A shower enclosure and tray are among the most cost-variable elements of a bathroom fit-out. A basic framed quadrant unit with a low-profile acrylic tray can be bought for under £300 and fitted in a day; a frameless walk-in enclosure with a stone resin tray and bespoke glass panels runs to several thousand pounds. Understanding what drives the difference, and what matters for your specific situation, will help you spend the right amount.
Standard Shower Enclosure Sizes
British bathrooms are not generous by international standards, so enclosure sizes are engineered around common bathroom dimensions. Standard sizes (all measurements width × depth):
| Enclosure size | Suitability |
|---|---|
| 760 × 760 mm | Minimum practical size; tight but usable in small en suites |
| 800 × 800 mm | Most common small enclosure; suits most en suites |
| 900 × 900 mm | Comfortable for most adults; popular family bathroom size |
| 1,000 × 800 mm | Rectangular; gives extra elbow room |
| 1,200 × 800 mm | Standard walk-in or double-door size |
| 1,200 × 900 mm | Generous; suits larger bathrooms |
| 1,400 × 900 mm+ | Walk-in / wet room territory |
Always measure your available floor space with the door swing in mind. Bi-fold and pivot doors need clear space to open; sliding doors suit alcoves where swing space is limited.
Types of Shower Enclosure
Quadrant (Corner Entry)
A quarter-circle shape that fits neatly into a corner. Sliding curved doors mean no outward swing. Space-efficient and popular in smaller bathrooms. Commonly sold in 800 × 800 mm and 900 × 900 mm sizes.
Square / Rectangular Corner Entry
Two glass panels form a right-angle with two walls, with a door panel on one or both open sides. More flexible in larger bathrooms. Easier to clean than curved quadrant seals.
Alcove / Recess
Fits between three walls. One or two sliding or bi-fold doors on the open face. Maximum use of floor space. Ideal when you are removing a bath and converting to shower-only.
Walk-In (Open or Wetroom Style)
No door, a fixed glass panel deflects water. Requires a level-access or slightly raised tray with precise falls to a linear drain, or a full wet room tanked floor. Increasingly popular in main bathrooms. Walk-in layouts usually need a tray of 1,400 mm or more so that spray stays inside the screen.
Frameless vs Framed vs Semi-Frameless
- Framed: aluminium frame around all glass edges. Lower cost, more rigid, easier to seal. Aluminium profiles can look dated but are practical.
- Semi-frameless: frame around the door and base only; glass sides are frameless. Mid-range look and price.
- Frameless: 8–10 mm toughened glass with minimal or invisible fittings. Premium look; higher cost for glass and hardware.
Shower Tray Types and Materials
The tray sits below the enclosure and channels water to the waste. The main material options:
| Material | Cost (tray only) | Weight | Feel underfoot | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | £40–£150 | Light | Warm, slightly flexible | 10–20 years |
| Stone resin (solid) | £150–£5001 | Heavy | Solid, stone-like | 25+ years |
| Ceramic / fireclay | £100–£400 | Very heavy | Very solid | 25+ years |
| Tiled / wetroom | Material cost only | N/A | Tile surface | Depends on waterproofing |
Acrylic trays are the most common in mid-range bathrooms. They are lightweight, warm underfoot in winter, and easy to fit, but can flex slightly and may show scratches over time.
Stone resin trays (brands such as Coram, Kudos, or Simpsons sell own-label versions; avoid evaluating specific brands) feel genuinely solid and have a premium matt finish. They do not flex underfoot and suit frameless enclosures where a high-end finish is important.
Low-profile vs standard-height: Low-profile or “ultra-slim” trays (25–45 mm high) sit near-flush with the floor and suit modern bathrooms with underfloor heating. Standard trays (75–110 mm) are easier to plumb (waste pipe has more clearance) and suit older floors where precise falls are harder to achieve.
