ᐅ Shower Too Small – Custom-Made Shower Enclosure

Created on: 21 Jun 2021 22:40
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NKB2020
Hello,

we are nearing the end of our build with a general contractor and have encountered the following issue:

The width of the shower niche in the family bathroom measures only 117.9cm (46.4 inches) after tiling. The rough opening was specified as 124cm (48.8 inches). The shower enclosure we selected for 120cm (47.2 inches) wide niches has a tolerance of only 15mm (0.6 inches) and, based on our current understanding, will not fit. This tolerance seems to be typical, as we haven’t been able to find any alternatives quickly.

The plumbing company we informed about the discrepancy has now sent us an additional quote for a custom-made unit, including measurement costs, totaling over €600 net.

We would like to avoid these extra costs and are seeking to understand where things went wrong. Was the rough opening already too tight? Who should have been responsible for monitoring the accuracy of the measurements? In our opinion, the site manager (who has unfortunately been quite slow). Should the plumbing company have pointed out when installing the shower tray that sufficient clearance needed to be maintained (perhaps using less tile adhesive or thinner tiles)? Should the tiler have been aware that the dimensions were critical?

We are quite frustrated at the moment because, towards the end, several issues have arisen regarding coordination and promised deadlines that have not been met. This situation is just adding fuel to the fire, which we might otherwise have accepted in an otherwise smooth process.

Tomorrow we have an on-site meeting with the site manager (originally to locate a missing boundary marker). I would like to calm down beforehand so that the meeting can be productive.

Thank you for your insights and suggestions!
Nina

Grundriss eines Dachgeschosses: zwei Kinderzimmer, Schlafzimmer, Bad, Flur und Abstellraum.
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Steffi33
22 Jun 2021 13:26
Is this a 1.20 meter (4 feet) wide shower door, or how should one imagine it???
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NKB2020
22 Jun 2021 14:25
Steffi33 schrieb:

Is that a 1.20-meter (4 feet) wide shower door, or how should one imagine it???

It is/was a 1.20-meter (4 feet) wide sliding door. At the time, we visited a bathroom showroom and selected the toilet, washbasin, and other items. Our customization requests were then passed on to the general contractor’s plumbing subcontractor, who prepared the offer for us. We haven’t received an invoice yet, but the upgrades from the standard design are billed directly by the plumbing company, which was also the case with the electrical work.

By now, we have reached the point where we will remove the shower enclosure from the offer and contract it separately.
The plumbing company charges €135 net just for the on-site measurement. We can probably get this done more cheaply elsewhere, but not before moving in :-/
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Steffi33
22 Jun 2021 14:52
NKB2020 schrieb:

It is/was a 1.20m (4 feet) wide sliding door.

Hmm... I can’t quite imagine that a sliding door wouldn’t fit. It would just overlap a bit more... Do you really KNOW that your door doesn’t fit, or are you just THINKING that?

I had similar concerns with our shower wall. The tile installation reduced the original 120cm (47 inches) dimension as well. The delivered 120cm (47 inches) panel was actually narrower and ended up fitting with plenty of space. The side mounting provided enough adjustment to compensate for this.
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danixf
22 Jun 2021 14:55
NKB2020 schrieb:

We are now at the point where we will remove the shower enclosure from the offer and arrange it separately.
The plumbing company charges €135 net just for the on-site measurement. We can probably get it cheaper elsewhere, but not before moving in :-/

So they do take measurements after all? How can it be that the door doesn’t fit later on? By the way, €135 is a normal price...
Why not before moving in? You can go to the nearest DIY store and someone will come to measure tomorrow. Then the unit is installed 1–2 weeks later.
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Steffi33
22 Jun 2021 15:18
I just measured… our "120" shower panel actually has a glass dimension of only 115 cm (45 inches). The glass is held in place by a metal strip on the side. The glass extends about 2 to 3 cm (1 inch) into this strip (there is still room for more). So there is a lot of clearance… I would bet this is quite common and is used generously to compensate for tolerances.

Shower enclosure with glass panel, handheld showerhead on flexible hose in the shower tray.


Shower enclosure with glass panel, metal guide, white tiles; orange container in the bottom left.
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NKB2020
22 Jun 2021 15:37
The measurement service was only added after we raised concerns. The shower enclosure we selected has a tolerance of just 1.5cm (0.6 inches). The plumbing company confirmed again today that the standard model wouldn’t fit.
Thanks for double-checking measurements, @Steffi33, maybe your model is more flexible.
danixf schrieb:

Why not wait until move-in? You can visit a hardware store soon and someone will come to measure tomorrow. The unit can then be installed 1-2 weeks later.

That’s good news. We thought custom sizes would definitely have longer delivery times.
We will discuss this with the site manager today, and maybe the plumbing company has a more cost-effective solution. It’s also good to know that €135 for the measurement service is standard.