Shower tray in a small loo

[Mac Man]

Bought my narrow boat last November (its 7 years old)and re-fitting every thing from scratch. Last owner had it built as a lined sail away and tried to fit it out himself. He was 80 years old and not much good at DIY.

The bathroom is only 40" x 49" with a C200 Thetford loo and a 19" x 11" hand basin unit and I want to fit a shower which is posing a problem due to lack of space!

Has any one seen of fitted one of these:-

C200 + shower tray

 

Any comments would be appreciated and/or suggestions.

Thanks

Mac Man

[Mac Man]

Bought my narrow boat last November (its 7 years old)and re-fitting every thing from scratch. Last owner had it built as a lined sail away and tried to fit it out himself. He was 80 years old and not much good at DIY.

The bathroom is only 40" x 49" with a C200 Thetford loo and a 19" x 11" hand basin unit and I want to fit a shower which is posing a problem!

Has any one seen of fitted one of these:-

C200 + tray

Click on 'Cut out shower tray right Hand'

Any comments would be appreciated and/or suggestions.

Thanks

Mac Man

Edited September 27, 2008 by Mac Man

[LEO]

Hi,

Instead of a shower tray, why not turn it into a 'wet room' style floor with concrete, (laid in a thick layer of bitumen) with a tiled floor and one row of tiles for the upstand then normal walling and tiling above that.

 

Shower pump can be surface mounted in a small recess in the floor. WC can be free standing above. I had this arrangement in a boat with a small shower room and it was excellent.

 

Albi

[wonderdust]

looks like they are very thin plastic, so not very strong

[magnetman]

forgive me if I'm being incredibly dim but I've never actually understood why toilet arrangements are placed in the same location as showers or baths on narrow boats. It just seems a bit 'backwards' to me. I'd advocate having a seperate 'heads' area with a small wash basin then leave the shower room for showering and maybe have the washing machine built in there somewhere are well.

[Mac Man]

Hi,

Instead of a shower tray, why not turn it into a 'wet room' style floor with concrete, (laid in a thick layer of bitumen) with a tiled floor and one row of tiles for the upstand then normal walling and tiling above that.

 

Shower pump can be surface mounted in a small recess in the floor. WC can be free standing above. I had this arrangement in a boat with a small shower room and it was excellent.

 

Albi

 

Thanks Albi, not a bad idea. I'll put this down on the to follow up list.

[Iain_S]

Gamebird, along with most of the shortish Sea Otters, has a similar arrangement. The shower tray butts against the cassette loo, and fits underneath the cupboard/sink unit on the opposite bulhead. The shower head doubles as a mixer tap on the sink. Works quite well. Modifications we did were fitting a shower curtain to cover the door (otherwise water can drain down the outwards opening door into the main cabin) and fitting a shower head holder to the wall (can't remember whether that was an addition or a replacement).

 

Iain

[LEO]

Hi,

 

Sorry, should have pointed out it was a 30ft Nb. and space was at a premium, thus the shared arrangement.

 

ALBI

[Mac Man]

forgive me if I'm being incredibly dim but I've never actually understood why toilet arrangements are placed in the same location as showers or baths on narrow boats. It just seems a bit 'backwards' to me. I'd advocate having a seperate 'heads' area with a small wash basin then leave the shower room for showering and maybe have the washing machine built in there somewhere are well.

 

I agree that would be a better idea but as the boat is only 35ft and the partitioning and door was already in place I cant do anything else now. I perhaps should have started with the bathroom and done the rest of the refit afterwards but I'm committed now.

[Mac Man]

Gamebird, along with most of the shortish Sea Otters, has a similar arrangement. The shower tray butts against the cassette loo, and fits underneath the cupboard/sink unit on the opposite bulhead. The shower head doubles as a mixer tap on the sink. Works quite well. Modifications we did were fitting a shower curtain to cover the door (otherwise water can drain down the outwards opening door into the main cabin) and fitting a shower head holder to the wall (can't remember whether that was an addition or a replacement).

 

Iain

 

Hi Ian,

 

Yes our door opens outwards and I have already bought a shower curtain (sale bargain) ready to fit when the bigger problem has been solved. I've got a separate shower mixer with all the bits from a guy off ebay. Got the small sink and cupboard + mixer tap from local DIY store so were getting there. Only the shower tray and pump to sort!

