Assembling the shower enclosure with your own hands

More , it would seem, most recently shower cabins most of us saw only in the movies or in advertising magazines. This plumbing "assembly" was perceived, rather, not as a convenient accessory for i regular hygiene procedures, but as a luxury item, not available to everyone. But it was not long before the booth turned into a true helper, sometimes even more useful than the usual bathroom.

And to judge logically - is it so often in our time we use the bathroom? In the "era" of meters for hot and cold water to spend 100 liters for the adoption of one procedure will not afford everyone - unless, child to bathe. Washing in the bathrooms has also almost ceased - automatic washing machines became responsible for this matter, too moved from the category of "elite" to a quite ordinary set of an ordinary family. But without a shower can not do. In addition, we must not forget about the eternal issue lack of space in the bathrooms and bathrooms - and the purchase and assembly of the shower with their own hands in most cases immediately removes the severity of this problem.

Of course, if there is an opportunity to have both, both are excellent. But even in terms of ease of use, the shower cubicle leaves the bath with a mixer far behind .Modern models make the process ss pr the soul in a very pleasant, sometimes even healing procedure. And some of them, in addition, allow hosts even "do not shut off from the media space - about this take care of the communication channels IP or GSM or built-in FM radio.

The article will give brief recommendations on the choice of the model, and, most importantly, the reader should receive an answer to the question - whether it is feasible for him to install a shower cubicle with his own hands, or it is better not to take risks, and turn to specialists.

«ABC» devices shower stall

To properly select and, then, correctly install the showerth booth need least about understand its base unit. Of course, the models of the cabins - are great, but the general pattern of layout for everything is observed.

First of all, the shower booths differ in the types of construction.

• Open booths are, rather, just fenced off for showering space - they consist of walls and a pallet. Although, in the series cases, a special tray even can and not be used - if another method of collecting and draining water to the sewer is thought out, for example reliably waterproof floor with a ladder.

Open-type shower cubicles can be wall-mounted, but most often they are produced in a corner version - in this case, the walls of the room actually take on the role of the two walls of the booth. If the room has some complicated configuration, then, if desired , you can pick up the shower, designed to be built into the niche. In this case, becomes easier - three walls are already ready, and remains just install the front one, with the entrance door.

Sometimes in the reviews of similar products open booths call showers screens or showers fences.

• Closed cabins can also be wall-mounted or angled, but they are already a completely isolated box, with a pallet and a mandatory roof, with very tight-fitting door flaps.

This design opens wide possibilities in the extension of the functional booth. In the wall and ceiling panel, hydraulic nozzles are built in to create massage jets, various shower heads, special instruments and devices for aromatherapy, to provide effect of a steam bath or sauna with infrared heating. In fact, an ordinary shower cubicle can become a kind of home-based universal bath and wellness complex.

• By the way, the owners of apartments who would like to have a modern shower cubicle, but do not refuse to have a bathroom( even in cramped for the area of ​​the premises), it is possible to advise the "hybrid" models. Such products are, of course, quite expensive, but they allow you to use the bathroom as needed, or turn its ( completely or certain its site) into a shower cubicle.

Now - the main components of the shower cabins, starting from the bottom.

Shower tray shower tray

The shower tray is the "base" on which the entire shower enclosure is based. Plus to this, he should still and withstand a considerable weight of a washable adult person of solid composition. In a word, the requirements for its strength are special.

Pallets can be made from different materials. From time to time more come across metal( enamelled cast iron or stamped steel).Much more often booths are equipped with plastic pallets, or made of special composite materials. The most common are acrylic or quilted ( quilted - more perfect composition, which is a mixture of acrylic and quartz filler. grows popularity of products made of artificial stone - special polymer composite, excellent imitating natural marble or granite.

The shape and size of the pallet, in principle, largely determines the volume and the spaciousness of the shower cubicle itself.

They can be rectangular, pentagonal, segment of ½ or ¼ circle in form, they can take other complex enough configurations( for example, there are booths without doors in the form of a "snail.") When choosing the right size, it should be taken into account that the booth space should notseverely restrict the movements of the person washing in it, especially if there are very large or obese people in the family.

The minimum size of the angled pallets is 800 × 800 mm, but this is seen as too tight a space. Of course, it is always necessary to proceed from "territorial opportunities", but if the area allows, then the best option is still 900 × 900 mm or even 1000 × 1000. By the way, this is important in the event that for some reason someonefrom family members it will be necessary to take water procedures in a sitting position.

