By Kerry Hale

Types Of Shower Trays - A Buying Guide

  • Saturday 31 July 2021
  • 6 minute read

With so many shower trays to choose from, in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, materials and colours, where do you possibly begin?

 To make things easier, we’ve put together this buying guide to help you choose the best type of shower tray for your bathroom. Read on to find out what to consider when choosing a shower tray, followed by a breakdown of the different shapes and sizes available.

What to consider when choosing a shower tray

There are several factors to take into account when choosing the best shower tray for your bathroom.

 

Your shower enclosure

The shape and size of your chosen shower tray needs to perfectly match that of your shower enclosure, so that there are no gaps for water to escape.

Space and size

The size of your bathroom will determine the shape and size of your shower enclosure and tray. Smaller bathrooms are better suited to space-saving styles like a square or quadrant enclosure, while big bathrooms are well-suited to larger rectangular shower trays.

Colour

Most shower trays are white, which makes for a simple and pared-back aesthetic, but slate-coloured shower trays are becoming more and more popular, providing a more natural look and feel.

Pipework

If your pipework is set into the floor, you can choose between a flat and raised shower tray, whereas if your pipework is raised, you’ll need a raised one to make space for this plumbing.

Safety

Safety is incredibly important when it comes to showering. Surfaces can inevitably get slippery when wet, but all Mira shower trays feature an anti-slip coating to make showering safer for all the family. Our Mira Flight Safe range take things one step further, with an exclusive coating and anti-slip technology that exceeds industry standards.

Shower tray sizes

Shower trays come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit all manner of requirements. Here are the five main shower tray shapes and the sizes they come in.

Square shower trays are a great choice for small bathrooms, especially when paired with bi-fold doors. At Mira, our square shower trays come in sizes ranging from 760x760mm to 1000x1000mm.

Rectangular shower trays offer an extended showering space and are particularly popular for bigger bathrooms. That said, when they’re paired with sliding doors, they can still work in smaller bathrooms too. We offer rectangular shower trays ranging from 1000x760mm to 1700x900mm/1800x800mm.

Pentagon shower trays fit snugly into the corner of a bathroom, with a five-sided design, and they’re usually paired with bi-fold or pivot doors. Our pentagon shower trays range from 900x900mm to 1200x900mm.

Quadrant shower trays fit neatly into the corner too, with a curved front for maximised space. They’re paired with either sliding or hinged doors. At Mira, our quadrant shower trays range from 800x800mm to 1200x900mm.

Raised shower trays or flat shower trays?

Whether you go for a raised or flat shower tray will depend on your pipework. Low or flat shower trays have a lower profile that work better if pipework is set into the floor, while raised shower trays are designed to make space for raised pipework.

Mira Flight shower trays have a 90mm depth, Mira Flight Low and the Mira Flight Safe shower trays have a 40mm depth, and Mira Flight Level shower trays have a 25mm depth, so you can take your pick based on your specific requirements.

All Mira shower trays can also be fitted with riser legs, enabling you to adjust the height to perfectly meet your needs.

What to consider when choosing a shower tray

Shower trays are typically made from either acrylic or acrylic-capped stone resin. Acrylic is a popular choice as it's durable, easy to clean, lightweight and naturally non-slip when wet.

Acrylic-capped stone resin is becoming a more and more popular choice for shower trays. It has all the same benefits as acrylic, but due to the stone resin that’s at the core, it won’t bend or warp in the same way that a standard acrylic shower tray might, making it more durable and less likely to break. It also provides a more sophisticated finishing touch to your bathroom.

All Mira shower trays are made from strong acrylic-capped resin stone, which has been rigorously tested to help prevent scratches, chips and discolouration. Our Mira Flight Safe range also features an anti-slip coating to make showering safer for all the family, and BioCote® technology which reduces bacteria and mould growth by up to 99.9%. What’s more, all Mira shower trays come with a 10-year guarantee.

White continues to be the most popular choice for shower trays, offering a clean and simple finish, but slate is increasing in popularity. All our shower trays are available in white, and our Mira Flight Level trays also come in a stunning slate effect. A number of our Flight Safe shower trays are also available in Grey Anthracite, Titanium Grey and Taupe.

Explore our full collection of shower trays to find the perfect shape, size and style for your bathroom, and once you've found one, read our guide on how to fit a shower tray. All of our shower trays fit perfectly with our Shower enclosures.

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