Enclosure Glass: Thickness and Safety
Shower enclosures are covered by the product standard BS EN 14428, and their glass panels are normally toughened (tempered) safety glass to BS EN 12150.2 Framed enclosures typically use 4–6 mm glass; frameless and semi-frameless enclosures typically use 8–10 mm for structural rigidity without a frame.
Easy-clean coatings (hydrophobic nano-coatings) reduce limescale and soap scum adhesion. They are worth paying for if you live in a hard-water area, which covers much of southern and eastern England.
Cost Breakdown
| Item | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enclosure (unit only) | £150–£300 | £350–£700 | £800–£1,500+ |
| Tray (unit only) | £40–£120 | £120–£300 | £300–£600 |
| Waste fitting | £20–£50 | £40–£80 | £60–£150 |
| Shower installation (plumber, 1 day) | £250–£350 | £300–£450 | £350–£600 |
| Tiling (if required, per m²) | £50–£80/m² | £80–£120/m² | £120–£200+/m² |
Typical total supply-and-fit cost (enclosure + tray + waste + plumber, no tiling): £500–£1,200
If the existing floor and walls need tiling before the enclosure goes in, add £300–£800 depending on area and tile choice.
Installation: Key Considerations
Floor structure: Low-profile trays must sit on a perfectly level, solid sub-floor. Timber joists may require noggins or a plywood base. Stone resin trays on upper floors need careful structural consideration: a 900 × 900 mm stone resin tray is much heavier than an acrylic one, often in the region of 25–45 kg before water load.
Waterproofing: Tanking a tiled shower area with a waterproof membrane or kit before tiling is standard good practice rather than a specific Building Regulations requirement, and it matters most at the base-to-wall junction. The British Standard for tiling in special conditions such as shower areas is BS 5385-4.3 Ready-built enclosures with their own seals and profiles handle this junction differently, so follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly.
Waste plumbing: Most trays take a 90 mm waste trap. Approved Document H gives 40 mm as the waste pipe size for a shower, with a 50 mm trap seal.4 Confirm your floor void has enough depth for the trap before ordering a low-profile tray. Linear drains (used with walk-in enclosures) require careful positioning and a consistent fall across the tiled floor, commonly between 1:40 and 1:80.
Ventilation: When a bathroom or shower room is added to an existing home, Approved Document F calls for extract ventilation, such as an intermittent extract fan with a background ventilator.5 The intermittent extract rate it sets for a bathroom is 15 litres/second.5 A window alone does not meet this, and a fan is good practice in any shower room.
Choosing the Right Combination
| Bathroom type | Recommended enclosure | Recommended tray |
|---|---|---|
| Small en suite (< 2 m²) | Quadrant 800 × 800 mm | Acrylic, low-profile |
| Standard family bathroom | Alcove 1,200 × 800 mm | Stone resin, low-profile |
| Large main bathroom | Walk-in 1,400 mm+ | Stone resin or tiled wetroom |
| Loft conversion en suite | Quadrant or rectangular, size to fit | Acrylic or stone resin |
| Accessible / wetroom | Open walk-in with grab rail space | Tiled level-access floor |
Buy the enclosure and tray from the same manufacturer where possible, profiles and seal dimensions are designed to mate correctly, reducing the risk of leaks at the base joint, a common source of shower-related water damage.
References (5)
Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.
- 1costsupplier figureScrewfix.RN-MW1XMFA price, true at 2026-09. the retail price Screwfix publishes for Mira Flight Low Corner Waste Square Shower Tray White 800mm x 800mm x 40mm, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item
- 2technicalstrongBSI (British Standards Institution), a standard.RN-623IHBThe product standard for shower enclosures and screens, the counterpart to BS EN 14527 for trays. Published 30 Nov 2018, current but under review. It specifies characteristics for shower enclosures for domestic purposes which ensure the product gives satisfactory performance when used as intended and installed in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions, with domestic purposes defined to include hotels, student accommodation, hospitals and similar buildings except where special medical provisions are required. Two exclusions are worth citing in a buying guide: it does not apply to shower cabinets or curtains, and it does not specify aesthetic or dimensional characteristics, so enclosure sizes are a manufacturer choice rather than standardised, which is why replacement glass rarely fits an existing frame from another brand.