 

Keith

 

looks like they are very thin plastic, so not very strong

 

Yes thats what was worrying me. With the space so limited we would be standing in the tray to use all the facilities!

[Tony Brooks]

Hi Ian,

 

Yes our door opens outwards and I have already bought a shower curtain (sale bargain) ready to fit when the bigger problem has been solved. I've got a separate shower mixer with all the bits from a guy off ebay. Got the small sink and cupboard + mixer tap from local DIY store so were getting there. Only the shower tray and pump to sort!

 

Keith

 

 

 

Yes thats what was worrying me. With the space so limited we would be standing in the tray to use all the facilities!

 

 

Why not think about abrading the underside and then laying up some grp mat on it. That should reinforce it but unless you are very careful around the "flange" it may make it prone to leaks.

 

We used loads of this sort of thing on the hire fleet in 27ft Seamasters and Elysians and as you say they are flimsy. The chipies solved that by making a mould and laying up their own. However leaking into the bilge was not a problem because those boats had "all in one" bilges.

[LEO]

Hi,

 

The other problem with having a shower tray for dual use is the wear it will get with shoes etc. when one is using the WC. The wet room principle with a tiled floor overcomes the problem of having a 'jimmy' with your outdoor shoes on, which would cause damage to a Plastic or GRP tray.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Albi.

[haggis]

Hi Ian,

 

Yes our door opens outwards and I have already bought a shower curtain (sale bargain) ready to fit when the bigger problem has been solved. I've got a separate shower mixer with all the bits from a guy off ebay. Got the small sink and cupboard + mixer tap from local DIY store so were getting there. Only the shower tray and pump to sort!

 

Keith

 

 

Yes thats what was worrying me. With the space so limited we would be standing in the tray to use all the facilities!

 

I have never noticed ours being flimsy but we do have a bit of carpet on top of it - except when it is being used as a shower

 

Haggis

[johnandcharlie]

I'm a liveaboard in a small motorhome! But I'm tempted by a narrowboat. I have a combined loo and shower room, with a plastic floor, built in cassette loo and a fold down wash basin above the loo. The tap converts to the shower head. It couldn't be any smaller and still be usable, but my van is only 17ft long. The floor is fairly rigid, but I'd like something stronger if I did it myself. I do have to be careful about using it with mucky shoes to avoid scratching it. Weight is much more of a problem for me, so lightweight materials are important. I can try to squeeze the camera in if anyone wants to see it.

[owen]

Hi,

 

The other problem with having a shower tray for dual use is the wear it will get with shoes etc. when one is using the WC. The wet room principle with a tiled floor overcomes the problem of having a 'jimmy' with your outdoor shoes on, which would cause damage to a Plastic or GRP tray.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Albi.

small wooden duck board made from teak with some home made silicon feet will solve the wear problem and allow water to flow through this worked very well in my motorhome for 8 years of kids and adults using it on a regular basis

[Graham Davis]

We have exactly that sort of thing in our 13' caravan and have no problem with it. Doesn't matter how flimsy it is, as it rests on the floor so that takes the "strain", and we have cut a pice of rubber backed carpet to fit inside the tray when not being used as a shower, therby protecting it from rough shoes.

[Grasshopper]

small wooden duck board made from teak with some home made silicon feet will solve the wear problem and allow water to flow through this worked very well in my motorhome for 8 years of kids and adults using it on a regular basis

 

That's what I use in my small Sea Otter & it seems to work well. It means that you don't have to get the floor completely dry after a shower to avoid subsequent users having to paddle and leave wet footprints through the boat. I picked up a couple of duck boards on ebay and cut them to fit so that the floor space is covered.

[Mac Man]

That's what I use in my small Sea Otter & it seems to work well. It means that you don't have to get the floor completely dry after a shower to avoid subsequent users having to paddle and leave wet footprints through the boat. I picked up a couple of duck boards on ebay and cut them to fit so that the floor space is covered.

 

 

Has anyone use a submersible pump in the tray rather than the conventional underfloor drain and pump? I'm a bit concerned in cutting a hole in a thin plastic shower tray as used in a caravan. If it leaks in a caravan water is more likely to drain out of the caravan as most drain pipes are under the van, whereas in a boat it will drain into the bilges!