Now - the depth of the pallet. On this parameter it can be flat, depth for more than 30 ÷ 40 mm, medium or deep ( with a bowl up to 180 mm).When you choose again, you need to take into account that sometimes not all family members will comfortably climb into the booth through the high side( considerable depth of the bowl itself, plus the pallet is on the defined by the elevation from the floor level).But on the other hand, and the function of reliable water collection and the timely of its diversion into the sewage system must be fully complied with.

Often, home masters refuse the "regular" pallet of the cabin, and lay out their - from cement , with careful waterproofing, the organization reliable drain and cladding with non-slip ceramic tiles. Then the cabin walls are mounted on this ready-made pallet.

Vertical enclosures of the shower cubicle

These elements include a frame, fixed walls, normal or functional, and the entrance doors of a particular design.

The frame, which is attached to the pallet and serves as the base for the cab walls, is usually made of light and corrosion resistant metal( aluminum) or plastic. Plastic frames, of course, are less durable, and they are often "masked" under metal with the help of surface coloring - when choosing you need to be attentive.

The enclosure walls themselves are made by either from fiberglass, or from natural tempered glass. Fiberglass is lighter, cheaper, but its inexpensive varieties have a gradual property, under the influence of time, temperature and humidity lose transparency and color saturation, grow dull, and become covered with a network of microcracks. If a plastic option is chosen, it is better to immediately acquire a translucent one - on it , these shortcomings will be less significant and longer will remain invisible.

Glass walls are made of very durable material, and you should not be afraid to break it out - it's almost impossible, unless, of course, you set this heavy tool .And in this case, the glass will be shattered into small pieces of the correct shape, which should not represent the trauma hazard of .

The rear and side walls of some models are not just fencing but perform many functions. It is on that fixes all sanitary devices, including various mixers, shower heads, massage hydraulic nozzles, steam generators, lighting systems and other " bloats " with all the necessary elements of mechanical or electronic control. On the back side of these walls all the necessary hydraulic and electrical wiring passes with the nodes of connection to the water supply system, the power grid and, if necessary, to other communications.

The doors in the shower enclosure can be swinging, sliding( folding or folding) or swivel-sliding, rotating with respect to the vertical axis.

From the point of view of simplicity of installation and practicality in operation, the accustomed swing doors, single- or double-leaf are certainly in the lead. But they also have a drawback - they need a certain space for opening relative to the suspension axis. In large booths, sometimes doors are made opening inside .Well, in models small will have when installing to provide space for the wing, so as not to accidentally injure it or break the door.

Sliding do not have such a disadvantage - they move along the guide "rails" with the help of a system of suspension and thrust rollers. This gives some difficulty in mounting and adjusting works, but it is quite convenient in the process of using.

Normally, all vertical enclosures of the shower cubicle, regardless of the material of manufacture, are covered with a special hydrophobic material. This measure is not gives drops of water to remain on the walls - they just drain down, leaving no characteristic whitish spots after drying.

shower head This structural element, as already mentioned, is not available for all models, but where the cover is available, it performs several important functions:

• . First, itsealing the space of the cabin, , especially if in it the possibility of a "steam bath" or "aromatherapy" is realized.
• Secondly, usually in the cover are attached several plumbing devices - a shower head, massage nozzles and , .
• In the third, it is on the roof that the ventilation system is assembled with the removal of steam to the ventilation ducts of the house.
• AND, fourth , various electrical devices can be attached to the cover, for example, acoustic systems or backlighting points.

Additional equipment for a shower cubicle

Sometimes it seems that in matters of the additional equipped with shower cabins, some manufacturers simply try to "outdo" each other. So, in addition to the usual mixers and showers, as already mentioned, various massage jets, the effects of "tropical rain" are used. The models with steam generators are in demand, especially with the possibility of adjusting the temperature of the steam and its saturation with aromatic or cosmetic compounds. There is the possibility of ionization( ozonation) of air. Built-in mobile booth, radio, other media capabilities , set the original kinds of highlights, voice control of all the embedded functions. Whether it is necessary to pay considerable money for similar bloats - is a highly individual question.

But from the point of view of operational capabilities, one of the features must be paid attention. The fact is that shower cabins, equipped with massage nozzles, require a certain pressure at the water inlet. Very often, there are situations when, after installation, the owner of the cabin suddenly encounters that the shower - and that flows barely, but about the whirlpool and speeches not comes .And the reason is that it was necessary to compare the model and pressure parameters in the water supply network. So, in the high-rise buildings, the head usually rarely exceeds 1.5 ÷ 2 atmospheres( and on the high floors of the the can fall to critical low marks altogether), and the equipment parameters may require all 3 ÷ 4 atm .Hence, will have to to fork out for for an electric pump and a water tank( hydroaccumulator), from where water will be fed to all hydraulic cabin devices under the required pressure.

