Plumbing Point » corner showers

Corner Shower Bases

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:39:02 +0000

The primary component of a corner shower unit that determines its shape and size is the shower base. Made from a variety of materials, a corner shower base is the building block needed to provide form and substance to your shower unit.

Corner Shower Base Shapes

Corner showers can be formed in a wide array of shapes to suit the space requirements of the bathroom as well as the consumers personal preferences. Square and rectangular units are the most common, but more unique shapes are beginning to gain in popularity. If the space in the bathroom is extremely limited, a triangular base can also be utilized. For consumers seeking a more unique design, a quadrant shower tray could be an option, with two long sides flush against the wall, two small side panels, and one long front panel. Shower enclosures can also be found with curved front panels, creating a more flowing effect in the bathroom. Aside from standard shapes available on the market, shower bases can be custom made in any shape possible, with as many sides as the consumer wishes.

Corner Shower Base Materials

The two most common materials for corner shower bases are acrylic and stone resin. Each material is unique in its appearance and each has their own benefits. The choice between the two materials depends primarily on budget as well as personal preference for feel and appearance. While acrylic is the more affordable option, resin stone tends to be more attractive. Both materials are very durable and will withstand years of use. While acrylic tends to have a warmer feel to it by touch, it still retains somewhat of a plastic feel as well. Stone resin, on the other hand, is slightly solder to the touch, but mimics the feel and appearance of cultured stone. Both acrylic and stone resin can be found in a variety of colors, however, acrylic tends to come in a selection of solid colors while stone resin tends to come in color combinations that present the true color mixtures of stone in nature.

Regardless of your choice of base materials or base shapes, the infinite combinations of choices guarantees that any consumer will be able to choose the exact combination of materials and designs to best suit their needs.

Corner Shower Units

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:41:36 +0000

A corner shower has long been considered the ideal solution for small bathrooms that don’t necessarily have the floorspace to accommodate a traditional bathtub and shower unit. As the size of standard bathrooms grew, the market for the corner shower dwindled slightly. Over the past few years, however, as more homeowners are seeking to renovate and restore older homes, the problem of small bathroom space is once again an issue. With new home construction on the rise as well, the enormous size of the standard master bathrooms being built are also perfectly suited for dual bathing units. Instead of having a bathtub and shower combination, they are typically fitted with a larger soaking bathtub along with separate standing corner shower units.

Evolution of the Corner Shower Unit

As the demand for corner shower units has began to increase again over the years, the styles and designs offered on the market have increased dramatically. The original corner units were often

made from a light acrylic base with a very plastic feel to it. The bases were not necessarily designed for heavy use and tended to crack with age if not properly maintained. The shower stalls were made from the same type of acrylic and, therefore, subject to the same durability issues. The shower enclosure was comprised of either a corner shower rod, which allowed you to use a standard shower curtain, or a type of plexiglass enclosure system framed with thin aluminum. These units were designed to be affordable and practical, not visually appealing or long lasting.

From Then Until Now

As consumers buying trends began to emphasis form just as much as function, the overall designs and styles of corner shower units improved to suit the times. Modern units are being built using acrylic fiberglass mixtures which provide a drastic improvement in both feel and durability. The stalls are created using the same blend which allows for longer lasting surfaces. Stone resin is another material gaining in popularity which provides the durability of stronger plastics and resins, but the appearance of cultured stone. The enclosures are being made more frequently from tempered safety glass as opposed to plexiglass, offering a more elegant appearance as well as a safer alternative to standard glass panels.

The increased durability, coupled with the visual improvements over the years, has contributed significantly to the increased demand for corner shower units in the marketplace.

Corner Shower Kits

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:16:28 +0000

One of the best additions you can add to a small bathroom is a corner shower. With the rise of do it yourself homeowners trying to save money by taking on projects themselves, its no wonder that home improvement stores and bathroom supply distributors are starting to carry a wider selection of corner shower kits. It is not only a great way to save money, but also a way to add an addition to your home that you can take pride in for years to come.

What Is a Corner Shower Kit?

A corner shower kit is essentially a prefabricated set of parts designed to include everything you need to install your own corner shower. The cost of a corner shower kit is significantly less than that of having one installed, primarily because you are required to do all the labor yourself. Manufacturing costs are also kept own by the quantity of kits produced in standard sizes in each batch. Because of the large scales the kits are produced in, this also means they come in a limited selection of shapes and sizes. While you may save money on the overall cost of the corner shower kit, you are sacrificing the ability to make certain custom style selections.

What Is Included In a Corner Shower Kit?

Corner shower kits come in typically standard packing and include all the major components needed to assemble a fully functioning unit.

Shower Base

The overall shape of the corner unit is determined by the corner shower base or tray. This is the base piece of the shower unit which rests on the floor of the bathroom and connects to the shower drain.

