Shower plinth advice please

JuzaMum

I have had a new bathroom fitted with a walk in shower cubicle. The fitters didn't fit the shower panels correctly resulting in them splitting when screwed into. This meant they would not fit the door in the shower! I don't want advice on what to do about the fitters please! I have a low profile tray without a plinth (see picture). I have purchased a curtain and tension pole so I can use the shower. I am thinking if I fit a plinth a couple of inches higher than the tray this will help stop the curtain blowing out when water hits it.
I was thinking of using marine ply and boat paint but then saw thick  acrylic panels available predrilled and cut to size. These have the benefit of not needing painting. What would be best or is there another solution that would work. Thanks for reading my essay!

GDB2222

How thick is the acrylic?

Is this meant to be a permanent solution?

Why is the drain at the front, rather than the back?

JuzaMum

The acrylic I am looking at comes in various thicknesses up to 15mm. The drain is at the front so you are not standing on it when showering. I am stuck with what is there and trying to make it work. 

GDB2222

JuzaMum said:

The acrylic I am looking at comes in various thicknesses up to 15mm. The drain is at the front so you are not standing on it when showering. I am stuck with what is there and trying to make it work. 

The acrylic sounds pretty good. I am not sure whether 15mm is thick enough, if you are going for an extra 2 inches above the tray? Maybe start with that, and you can always add a second thickness if needed.

It's going to be quite a trip hazard!. Personally, I'd instead go for a weighted shower curtain, and hang it an inch or so inside the shower tray. As it's a tension pole, you can experiment with where you hang the curtain. Plus, you'll need a bath mat to step out onto, and that will catch any minor drips that escape the curtain. I'd rather do that than risk what might be a really nasty fall. 

You may well find that water escapes round the side of the curtain, rather than underneath, in any case. 

grumbler

JuzaMum said:

I was thinking of using marine ply and boat paint but then saw thick  acrylic panels available predrilled and cut to size. These have the benefit of not needing painting. What would be best or is there another solution that would work. 

UPVC facia boards spring to mind, that you can easily cut and drill yourself.

Slinky

Our shower room was a wetroom for a while, and the weighted curtain worked well in stopping it blowing in and sticking to you.

plumb1_2

Yes you could use a piece of upvc facia/soffit.fit it about 10 mm above the plywood.
The panels shouldn’t split if the correct drill bits are used. Start with 2.5 mm then step up to the size of plugs needed.

JuzaMum

I'm just looking at a piece of soffit that looks right on ebay - £11 delivered. Is it easy to work with/drill to attach?

grumbler

A link?

Usual 'general purpose board' is very easy to saw and to drill if needed, e.g.

It's solid plastic, but  sort of porous.

This one is £16 for 5m (!), but delivery is likely to be not cheap. I remember seeing something similar in BnQ, but shorter and I don't remember the price.

Doozergirl

I'm confused.  

How about you tile the sides and fit the door like the permanent solution it is?  

JuzaMum

Now the 'professional' fitters have attached the boards to the wall it will be quite a bit of work to remove them and make good so they don't want too!