Top 5 Tips to Choosing the Right Shower Enclosure

When it comes to purchasing a shower enclosure, it’s not like buying a pair of shoes… it’s not something we do regularly, you can’t try it out before you buy and it’s an investment piece that you expect to last for years to come. As a showering expert, we thought we would give you our top tips on how to approach buying a shower enclosure…

1. Visit a Display Retailer

You might not be able to try the shower enclosure in your own home, but you can try it out by visiting your local displaying bathroom retailer. If you’ve picked a design, style or brand you like, find out where your nearest displaying retailer of that product is and call in. You can then see the product, open and close the doors and step inside to understand if it will work for your lifestyle, space and within your bathroom design.

2. Plan Out Your Bathroom

Create a floor plan of your bathroom, including any potential restrictions such as windows, door frames and cupboards. Add in your chosen bathroom furniture to then identify whether everything will work in the available space. This will help you identify what footprint you have available for the shower and whether you need an inward opening shower door due to obstructions, or another solution product. We would always recommend discussing this with your specialist bathroom retailer, many of which will offer a design service, so they can bring your drawing and ideas to life. They will be able to identify any possible issues you may not have spotted yourself, and they will help you really make the most of your space.

3. Think About Your Family’s Needs and Future Needs

It seems like common sense, but thinking about your individual needs and that of your family should be done early on in the planning stages. Your bathroom design is going to be a long term design that you won’t want to consider redoing for around 10 years (on average). Some key questions to think about:

  • Will your family change in that time – it may grow from new children or grandchildren, or from an elderly resident coming to live with you, for example. What might their needs be? Baths can be important for young children and toddlers, whereas a separate shower enclosure may be a necessity for older relatives.
  • How might your lifestyle change? As we get older we may need to think about fewer restrictions in the bathroom, so eliminating steps and awkward doors and handles, for an easy access bathroom, may be a good idea.
  • Do you have a family home? You may need to think about a height adjustable showerhead, and a more spacious enclosure to accommodate all your different family members’ shapes and heights.
  • Are you looking for a relaxing space, or somewhere that makes your morning routine as quick as possible? You may be able to replace the bath with a spacious Walk-in shower enclosure, if the bath has become redundant in your family.

4. Check the Guarantee

The bathroom will be a high traffic area. Your shower enclosure could be opened and closed around 10 times a day in the average family home – receiving constant impact. Therefore it needs to be built to last, and to have a good, transparent guarantee. Ideally a service backed guarantee will give you total peace of mind.

5. Choose a Reputable Installer

For a perfect finish, ensure the installation of your bathroom products is completed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Most leaking shower enclosures are the result of poor installation, rather than a faulty product. If products aren’t installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions this can invalidate the guarantee and cause a range of different issues. By picking a reputable installer, you can ensure your bathroom design looks fantastic, as well as lasting for years to come.