce the difference between the tray and the floor.
     
    Gazowl1975 likes this.
  11. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    Are shower trays like this reversible i don't see why not I ask as what if your unlucky and the trap sits on joists you can't chase joist out to that extreme can you also can you drill 50mm holes through joists for the 40mm shower waste pipe cheers?
     
  12. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    Yes they are reversible.

    In fact, I had a similar issue to the one you are concerned about. When I lifted the flooring to make space for the tray I discovered the pipes from the boiler, fitted on the wall of the utility room underneath, went directly where I wanted the shower drain to be positioned.
     
  13. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    Flexible tile adhesive, quite wet. 12mm notch trowel.
     
    The Teach likes this.
  14. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    How did you overcome that then mate? Raise it?
     
  15. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    At first I was just going to reverse the tray, but the other half didn't want to step over the drain cover when going into the shower. So I re-routed the pipes from the boiler. Bigger job but an easier life. ;)
     
  16. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    So you laid tray down on ply over floorboards to strengthen its weight mate? Cheers
     
  17. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    No. I removed the flooring and used ply and cement, to be fully compliant with the warranty, as described in post 6. If you lay it on top cement on top of ply on top floorboards then it will be so high above the tiled floor that you might as well not have bothered with a low profile tray in the first place!
     
  18. Gazowl1975

    Gazowl1975 Member

    Makes sense The floorboards feel really flimsy but isn't ply prone to warping mate?
     
  19. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    That's why you use marine ply and seal the faces and edges. Although its called "marine" it isn't actually waterproof until it is sealed.
     
  20. DIY0001

    DIY0001 Active Member

    Remember to cut out a section of the marine ply for the trap to fit through and support this area of the ply with noggins nailed to the joists. Do a test dry fit of the tray to make sure everything fits in place. Then put a plastic bag over the lower section of the trap so that no cement falls in that could block it. On top of the marine ply, put a layer of wet cement. A 5:1 sand cement mix is recommended. The Merlyn 25 tray comes with some wooden blocks so that you can check the cement has the required depth all round. They have a tapered edge, which should be at the top. Spread the cement out so that it is just up to the tapered edges of the wooden blocks and then remove all of the blocks. Check the cement is level in all directions with a spirit level. Temporarily nail a wooden batten to the floor about 1cm in front of the hole cut for the tray. Make a couple of loops of 1" webbing and put them around the tray so you can lift it vertical onto its front edge and lay that edge onto the wooden batten, with the tray vertical. Then, using the webbing to support the tray and the batten as a fulcrum so that the tray doesn't slip, carefully rotate the tray down flat onto the wet cement. Push the tray in against the wall(s) and shuffle it back and forth to ensure it is well bedded into the cement without any voids. Measure again with a spirit level, checking that you are measuring the tray surround level, not the middle of the tray (which should slope down towards the trap). If it isn't perfectly level then shuffle the tray and gently tap it down (using a rubber mallet onto a ply off-cut) to get it so. Once you are sure the tray is in its final position and level, cut the webbing and pull it out from under the tray. Leave 24hrs for the cement to set and remove the temporary wood batten from the floor and the plastic bag off the lower section of the trap.

    At this point the tray will be a few cm proud of the floor level, but once you have put down the Hardiebacker board and tiled the floor it will be a very low profile indeed.

    Its really straight forward as long as you read the instructions for the tray, measure carefully and plan your work flow ahead of starting.
     

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