Many of us dream of a shower cabin, but not everyone can make their dream come true, because a shower cabin or a hydrobox is not a cheap pleasure. Prices for more or less acceptable quality models start from several tens of thousands of rubles. In addition, not every bathroom has a place to place a shower in addition to the bathtub.

This problem has one great solution - you can build a shower cabin yourself. Even using expensive building materials, you will spend less money than on a ready-made shower cabin from leading manufacturers, and there is no point in buying another, as cheap models quickly fail. As a result, you will receive a shower cabin that meets all your requirements: in shape, size and equipment. You will be confident in its quality characteristics, and it will serve you for many years.


Shower cabin: all the pros and cons

If the size of the bathroom allows, you won't have to choose between a tub and a shower, so you can enjoy the benefits of both fixtures. If square meters dictate their conditions, then, in order not to make a mistake with the choice, we suggest considering all the advantages and disadvantages of shower cabins. This will help you decide if you're ready to trade your traditional bathtub for a modern walk-in shower.

Proponents of showers usually make the following arguments:

  • For people leading an active lifestyle, a shower cabin seems to be the best option. It allows you to perform hygiene procedures literally on the run, without being distracted by restrictive movements, high sides and curtains that constantly strive to stick to a wet body.
  • If there are elderly people in the house, then it will be much more convenient for them to wash in the shower, especially if you install a bench there. Getting in and out of the shower is no problem for them. But to overcome the high sides of the bath, grandparents often need help.
  • The shower stall is usually a more or less closed space and therefore warms up faster than the entire bathroom. You can warm up the cabin simply by running warm water for a few minutes, and then, already at a comfortable temperature, you can proceed to hygienic and cosmetic procedures.
  • A shower cabin takes up less space than a bathtub. On the saved square meter, you can install a bidet, washing machine or wardrobe. In addition, a beautiful shower cabin, whether bought or made by yourself, can become a real highlight of your bathroom.

Opponents of showers point to the following disadvantages:

  • For many people, taking a bath is a real ritual, which is accompanied by fragrant foam, oil, candles, pleasant music and even champagne. Not everyone is ready to give up this pleasure, which helps fight stress and fatigue.
  • Small children love to splash in the water. Rubber toys and special bath paints can keep them busy for a long time. Unfortunately, such entertainment is not available in the shower cabin.
  • It is convenient to wash large items that do not fit in the washing machine or clothes that require delicate hand washing in the bath. Of course, there are deep showers that partially solve this problem.
  • Installing a finished closed cabin does not require preparatory work, but if you decide to make a shower cabin with your own hands, you will have to take good care of the waterproofing.


Choose the installation location and shape

In principle, a shower cabin can be installed anywhere in the bathroom, but only if you started planning the finishing of the room at the final stage of construction, when the sewer pipes have not yet been laid. In this case, you can carry out the wiring of the sewer at your discretion, based on the location of plumbing fixtures. If you just decide to replace the old bath with a shower, then you need to install it as close as possible to the sewer riser, that is, in place of the bath. Of course, sewer pipes can be extended on their own, but this is not always possible and, moreover, unsafe.


As for the shape of the shower cabin, it will depend entirely on your skills in construction and repair. It is better for novice masters to stay on a rectangular or square cabin. Such a cabin is easy to fit into a corner, so less construction work and materials will be required. More advanced repairmen can recommend a round-shaped shower cabin or even a shell-shaped one.


Deciding on a pallet

There are two options for the base of a homemade shower cabin.

This is the simplest and most obvious solution. You won't spend a lot of time and effort installing it, and besides, you won't have to deal with waterproofing the floor.

One “but”: a quality shower tray will cost you much more than a homemade floor, and it makes no sense to buy a cheap, low-quality option. The most popular are acrylic and earthenware shower trays. They look great and retain heat well, but they are quite fragile products.

Stronger and more durable - cast iron pallets, but because of their weight, they are gradually falling into disuse.