Assembling the shower cubicle with their own hands

Shower cabins are produced by many manufacturers of , both European and Asian ones, mainly from China. To the credit of our Eastern friends, we can say that the quality of their products is getting higher every year, and given the relatively small price, their products constitute enough serious competition to recognized brands. Moreover, many Chinese companies have started to let European models in its , a licensed version.

But there is almost all products from China one big "sin". If Europeans accompany their goods with carefully thought-out instructions( if is not even in Russian, then it's not difficult to translate them), our eastern neighbors approach this issue in a slightly different way. Perhaps the problem lies in the "difficulty of translation", but, as a rule, " manuals" represent an inarticulate, hard-to-read text with a mass of errors, accompanied by to the same rather carelessly filled with illegible images. In a word, understand how you want.

To assist in the self-assembly of the standard insulated corner shower cubicle, we suggest that you look at this process in more detail with step-by-step exposition. Of course, each of the models has its own features, but the general principle will still be the same.

For example, the shower cubicle of the Chinese assembly type "RANCHOS-406" is taken. It belongs to the category of corner booths, with a quarter-circle tray, with a minimum of options - in addition to the hand shower, there are six hydro-massage nozzles on the rear panel and a "tropical shower" on top. The pallet size( in radial calculation, from an angle to a line of a circle) - 900 mm.

Tse on on like showers booths - quite "democratic", about 14 ÷ 20 thousand rubles, and therefore it will probably be a bit insulting to give another from above 5 ÷ 7 thousand for installation. Especially since the is not particularly complicated.

• First of all, it is necessary to prepare in advance the place where the cabin will be installed. The total weight of the of its , without the of the account of a washable person is 83 kilograms, that is, the substrate must be firm, not to have unstable patches.

• It is very important to provide the necessary slope of the drainage, that is, the height of the drain pan opening above the branch pipe to the sewer. In order for the water to pass confidently, without delaying, an excess of 70 mm is required, or a gradient angle of at least 5 degrees is required. If this is not respected, then will probably have to take immediately to take measures - either deepen the sewer pipes, or lift the booth, constructing a solid podium under for .

Video: a version of the catwalk for the shower booth

• It is clear that to the place of installation I will bother to provide for piping cold and hot water supply, power lines, equipped with on the shield with a safety device - UZO .
• For work it is necessary to prepare a free area near the place of the future fixed installation - in the beginning all actions will be conducted there . must be at hand with the necessary tools - wrenches( - is better), screwdrivers or screwdriver with bit set, sharp construction knife, syringe and tubes with silicone or acrylic sealant, measuring instrument - tape measure and, required, construction level . There should be some paint, about 50 g , for metal surfaces( it is best to use AkzoNobel "Hammerite" , which can be applied to rust), and, accordingly, a brush. Acrylic tray on the back side - is quite dangerous from the point of view of getting cut wounds on the hands or the potholes of deep splinters, so all work should be done in mittens( dense tissue gloves).

• kit. The work begins with unpacking the kit of the future booth. We need to immediately verify the availability and integrity of all major parts - first of all , of course, glasses .They are so far removed to avoid accidental damage.

• Immediately verified and the availability of all spare parts .If components or accessories of have not been completed in part, is not mentioned yet, then there will be some shortage of fasteners with a probability close to 100%, either - screws or nuts or washers M16 will not be enough. Therefore, it is better to immediately check and create the necessary reserve - it will be insulting to be distracted in the midst of work because of such trifles.

Pay attention to the drain siphon( the figure shows the green arrow).As a rule, the fact that the comes in the - kit does not stand up to any criticism, and it's better to buy a decent one in advance, which you can rely on.

• The pallet is turned upside down. The surface on which the will be produced by the work of the with it, should not scratch its front surface - perhaps the will have to some soft material. More warning times - all work is done with gloves on!

• Four studs are crammed into the holes: three at the corners and one in the center of the arc. Dragging them with a key is by no means impossible. The studs do not take an ideally vertical position - let it not bother you, at this moment - this does not matter.

On the studs, to the level of the bottom surface of the pallet, tighten the nuts, on top of which the washers are installed( in the figure the is shown with the green arrows).

• Metal studs of pallet support are put on the studs. First, put on a whole shorter beam - it goes from the stud in the back corner to the arcuate front side. Then, on top of the , is put on the second one, consisting of two halves welded on top of a metal plate.

is monitored. When installing the first, short beam, make sure that the threaded hole( nut) for the center support foot is outside and from the crosshairs of the beams is closer to the front of the cab( is shown with the green arrow).

