Why Do You Need a Shower Tray?

Is a shower tray (also known as a shower pan) necessary for your walk-in shower and, if so, what is its purpose? Well, shower trays exist because they fulfil a very important function within the bathroom—they stop the water from going where it shouldn’t when you take a shower. There are other ways of making sure this happens, but the simplest, most effective way is to install a shower tray.

Contents

What is the purpose of a shower tray?

Can you use tiles instead of a shower tray?

What do you put under a shower tray?

Do you install the shower tray before or after tiling?

What is the purpose of a shower tray?

A shower tray carries out a crucial role within your bathroom. It directs the flow of water from your shower to the drainage point. This stops the water from pooling where it shouldn’t. When water seeps between the cracks in the floorboards, it can—over time—rot whatever timber lies beneath as well as causing mould to develop. By installing a shower pan, you’ll make sure that the water only goes down the drain.

Can you use tiles instead of a shower tray?

Continuity of flooring throughout a bathroom—particularly in a minimalist bathroom—can look fantastic and some homeowners may be concerned that a shower tray will break the aesthetic flow. However, there are issues with running tiling right throughout the bathroom and foregoing a shower tray—and there’s also a simple solution.

The main issue is that a bathroom floor is usually completely level. What this means that, without a shower tray, any water that falls away from the drain cover (which is most of it—because, well, water splashes) will not have any way of being guided towards the drain.

You would need to take up the tiles and literally cut the floor to specific angles, then lay a waterproof layer on the bare floor, and then replace the tiling on top of it to guide the water. Stunning as it can look, this is a much more expensive and complicated job than simply installing a shower tray.

A practical solution if you don’t want a heavy, highly visible shower pan, is to install a slimline shower tray. Ultra-slim shower trays are, as their name suggests, quite unintrusive in terms of their height from the floor. They can help to define the shower without feeling as though they are taking over the entire space, which makes them attractive as well as practical. Many homeowners prefer the appearance of a shower tray to no tray at all, in fact.

Aquila Corian® Design Shower Tray

What do you put under a shower tray?

Does a shower tray need a waterproof layer beneath it? In short, no. Unlike regular bathroom tiling, which relies on under-floor waterproofing to act as a shower floor, a shower tray is, itself, the waterproof layer.

If it’s made from a material like Corian®, which is completely impervious to water, then no water will ever make it through the surface. (Corian® shower trays also come in over 100 different colours and multiple, customisable styles, making it a very flexible option.) Silestone and various brands of solid surface are also popular shower tray materials for their equally outstanding water resistance.

So no—no waterproof layer necessary. All you need to do to install a shower tray is to apply mortar to keep it in place and silicone to seal the waste hole. If you’re a DIY enthusiast and fitting your own, don’t forget to use a spirit level to make sure you bed it down neatly into the mortar.

Do you install the shower tray before or after tiling?

A shower tray should be installed before you do the tiling. This means that it will not only sit well visually within the rest of the floor, it will also allow you to create a more watertight seal around it when you cement-in the tiles.

Is it possible to lay a shower tray on bare wooden floorboards and leave it without tiling at all? Actually, yes, it is. We would always advise waterproofing your bathroom to the highest degree as it’s a space with lots of moisture. However, if you like the look of bare floorboards, a properly installed shower tray will work to collect the waste water from the shower, leaving you free to enjoy the visual splendour of the wooden flooring.

Looking for something else to read? Check out our article, In What Order Should I Remodel My Home?