Making a Shower in a Small Bathroom: Tips + Example

When you have only one room for water procedures in your apartment, it's a tough choice: should you prefer a full bathtub or a shower cabin? If you've chosen the latter, Maria Lazich's tips will come in handy.

Maria LazichDesignerGeneral Director of the Maryart interior design studio. She worked for more than three years as a lead designer at one of Russia's largest furniture manufacturers specializing in bathroom furniture.

What's better about a shower?

The main advantage is space saving. A standard 800×800 mm shower cabin takes up significantly less space than a small bathtub with dimensions of 1500×700 mm, thus saving at least 0.4 sq. m. This space can then be used to fit an additional sanitary item — a toilet. If the cabin has a radius curve, even more space is saved.

Of course, an 800×800 mm shower cabin is not the most comfortable for taking a shower. But when your apartment is a Khrushchyovka and you want to fit everything necessary — and even more — into the bathroom, such a choice is optimal.

Size and Shape

Square, rectangle, quarter circle, polygon. These are the four most popular forms in shower trays.

Design: Maria Lazich
Square

To find a square shower tray measuring at least 1100 mm, you will have to spend a lot of time ordering a custom shape at stone workshops. The sizing step in shower trays is almost always 50 mm.

Quarter Circle or Polygon

The same story applies to finding the shape of a 'quarter circle' or 'polygon' shower tray — you'll have to search for a large-size tray.

Rectangle

There are more dimensional options for rectangular trays, and they're easier to use. One of the advantages is that you can comfortably place a baby bathtub inside. But again, all sizes beyond 1100 mm on the long side are either custom orders with long wait times or made individually.

It is important to know before starting renovation work that in rectangular trays, the drain is usually located in the center of the long side.

Design: Maria Lazich
Tray Height

Before choosing the tray height, measure the height of the pipe outlet from the drainage stack. If it is above the clean floor level (which often happens), then the tray height depends on and must be calculated based on the actual slope of the drainage pipe. The slope from the tray drain hole to the entry into the drainage tee is easy to calculate: 2 cm slope per meter.

Design: Maria Lazich
How to Make a Tray Level with the Floor

If you really want to make a shower tray level with the clean floor, you will have to endure additional plumbing work to lower the pipe in the drainage stack and upset your neighbors, who will be greatly disturbed.

During the work, you'll have to ask all residents living above not to use the drainage system. That's quite difficult, especially if your apartment is on the third floor of a 17-story building. That's why plumbers don't like such solutions.

Design: Maria Lazich
Shower Tray from Ceramic Tiles

The most common and cheapest trays are made of acrylic. The most popular solution is a tray made from ceramic tiles! Many consider it the cheapest and simplest option. But I will list its pros and cons so that everyone can decide for themselves whether the effort is worth it.

Design: Maria Lazich
Pros of a Ceramic Tile Tray

1. The tray can be any shape.
2. There is an option to install a heated floor under the tiles.
3. The shower zone can have any dimensions.
4. It's easy to install various models, shapes and lengths of drain traps. You can even make them around the entire perimeter of the shower area.
6. The height of the rim can be adjusted to match the height of the chosen tiles.

7. Additional mounting points can be installed inside the shower zone.
8. There is a choice of flooring for the shower area. Vinyl, decorative concrete for wet zones, resin, wooden decking (tik), mosaic, marble, river stones.
9. You can design the desired slope towards the drain opening of the shower.

Design: Maria Lazich
Cons of a Ceramic Tile Tray

1. The joints will gradually get stained with water and various ingredients from hygiene products used for body care.
2. A reinforced waterproofing layer and its careful installation/execution are required, thus you'll need skilled professionals.
5. If you don't opt for heated floors, the floor surface under your feet will be cold.

Design: Maria Lazich
How to Insulate a Shower

If you choose a shower with a tile tray, you need to think about how to insulate it. Let's go through the list from the most budget-friendly solution to a more expensive one:

1. Curtains made of special fabric or polyester.
2. Ready-made glass doors.
3. A partition made of foam blocks, clad with tiles/mosaic/paint.
4. Custom-made glass doors to individual size.
5. No door if the shower is rectangular and the long side is more than 1200 mm, and the entry to the shower is from the side.

Design: Maria Lazich
Real Example

According to the BTI plan, the bathroom in this apartment is octagonal with an area of 3.5 square meters. The task was to fit a shower, sink, toilet, towel heater, additional bathroom furniture for laundry and household chemicals into the space without changing the layout. The oddly shaped niche was closed with custom-made glass curtains. The bottom was tiled with an integrated drain trap.

Design: Maria Lazich

Design: Maria Lazich

Design: Maria Lazich
Read Also:

• How to Plan a Small Bathroom: Real Example
  
• How to Quickly Renovate a Bathroom: Tips from a Pro
  
• What to Buy for Your Bathroom: 48 Useful Items