More times, for control - the prefab beam must be installed from above( shown with a white arrow), otherwise the pallet will not be evenly supported to the supports, and the can begin its deformation.

• After the beams are worn, the studs will accept the and the required vertical position. The lower nuts can be adjusted, so that the beams freely lie on the surface of the pallet. is still on top with one washer and the fixing nuts are tightened( is shown with the green arrow).However, to tighten them yet does not follow.

• Now it's the turn to fix the beams to the pallet with the help of self-tapping screws. To do this, in the thickness of the acrylic in the right places are filled with wooden inserts. Their arrangement exactly coincides with the holes made in the metal profile. The remains only with the help of a figured screwdriver to wrap the self-tapping screws there, having previously put the washers on them.

• After the has been completely screwed in, it is possible to fix the beams on vertically standing stud legs. It is done very carefully, by uniform efforts from above and from below, so as not to disrupt the position of the protein and by accidentally not pulling out the screw.

• Now it's an important moment, which is never mentioned in any Chinese factory instructions. Beams of a support are made of the most usual steel which in the conditions of the raised humidity very quickly will start to rust and longly does not stretch. So, you need not be too lazy, and paint all suspicious places with paint "Hammerite" ( its color - is absolutely not important ).This precaution will create an reliable corrosion protection - the main thing is not to leave "bare" areas. By the way, the ends at the beams are drowned by plastic rectangular stoppers, and under them, as a rule, already touched by corrosion metal. Be sure to remove the plugs, paint the cavity at the maximum depth, and then put the plugs in place.

• The next step will be to screw the studs and pre-fix the locknut with the legs. Strongly stop the , as the main alignment of the all will be equaled later, after the cabin is installed on the its is still in place.( On the picture, the arrow also shows the painted and muted hole in the metal beam).

When installing the legs, do not forget to first put on the studs special brackets, which are necessary for installing the decorative "skirt" - screen, covering the space under the bottom. True, this operation - editing the screen, it will be better to postpone the very end of the work.

• You can and must immediately pre-set the legs to one height. A long construction level( or a long rule with a level) is used with this calculation of the so that the control measurements can be made between adjacent legs and diagonally. In addition, the level of the central support leg is also checked. After this, the legs are pre-fixed with locknuts.

• You can turn the pallet over and check its position on the floor. He must stand steadily, at once on five points of support. It is especially important to prevent the sagging of the central leg - this can result in the punching of the pallet surface.

• pallet Now you can screw the exhaust valve with the drain plug( if, of course, felt necessary).This option, however, gives the the ability to take foot baths and can be useful.

• After that, the exhaust siphon is put in place. The picture shows the installation of the siphon included in the kit. However, as already noted, it is not of the best quality, and it is worthwhile to pay for a good, cranked or bottle type , depending on the bottom clearance available from the floor.
• The next difficult operation is the assembly of the block of the front arc-shaped enclosures of the shower cubicle with side glass inserts.

The complexity is that to start the you need to understand the purpose of the - parts, they are not symmetrical at all. The upper curved guide is always wider, the lower one is much smaller in height, but has noticeable curly cuts along the edges.

The also has a difference in top and bottom. The difference is noticeable in the number of holes - in the upper part there are more.

• First, we collect the construction, as they say "in weight". glass has visible edges with grooves - they should fit well with the top and bottom guides.

• sealant. After that, the glass needs to be pushed out slightly in order to just apply a small amount of silicone sealant( preferably a transparent one) to the with the syringe. Then the glass is inserted as far as it will go into place, and the surplus sealant is immediately removed. This "fresh" is very easy to make a finger, dipped in a thick soapy solution. On the the controller has a clamping clip( shown green arrow).It pulls the with a screwdriver , and the glass will be reliably installed.

• self-tapping device. Further, it is necessary to install vertical posts on the external contours of both glasses. There is a regular seal, and you do not need to use silicone. Simply, the rack is put on the glass until it stops, and is fixed with arc-shaped guide screws on the top and bottom.

• It remains only to put on the inner faces of the as supplied silicone gaskets. At the same time, make sure that the wider side, the "petal", remains inside the booth. The sealant is worn all the way, no special fixation or additional use of silicone is required in this case.

• The assembled unit should be immediately installed on a pallet. The pallet is not yet in its original place, but it should be completely stable and stand strictly horizontally - the is not superfluous. will check it out.

This is especially important because the front arc-shaped fence with side glasses is installed exclusively on the sealant, and it is necessary, at first, before fixing the with the side walls, only under its own gravity. There are no fixings to the pallet by self-tapping constructors here. When sealing the installation site with a sealant, make sure that the sewage grooves do not close.

