ᐅ Design of the walk-in shower?

Created on: 27 Aug 2018 13:21
S
sco0ter
Hello forum,

Here’s the situation:

We want to install wood-effect tiles in our bathroom (about 10m² (108 sq ft)). Specifically, the Etic Pallissandro tiles (dark brown).

We were also planning to use them in our walk-in shower (100 x 140 cm (39 x 55 inches)).

At the time, we agreed with our sanitary supplier on a centered, round drain. We didn’t think much of it, just assumed “yes, that works, let’s move on to the important stuff.” After all, it’s just a drain.

Our tiler recently told us that with long, narrow tiles—as is usually the case with wood-effect tiles—he would advise against a centered, round drain, because you end up with a lot of ugly (especially diagonal) grout lines to achieve the slope. It looks bad and is costly.

He said: either mosaic tiles, 5 x 5 cm (2 x 2 inches) (which don’t require diagonal grout lines), or large-format tiles (which only need about four grout lines and look better overall).
Or, of course, we could choose a linear shower drain installed at the end of the shower floor. This way, the entire shower floor can be sloped properly, even with wood-effect tiles, without diagonal grout lines.

Inquiry with the sanitary supplier revealed: a 600 EUR surcharge if we switch from the centered drain to the linear drain. Unbelievable!

Since we don’t find that reasonable, we want to stick with the centered drain.

Our tile dealer says the only large-format tiles available (100 x 100 cm (39 x 39 inches)) are cement-effect, which doesn’t go well with the wood look (we tried it, really doesn’t match).

We were also advised against mosaics because they have even more grout lines, which are harder to clean and where dirt accumulates.

The last alternative would be a shallow ceramic shower tray again, but that will probably be even more expensive.

Do you see any other options, or what would you do?

Is mosaic really that bad when it comes to maintenance?
C
Curly
28 Aug 2018 08:34
Yes, they are fixed in place and cannot be removed. The only "movable" parts are the upper tiled cover and the strainer in the middle.

Best regards,
Sabine
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niri09
28 Aug 2018 13:15
kaho674 schrieb:

In the guest toilet, we have a shower with a standard drain and mosaic tiles, and it works perfectly. Without the mosaic, it really wouldn’t have worked—the look would have been poor. That’s why we specifically searched for tiles with matching mosaic and found some. 🙂

I’ve had rather negative experiences with a centrally located drain! It clogs all the time. We’re installing a shower channel in the house, so I’m curious to see if that will work better.
Y
ypg
28 Aug 2018 13:30
niri09 schrieb:
I’ve had mostly negative experiences with the drain in the middle! It’s constantly clogged. We’re installing a shower channel in the house, so I’m curious if that will work better.

Then take another look at Curly’s picture: even with a single rail, there is only a small drain.

@Curly I’ll check with our setup to see whether the brackets are supposed to be fixed in place.
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niri09
28 Aug 2018 13:36
Yes, I am already familiar with that. It is clear that in the end, whether using a channel drain or a point drain, the water flows into a single pipe. Therefore, it only depends on the diameter and the slope of the drainage pipe.
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Obstlerbaum
28 Aug 2018 18:22
Central drains are a matter of personal preference; I don’t like stepping directly on them while showering. Nowadays, I’m a big fan of shower trays again because they completely eliminate the issue of dirt accumulating in grout lines. If you prefer enameled steel, the selection is unfortunately quite limited. Have a look at the new Kaldewei Nexsys—it’s a sleek option. Otherwise, mineral cast shower trays are also very nice, for example the Duravit P3 Comforts or Stonetto models.

Underfloor heating in the shower area makes little sense with today’s supply temperatures. Ideally, you should never really feel the floor is warm; if you do, the system is set too high.
K
kbt09
28 Aug 2018 18:29
Obstlerbaum schrieb:
Underfloor heating beneath the shower makes little sense with today’s supply temperatures.

I disagree. Underfloor heating in the shower area is not about having a “warmer” floor for your feet, but rather to provide sufficient heated surface in the bathroom and because the gentle warmth from below helps to dry the wet shower floor.

In bathrooms like mine, with about 4.5 m² (48 sq ft) and approximately 1.3 m² (14 sq ft) of shower area, this makes a noticeable difference.