[LEO]

Hi,

 

The arrangement I had used an impeller type pump, with the strainer/base fixed to the floor and using a flxible drain pipe. It worked well and was easy to clear if the impeller became blocked. There was slight problem with water draining back from the pipe when the pump was switched off, I tried various ways of overcoming this but after 19years of ownership resolved to live with it (the water was only a very small amount).

 

The strainer was screwed to the tiled floor, but with plastic or GRP this could be glued.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Albi.

[Mac Man]

Hi,

 

The arrangement I had used an impeller type pump, with the strainer/base fixed to the floor and using a flxible drain pipe. It worked well and was easy to clear if the impeller became blocked. There was slight problem with water draining back from the pipe when the pump was switched off, I tried various ways of overcoming this but after 19years of ownership resolved to live with it (the water was only a very small amount).

 

The strainer was screwed to the tiled floor, but with plastic or GRP this could be glued.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Albi.

 

 

Thanks for the information. Its good to know that it will work even though there was a small amount of drain back.

This solution will have to suffice for me as the cost of the complete referb is soaring and any savings that can be made are welcome.

What I have been considering is a small Rule or similar bilge pump, is that the type you used?

 

Keith

[Tomska]

This might sound odd, but have you thought of fitting a small bath?

 

I have exactly the same problem as you, and almost exactly the same size room. A shower enclosure (even a quadrant one) would take up so much space that a chubby person would have no chance getting round it. I scratched my head for ages untill a friend recommended fitting a small bath along the far wall, with a curtain, and fixing a shower attachment above the bath. Not only will the small baths from Midland Chandlers fit (just), but it means the plumbing and drainage fitting is much easier to do.

 

It was a eureka moment for me - dunno if it helps you at all.

[LEO]

Thanks for the information. Its good to know that it will work even though there was a small amount of drain back.

This solution will have to suffice for me as the cost of the complete referb is soaring and any savings that can be made are welcome.

What I have been considering is a small Rule or similar bilge pump, is that the type you used?

 

Keith

 

I used a fairly cheap impeller pump, which was flat bottomed and had an upright outlet, the Rule one worked well, but one of the retaining lugs snapped off and a replacement cover was difficult to get hold of.

They have to be easy to seperate to overcome blochages with hair etc. Also get one which fits the non-kink hose you will be using. I found that non-return valves were a waste of time.

 

Hope that helps

 

Albi.

[Alastair]

forgive me if I'm being incredibly dim but I've never actually understood why toilet arrangements are placed in the same location as showers or baths on narrow boats. It just seems a bit 'backwards' to me. I'd advocate having a seperate 'heads' area with a small wash basin then leave the shower room for showering and maybe have the washing machine built in there somewhere are well.

Ever had a 'spill' from a porta-potti?

 

If the porta potti sits in a shower, then it is easy to clean up properly.

 

Not so if the porta potti is on the floor.

[Mac Man]

I used a fairly cheap impeller pump, which was flat bottomed and had an upright outlet, the Rule one worked well, but one of the retaining lugs snapped off and a replacement cover was difficult to get hold of.

They have to be easy to seperate to overcome blochages with hair etc. Also get one which fits the non-kink hose you will be using. I found that non-return valves were a waste of time.

 

Hope that helps

 

Albi.

 

Very useful, thanks Albi.

 

Keith

 

This might sound odd, but have you thought of fitting a small bath?

 

I have exactly the same problem as you, and almost exactly the same size room. A shower enclosure (even a quadrant one) would take up so much space that a chubby person would have no chance getting round it. I scratched my head for ages untill a friend recommended fitting a small bath along the far wall, with a curtain, and fixing a shower attachment above the bath. Not only will the small baths from Midland Chandlers fit (just), but it means the plumbing and drainage fitting is much easier to do.

 

It was a eureka moment for me - dunno if it helps you at all.

 

 

Every bit of information and other peoples ideas are are useful. I'll have a look at Midlands web site. If I can't find anything I will be in the Braunston area week after next so will pay them a visit.

 

Thanks.

 

Keith

[bjornunda]

If you have the clearance you might consider having a bilge shower tray, formed under floor with steel sides (tiled if you wish) with its own bilge pump. Access by lift out (or up) trap door, with pull around shower curtains on track above. This would only work with a moveable cassette toilet though.