Shower Stall

The kit will also include the shower stall. This is the portion of the corner shower that sits flush against the bathroom walls the shower attaches to. The stalls are pre-molded and pre-cut to include holes for the shower head and water control levers or knobs.

Shower Enclosure

The third part included with the corner kit is the shower enclosure. Prefabricated shower kits typically include acrylic or plastic shower enclosures framed with aluminum in order to provide durability while also keeping costs low. The shower door will be included as part of the enclosure and is usually a basic sliding door or pivot door.

Corner Shower Stalls

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:01:03 +0000

When deciding to install a corner shower unit in your bathroom, one of the most important choices to be made is the shower stall itself. Especially with the growing popularity of transparent glass enclosures, the fact that the shower stall incorporates the largest visible area of the shower makes it of utmost visual importance. There are various styles and models of corner shower stalls on the market and knowing exactly what you’re looking for when shopping for one can make the experience much easier.

What Is a Shower Stall?

A shower consists of a shower tray, or base, which rests on the bottom of the floor, a shower enclosure, which is used to cover the facings of the shower exposed to the bathroom, and the shower stall. The stall is the portion of the shower that rests against the surface area where the sides of the shower attach to the walls of the bathroom. Corner shower stalls can be made from a variety of materials and can be purchased in standard sizes and designs or custom made.

What Types Of Corner Shower Stalls Are Available?

The two most common types of corner shower stalls available are pre-fabricated, or pre-made, shower stalls, typically made from acrylic or fiberglass, and custom stalls, usually made from stone resin, tile, or other materials.

Pre-fabricated shower stalls are ideal when affordability is a must have feature. The acrylic and fiberglass models are inexpensive and come in a variety f standard shower sizes to meet your needs. With a little bit of do it yourself knowledge, some prefabricated shower stalls can be installed without the need of a professional, potentially saving a significant amount of money in installation costs. The obvious downside to prefabricated stalls are that they will not work on custom sized or shaped shower units.

Custom shower stalls are simply ones that must be assembled on site. They are typically made from stone resin, an acrylic like substance used to mimic the look and feel of cultured stone, ceramic tiles laid on a backing board, or actual stone itself. The benefit of a custom stall is, of course, the ability to choose the precise colors, style, size, and shape of the unit you are fitting. The downside is the extra costs involved, not only with the installation costs, but of the general higher costs of the materials being used.

Corner Shower Pans

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:59:55 +0000

While purchasing and installing a new corner shower may be a complicated experience, understanding the individual components that make up the overall shower unit can make the process a lot easier. A corner shower consists of a shower stall, which lines the walls of the bathroom the shower is attached to, a shower enclosure, which covers the sides of the shower exposed to the bathroom, and a shower pan, also called a shower base or shower tray. When installing a new corner shower, choosing from the selection of corner shower pans on the market is an important step.

What Are Corner Shower Pans?

The shower pan is basically just another name for the floor of the shower. Shower pans are usually prefabricated and made to suit a variety of standard shapes and sizes. Custom shower floors are often referred to as bases or trays, with the term shower pan being reserved strictly for pre-fabricated models. This means that a shower pan can be purchased in a choice of standard sizes, ranging from compact corner showers, to designs for more substantial units. The shapes of pans available are also limited to the most common corner showers, including squares, rectangles, quadrants, and offset quadrants.

Why Is Choosing The Right Pan So Crucial?

Choosing the correct style and type of pan is important because it is not only the portion of the shower that will receive the most contact on a regular basis, it is also the one that will need to support the most weight and, therefore, need to be extremely durable and long lasting. Choosing a shower pan is usually the first step of the process and, therefore, will determine the size and shape of the corner shower unit being installed.

Corner Shower Pan Materials?

The most common materials that have been used for building corner shower pans are acrylic, fiberglass, and an acrylic fiberglass blend. While acrylic used to be the standard, some consumers were unhappy with its overly ‘plastic’ feel. It was durable for a time, but tended to wear and crack with extended use. Fiberglass, on the other hand, was much more durable, but tended to have a rougher texture which consumers didn’t like as much. In order to resolve both issues, manufacturers began using a mixture of fiberglass and acrylic that provided an extremely durable material with a more solid, but smooth feel to it. This is the most common material for all prefabricated shower pans n the market today.

Corner Shower Enclosures

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:57:00 +0000

One of the biggest decisions to be made when selecting a corner shower is determining which type of enclosure to choose from. With such a variety of corner shower enclosures on the market, the best choice often comes down to personal tastes and preference. There are, however, definite benefits to the more popular styles on enclosure units being sold on the market today.