• sealant It's time to install the side opaque panels. Places of their joints with vertical racks of the front fence are abundantly smeared with silicone sealant - it is impossible to leave gaps here.

tray. Similarly, the sealant is applied to the pallet, in the area where the side wall will stand. And again - neither in for case of do not fill with watertightness grouting grooves.

• self-tapping screws. The vertical wall profile with of the vertical front guard rail and the lower wall profile with the tray are then fastened together with self-tapping screws with washers attached to them. In both cases, special holes are provided for this. Self-tapping screw tightly, until it stops. Excess surplus of sealant immediately carefully removed.

After the installation of both side walls this should be the design. You can proceed to install the rear panel with controls and sanitary fittings.

• For this, , like the , is applied earlier, silicone strips are placed at the junctions of the vertical and horizontal parts - at the side of the side walls and along the contact line on the pallet.

• Now you can carefully install the rear panel and grab the of its in the place of attachment screws. First of all, it's just to grab all elements, as it might require a slight backlash. After that all the screws are fully tightened, the excess sealant, as well as before, are removed.

sealant dry out. In this position, the construction is recommended to be left for a day - during this time the sealant completely vulcanizes the , solidifies, and the cabinet is assembled to the with the required strength. Go to the hinge of the door is only after this.

• And during this time it is possible to prepare the doors to the hinge. Silicone sealing inserts are installed along the vertical edges of the glass curved blade. The one put on the edge of the glass, should be oriented "petal" outward, and going on the inner edge - on the contrary.
• The is inserted and fixed in jacks, upper and lower. The upper ones are adjustable, and for the initial installation they are temporarily fixed in the extreme upper position. The lower ones are simply spring-loaded, pushing-they will allow to be pulled back with the door assembly.

• After the time is left for the sealant to harden, the door is suspended by the with the upper rollers on the upper guide, the lower rollers after the temporary clamp must stand on their "rail". Now , tightening screws for adjusting the upper rollers, it is necessary to achieve, firstly, reliable suspension, no play, secondly - smooth closing and opening, without , third, even convergenceof the entire vertical line, so that there is no gap for the penetration of the water spray.

• All adjusting screws must be subsequently closed with plastic plugs. The door is checked for "operability".After that you can proceed to the installation of the upper part of the cabin - its roof.

• are mounted. At its core, the roof is a ready-made figure, but in the it needs to be mounted several additional elements. This is the shower for "tropical rain", exhaust fans and an acoustic head - a speaker for connecting to the radio or to the phone.

• The fans are attached to the seats prepared for them. Often you can hear complaints about the fact that the alignment of the holes does not coincide. Well, the will have to work with a drill, or screw the screw into plastic "live".Not scary - this place will still be covered from below with a decorative cap.

• . The speaker attachment is not much different - the same screws. By the way, when mounting the speaker, and when installing fans, it will be superfluous to miss the seat with silicone sealant - this will become a kind of gasket and will remove noise - the lid will not resonate strongly.

• The shower head for the "tropical shower" is first mounted in the to its socket with a special nut, and then a flexible hose is connected to it, which the will then go to the hydraulic unit of the rear panel of the booth. The connection is very simple - a clamp, and no problems should not be caused.

Everything, the roof can be lifted and installed on the booth on the that is the same sealant and on the regular metal fasteners.

• Remained in the kit still a bunch of small parts - shiny handles for doors, shelves, mirrors, holders for shower - all neatly installed on the regular fasteners.
• Next, the needs to move the booth very carefully on the to its , where it will already be located permanently. This installation should be preceded by the connection of the cabin to the sewage system, to the water pipes of the and to electrical communications. All the connection points are located on the back of the back panel, and later there will no longer be access. The connection is made by special flexible hoses, and for the electrical - , a terminal cable connector is provided. To connect the booth, with a lack of plumbing and electrical expertise, it is better to contact the appropriate specialists or knowledgeable friends.
• Once the booth is connected, the is sure to another once carefully verified the horizontalness of the its position and the uniformity of the bearing of the supporting legs against the floor surface or the podium. In which case - the is still not too late to make adjustments. It is recommended, in addition, for the reliability to fix the legs, for example, "planting" them on a layer of silicone sealant.

• . Further, it is necessary to carry out "running tests" of - to arrange a full wash cycle using all modes. The main goal is to make sure that the cabin is stable, the pallet does not creak and does not "walk", the doors and walls do not warp and do not let water spray or drip the .
• Now you can make the final step 0 to install on the brackets a decorative "skirt", which closes the gap between the floor and the pallet and attach to all to her booth finished form .

And at last - still one video, about installation of more simple booth of angular open type.

Video: self-mounting corner shower screens