The best option is shower trays made of quartz or artificial marble. They combine the beautiful appearance and thermal conductivity of acrylic and earthenware with the strength and wear resistance of cast iron. But for such an acquisition, you will have to pay a fairly large amount of money.

sloping floor

This is a more reliable, but also more time-consuming solution. It involves the creation of an uneven floor in the shower cabin with an angle of inclination, along which water will go into the drain. You can make such a floor yourself by knocking down a few centimeters of the floor from the walls of the shower cabin towards its center. Then the floor is laid out with non-slip tiles in compliance with the slope. It is important to add a special composition against the formation of fungus and mold to the tile adhesive. Seal the joints with the walls with bathroom sealant.


Connection to water supply and sewerage

An important part of the independent creation and installation of a shower cabin is its connection to sewerage and water supply systems. In order to do this correctly, be sure to consider the following points:

  • To connect the shower cabin to the water pipes, you need to use special flexible hoses. Choose hoses slightly longer than necessary.
  • The pipe that connects the drain to the sewer should run at a slight angle. In the future, this will save the drain from the formation of blockages.
  • A waste pump is necessary if the shower is far from the sewer riser.
  • In order to prevent the shower cabin from heating up, install pumps with magnetic valves.
  • In order to prevent water from accumulating in the pan, select the position of the siphon so that it is above the drain.
  • Sewer pipes must run below the level at which the drain siphon is located.
  • When connecting the shower cabin to the water supply, be sure to use gaskets and, if necessary, silicone sealant.


For information on how to install a ladder to the floor, see the following video.

Electrician

If you are not going to equip your shower with additional features, such as hydromassage, steam bath or sauna effect, then you will only need electricity to organize lighting and forced ventilation (using a fan that is powered by the mains). Close contact with water implies increased safety of electrical appliances. Wiring electricity is best done on the outside of the shower. Do not forget to install a residual current device that will protect the electrical network from overloads. If there is a socket next to the shower cabin, make sure that it is of the appropriate class of protection against moisture and dust.


If possible, it is better to entrust the electrical wiring to a professional electrician in order to be sure of your own safety and the safety of all family members.

Finishing materials for walls and floors

The best option for finishing the walls and floor of the shower cabin is tile. Plastic panels can also be installed on the walls, but this is only a temporary and not very reliable solution. For walls, you can choose any ceramic tile - with or without a pattern, glossy or matte, flat or embossed. It all depends on your preferences and the rest of the bathroom interior. Looks great in the decoration of shower cabins - mosaic coating.


With the choice of facing tiles for the floor, you should be careful: it is easy to slip and fall on a smooth tile, and a tile with an overly embossed pattern can cause blisters and microtraumas on the feet. In order to protect yourself, lay a special rubber mat on the floor of the shower cabin.


Equipment

Having finished with the main components of a homemade shower cabin, you can begin to solve secondary issues. First of all, it is necessary to resolve the issue with the additional walls of the shower cabin. Someone can do without them, but in our opinion it is not very convenient, especially if the bathroom in the apartment is combined. The most budget option is to close the shower cabin with ordinary bath curtains made of waterproof material. However, in order to give the shower enclosure a truly beautiful and finished look, we recommend installing transparent doors.


Shower doors are usually made of glass, fiberglass or acrylic. Glass sashes are certainly beautiful, but extremely impractical, because they can crack or even break even after a slight blow. You can, of course, buy tempered glass, but it is expensive. The same story with fiberglass - for our purposes, it is not strong enough.

Plumbing equipment: faucets, shower heads, etc. - is installed at the stage of connecting the shower cabin to the water supply. There are several options for shower heads - with a hose, static, which is attached to the wall and ceiling. For more convenience, we recommend combining two types of shower heads, for example, a regular shower head with a hose and a ceiling shower head for a tropical rain shower.

A shower cabin is needed not only to keep the body clean, it can also be used to carry out procedures that support health and beauty. In a large plumbing store, look in the department that sells equipment for showers. There you will find hydromassage panels, devices that create the effect of a rain shower or Charcot shower, steam generators, equipment for sauna and infrared heating.

  • Before proceeding directly to the work, using the building level, determine whether the walls in the place where the shower will be located make a right angle. This only matters if the cabin is located in the corner of the bathroom, and most often it does.
  • Don't forget tightness. First of all, this applies to the sloping floor: observe the correct proportions of the concrete screed of the leveling mixture. Seal all joints with silicone sealant.

    • If you do everything right, then a do-it-yourself shower cabin will become your pride, as well as the object of admiration and envy of your guests.