Acrylic Corner Shower Enclosures

The primary benefit of clear acrylic shower enclosures is their affordability. Acrylic is also very durable and, from a distance, mimics the appearance of glass. It is the most affordable option for shower enclosures because of its low cost to produce, it is primarily just another form of plastic, as well as its ability to be cut and shaped with ease. Acrylic enclosures are very versatile and can be made in nearly any shape or size. They are best suited for straight panels, but can be molded to fit curved enclosures as well.

Glass Corner Shower Enclosures

While acrylic enclosures are preferred for their affordability, glass enclosures are preferred for their upscale beauty. While acrylic is able to mimic the appearance of glass from a distance, glass enclosures themselves have a much more elegant appearance, more refined and streamlined, than acrylic. The glass used to make the enclosures is tempered safety glass. Although highly impact resistant, if it does break, it will crumble into pebbles like pieces of glass instead of jagged fragments. The tempering process not only makes the glass much more durable, it makes it a safe material for use in enclosures.

Enclosure Options

Regardless of whether you choose acrylic or glass for your corner shower enclosure, there are several style options that can be used with either material. Both acrylic and glass can be made in clear panels. This prevents the shower area from being blocked off, making the room appear even smaller. They can also be frosted, adding privacy to the shower area. The enclosure can be smooth or slightly textured as well as plain, or etched with a design or pattern. Regardless of which material you choose, the options for designs and styles ensure that you will be able to select the ideal combination of material and design to suit your bathroom perfectly.

Corner Shower Doors

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:58:18 +0000

One of the original reasons corner shower stalls began gaining popularity was because they were ideal for small bathrooms where effective use of floorspace was critical. Because they were typically installed in tight spaces, the door options available were rather limited as well. As more and more consumers began to install corner showers, not just for their efficiency, but there beauty as well, the options for corner shower doors began to expand. While there are still only so many ways you can install a door, knowing the basics of the choices you do have is crucial to selecting your best option.

Pivot Door

A pivot door works as would a standard door in your home. Instead of being hinged on the sides, however, it is attached at the top and bottom to the frame. The door pivots on the attachment points and opens outwards. While the pivot door is the most traditional in appearance, it doesn’t always work well in small spaces since it requires a bit of clearance room to open all the way. Pivot doors are most often found on corner showers that are installed as a companion to a traditional bathtub in a master bathroom where spacial concerns aren’t an issue.

Sliding Door

A sliding door is ideal for rectangular corner showers due to the extended width of the enclosure panel they must have to work properly. A sliding door typically consists of two panels set within a track, mounted at the top and bottom of the shower unit. Each panel can pass either in front of or behind the other in order to create an opening for the shower unit. A benefit to a sliding door is that it can be opened form either side and does not require any additional space, other than what the shower itself is already taking up, in order to open and close.

Bi-Fold Door

A bi-fold door is somewhat of a hybrid between a sliding door and a pivot door. It is fixed within a track at both ends, but hinged in the middle and able to fold in on itself. The bi-fold door is ideal in spaces where there is a slight amount of room to spare for door clearance outside of the shower unit, but not enough for a full pivot door. Since the bi-fold door folds in half on itself, it only extends out half the distance of a standard door.

While there are other door options available, these are the three most common.

Corner Shower Rods

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:14:41 +0000

One of the best ways to make efficient use of your space in a small bathroom is by installing a corner shower unit. They not only take up less space than a traditional bathroom, they also use the amount of space they do take up much more efficiently. While most corner showers utilize a shower enclosure, consisting of solid panels and a door, to keep water from exiting the shower, it is also possible to use a standard shower curtain which can be modified to use with the unit by means of corner shower rods.

What Is a Corner Shower Rod?

A corner shower rod is the ideal way to enclose a corner shower unit without the cost of a typical shower enclosure unit. Instead of being a straight bar, as with traditional bathtubs, a corner shower rods is designed to accommodate the more unusual shapes of most corner units. Since the most common shapes of corner units are square and rectangular, typical corner shower rods are L-shaped. Slightly thicker than traditional shower curtain rods, a corner rod is able to brace itself to the two bathroom walls the shower is set in. It can hold a standard shower curtain although, depending on the size of the corner shower, you may need two curtains to properly cover the shower area.

What Are the Benefits Of a Corner Shower Rod?

The primary benefit of a corner shower rod is cost effectiveness. Not only is the cost of a corner shower rod much cheaper than that of a paneled shower enclosure, it is also much easier to install. For appearance purposes, a scorner shower rod allows you the ability to change shower curtains, as needed, in order to modify or change the décor or color scheme of your bathroom. Since shower enclosures are fairly costly, changing them out to suit a minor bathroom remodel is not usually an option. A shower curtain, on the other hand, can run anywhere from $10 to upwards of $50, making them cost effective even when changed on a fairly regular basis. Corner shower rids and curtains also require much less maintenance than shower enclosures and are much easier to clean.

