How to install a shower cabin with your own hands

Recommendation points

• The device of a typical shower
• What you should know when choosing
• Optimal cab layout
• List of required tools and materials
• 5 steps for installing a shower cabin
• Sewer drain
• Pallet installation
• Pallet frame assembly
• Installation of protective elements
• Securing doors
• Commissioning works

After reading this article, you will learn how to choose a shower cabin, assemble and install it correctly, place it in the bathroom, connect a sewer drain, mount a pallet, secure a fence and seal the cabin as much as possible.

The device of a typical shower

Design features depend on the selected model. Most shower enclosures are standard and consist of a shower tray, sliding doors, rail, vertical profiles, shower tray screen (apron). If it is a closed model, the back wall and ceiling panel are added to the list. As additional options, shower cabins can be equipped with hydromassage, Turkish bath, telephone, radio and other equipment.

What you should know when choosing

There are two types of shower cabins – open and closed (boxes).

Open ones adjoin the bathroom walls and consist of a pallet and enclosing doors. Such a cabin has no roof.

The enclosed cabins have a full-walled railing with a roof. The price of boxes is much higher than open boxes.

Optimal cab layout

The shower cubicle can be located adjacent to the bathroom wall or in the corner of the room. As a rule, open type showers have corner placement. If there are no communications in the bathroom (electricity, water, sewage), they must be done in advance.

List of required tools and materials

Before starting work, you need to unpack the model and check the complete set of accessories. During assembly and installation, you will need a Phillips and slotted screwdrivers, a drill, a long building level, a brush, a set of wrenches, a waterproofing tape, 8 mm dowels, an adjustable wrench, protective paint for rust and metal. A plumbing silicone sealant is also required. If the bottom of the pallet is ordinary, fiberglass, you need to stock up on gloves so as not to splinter your hands.

Advice:when installing an inexpensive Chinese-made cab, experts recommend replacing the siphon, tubes and fittings with better materials.

5 steps for installing a shower cabin

Typically, this work takes 4–5 hours and does not require any special skills. We will show you how to mount a standard open-type shower enclosure.

Sewer drain

First, in the bathroom, mark the installation location of the cabin pallet. To determine exactly where the siphon will be, you can mark the location of the drain on the floor. The siphon should be located above this mark when selecting the length of the sewer pipe.

Pallet installation

We mount the legs to the bottom of the pallet using the nuts from the kit, allowing you to adjust the horizontal and height of the edge of the cab pallet. To compensate for possible irregularities, a thin layer of Penoplex insulation can be placed under the frame. For better wear resistance, the metal of the frame should be additionally treated with a protective paint against rust.

Pallet frame assembly

The next step is to define the horizontal of the pallet. When skewed, we align the horizontal with the help of the legs, mark the installation height of the pallet edge clamps on the wall – they will protect the structure from displacement, additionally stabilizing the pallet. We drill holes in the marked places, the clamps are fixed in them with 8 mm dowels. We make a preliminary installation of the pallet – its edges rest on the recesses in the clips. Using screw fasteners, we connect both parts of the siphon – the lower and the upper. After that, you need to pull the decorative screen of the pallet and carefully seal all connections to the wall with sanitary silicone sealant (its color is matched to the color of the pallet or the interior decoration of the bathroom).

Installation of protective elements

They are mounted next to the pallet. The side panel is first inserted into the bottom, then into the top profile. The second wall is installed in the same way. We connect the horizontal profiles with screws to the walls of the shower stall.

Wall mounts are mounted from the outside. The distance from the edge of the profile to the lower and upper attachment is 10 cm, the middle one is set at half height. The assembled railing, still without doors, is neatly placed on the cab pallet. We check the vertical with a level, marking the places for the mounts on the wall. We drill holes, insert dowels, after which the cabin can be installed on a pallet and screwed to the wall with screws.

Advice:when connecting any parts of the shower room using self-tapping screws or screws, a backlash must be left before final assembly. This will later make it easy to pull all the panels together, the main thing is not to overdo it when tightening – in the cabins even metal is fragile and easily breaks off.

Securing doors

The doors of the cab, the installation of which we are describing, consist of two leaves. Hinge elements are attached to them from above and below, their counterparts are mounted to horizontal profiles. We insert doors into the hinges prepared in this way.

After that, you need to check the horizontal direction of the door and fix the screws. A seal is inserted between the door glass and the profile, cut to the required length. So that the doors fit optimally and close well, the place of their contact is similarly sealed.

In order not to stain the finishing coating of the bathroom and the cabin when sealing the joints with silicone sealant, stick the mounting tape along the border of the seam. Panels and pallet will remain clean after work.

If a closed-type cab equipped with a dome is installed, then for its installation it is enough to fix the backlight, fan, speaker, watering can with a hose according to the instructions. The dome is finally fixed with hardware and silicone sealant to the already assembled shower stall. Shelves, handles, mirrors and other accessories for the convenience of self-installation are pre-fixed with a sealant.

Commissioning works

After assembling the shower stall, it remains only to test it for leaks. To do this, it is enough to turn on water in it, having tested all the built-in options. If, upon entering it, the pallet crackles, this indicates that the legs of the structure are nevertheless installed unevenly. It is not difficult to correct the error: for this we remove the pallet screen, make adjustments and return the decorative panel to its place. If a leak is found somewhere, the place is thoroughly dried and again treated with a sealant. The time of its final drying is about a day..