Rules to Follow When Buying Shower Pans

Rules to Follow When Buying Shower Pans

You may have never had to see one since they’re usually covered with additional layers, but shower pans are one of the most important components to a bathroom. Without them, you would likely be dealing with bathroom floods just about every time you took a shower. Let’s take a brief look at the world of shower pans.

Many people aren’t exactly familiar with they are, but a quick explanation will easily shed some light in your mind. Simply put, they are the base of any shower unit, acting as the foundation for the other layers that go on top of it. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible to use one without flooding your bathroom floor.

Buying these for the first time can be somewhat confusing if you don’t know what to look for. The most important thing that goes into a shower pan purchase is determining the measurements of what you’re buying. This will determine the look and feel of your setup.

The shape of your base will also match the shape of your shower. Therefore, if you want a square one, you’ll need to get a square pan. If you want something more original, like an octagon, the base will need to take on the same shape.

It’s also important to take the material of your pans into consideration, which we’ll touch upon some more later in this article. To sum things up though, tile and marble showers will go more easily with certain kinds of bases.

When buying a shower pan, you may also come across an option to buy liner for your unit. This would be recommended, although it’s not necessary. However, you can expect a more well protected base if you pad it with some liner.

You’ll need to choose the composition of your shower pan too. Whether you decide to go with acrylic fiberglass or something more traditional like ceramic, this will largely dictate the price of your base, in addition to the expected life span of whatever you buy.

When it comes to installing shower pans, there’s a bit of work involved. While it can definitely be done on your own if you prefer, there are plenty of willing and able laborers who could get the job done for you. If you’re feeling more adventurous, there are do it yourself kits that are easily available for purchase.