Overall, a corner shower rods is the ideal option for consumers who prefer the ability to adjust their décor on a regular basis.

Corner Showers

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:04:25 +0000

When remodeling or building a bathroom where space is an issue, one of the hardest features to place is often the bath. A sink and pedestal takes up a minimal amount of space, as does a toilet, but a bathtub is rather substantial in size. A traditional bathtub’s large rectangular size can also be difficult to work into a smaller area since it requires a great deal of wall space to be set up against. Eventually homeowners began to realize that there was an easier way to still have a functioning bathroom without necessarily sacrificing a substantial amount of floorspace for a bathtub. The solution came in the form of a corner shower.

What Is a Corner Shower?

A corner shower is essentially exactly as its name implies, a shower unit that is installed in the corner of a bathroom. They can be comprised of a shower tray, or base, and a shower enclosure, or simply just a tiled floor with a drain surrounded by an enclosure. Corner showers offer the ability to have the bathing function included in a small bathroom without having to relinquish all of the available floor space to do so. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, designed ideally for small spaces, but can be made to complement large areas as well. They also come with a variety of enclosure types, designed to add a decorative touch to the unit.

Benefits of a Corner Shower

The primary benefit of a corner shower is the amount of space it can save in a bathroom. Unlike traditional bathtubs, it does not require a substantial amount of wall space and, with its corner design, makes much more efficient use of the square footage it does take up. The corner positioning also allows more space for other items that require wall space, such as sinks and toilets.

The new designs of corner showers on the market are also extremely elegant in their design and are quickly growing in popularity, even in bathrooms where space is not an issue. In fact, it is very common for new master bathrooms to include both a full size bathtub and a separate corner shower. This not only takes advantage of the added space in newer bathrooms, similar to the idea behind the dual vanity, it also allows two people to utilize the bathroom at once.

Corner showers are also ideal for individuals who may have problems getting in and out of a traditional bathtub, whether it is due to age or other health issues. Since you simply walk in to a corner shower, usually with only a minor threshold to step over, the need to get over the larger sides of the bathtub to shower, or even go from a standing to sitting position to bathe, are eliminated completely. The walls of the corner shower can also be fitted with a variety of handrails that can be used for support while showering for additional security. This makes corner showers an excellent choice for individuals who have health issues that must be taken into account when designing a bathroom.

What Is a Corner Shower Base?

A corner shower base is the bottom section of the corner shower that sits on the floor and connects to the shower drain. Most often, it is a shallow tray, made from either acrylic or stone resin, that creates the basic shape of the corner shower unit. A corner shower base can be found in standard shapes, such as triangular, square, and rectangular or can also be custom ordered in a shape best suited to the consumers exact specifications and preferences. At one time, they were almost always white or off-white in color, but as they gained in popularity over the years, the color selections available on the market increased dramatically. With the popularity of stone resin trays increasing as well, it is much easier to have a corner shower with the look of cultured stone, as opposed to standard acrylic. Corner shower bases come in a variety of standard sizes, but can be custom made to meet the consumers space requirements.

What Is a Corner Shower Enclosure?

A corner shower enclosure is basically the component of the corner shower unit that connects to the bathroom walls and the shower base to form a barrier around the shower unit which prevents water from getting outside of the unit itself. Shower enclosures can be made from a variety of materials, such as clear acrylic and glass, and are able to be modified to suit any shape or size corner shower base. The enclosures are available with a variety of decorative touches, such as color tinting or texturing, to complement the overall décor of the bathroom. Enclosures can be transparent, allowing the room to seem larger since the shower area is not being blocked off, or they can be frosted, allowing the bather a greater amount of privacy while in the shower. Corner shower enclosures also come in a choice of traditional framed models, or the newest trend of frameless designs.

What Type of Door Is On a Corner Shower?

The doors used in corner showers depend primarily in the shape of the shower base, but also on personal preference as well as space restraints. For example, a square or rectangular corner shower base can accommodate a sliding door design, while a curved base may not be able to as easily and would require a swinging door. On the other hand, if the bathroom area is extremely small, a door that swings outwards to open may not be the ideal choice and a sliding door may be a better option to go with. For the standard shapes, such as squares or rectangles, the choice of doors is a little more open since they can accommodate the widest variety of options. Like the enclosures, the doors are typically made of glass or acrylic and designed to blend in seamlessly with the enclosure itself and will be designed to incorporate the same decorative elements.

Overall, a corner shower is the ideal answer when space or health issues make standard bathtubs inefficient. They also come in such a variety of materials, styles, and designs that they are ideal for standard bathrooms as well. A corner shower is a terrific companion to a standard bathtub in a master bathroom, or a way to add a modern touch to a standard bathroom.