- 3technicalstrongBSI Knowledge, a standard.RN-EQVH0XBS 5385-1:2018, the code of practice for designing and installing ceramic, natural stone and mosaic wall tiling in normal internal conditions. Covers background preparation, permissible deviation of the substrate, adhesive and grout selection, and movement joints. The standard behind the claim that most tiling failures are a background problem rather than an adhesive one.
- 4technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-SM6TRWThe statutory source for soakaway design and the discharge hierarchy every garden drainage note should state. Requirement H3(3) lists the order of priority for rainwater discharge: (a) an adequate soakaway or other adequate infiltration system, or where not reasonably practicable (b) a watercourse, or where not reasonably practicable (c) a sewer. Paragraph 3.25 bars infiltration devices within 5 metres of a building or road, in ground where the water table reaches the bottom of the device at any time of year, too close to other drainage fields or soakaways, or where contamination could pollute groundwater. Paragraph 3.26: soakaways serving less than 100 square metres are generally square or circular pits filled with rubble or lined with dry-jointed masonry or perforated ring units. Paragraph 3.27: design to a return period of once in ten years, and for small soakaways serving 25 square metres or less a design rainfall of 10mm in 5 minutes may be assumed as the worst case. Paragraph 3.28 requires percolation tests to derive the infiltration rate, and paragraph 3.30 sends larger soakaways to BS EN 752-4 or BRE Digest 365 Soakaway design. Paragraphs 2.10 to 2.12 cover pervious paving over a granular storage reservoir and warn against its use where sediment or oil spillage would block the pores. For foul drainage, paragraph 2.33 sets a minimum 75mm internal diameter, or 100mm for a WC, and Table 6 gives minimum gradients of 1 in 40 for 75mm and 100mm at peak flows under 1 litre per second.
- 5technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-QD1SFFTable 1.1 sets minimum intermittent extract rates: kitchen with a cooker hood extracting outside 30 l/s, kitchen without one 60 l/s, utility room 30 l/s, bathroom 15 l/s, sanitary accommodation 6 l/s. Extract terminals and fans other than cooker hoods should be as high as practicable and no more than 400mm below the ceiling; a cooker hood should sit between 650mm and 750mm above the hob if the manufacturer gives no figure. Table 1.7 requires background ventilators of at least 8000mm2 equivalent area in habitable rooms and kitchens for a dwelling, 10,000mm2 for a single-storey dwelling. Background ventilators should be at least 1700mm above floor level and at least 500mm from a fan in the same room. On replacement windows, paragraph 3.14 says new windows must carry background ventilators no smaller than the originals, and paragraph 3.15 gives the fallback minimums where the old size is unknown: 8000mm2 habitable rooms, 8000mm2 kitchen, 4000mm2 bathroom. Paragraph 3.32 confirms that replacing an extractor fan or cooker hood on existing cabling is not notifiable.
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Mira Flight Low Corner Waste Square Shower Tray White 800mm x 800mm x 40mm, Screwfix, accessed 16 September 2026. Priced at 2026-09, so no calibration is needed. screwfix.com
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BS EN 14428:2015+A1:2018 Shower enclosures. Functional requirements and test methods, BSI, accessed 30 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com
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BS 5385-1:2018 Wall and floor tiling. Design and installation of ceramic, natural stone and mosaic wall tiling in normal internal conditions. Code of practice, BSI, accessed 30 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com
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Approved Document H, Drainage and waste disposal, 2015 edition, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, accessed 30 September 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
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Approved Document F, Ventilation, Volume 1: Dwellings, 2021 edition, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, accessed 14 September 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
