Types Of Showers

For many of us, there simply isn’t enough time for the sheer indulgence of a long, decadent soak in a bathtub. Showers have become highly popular in British bathrooms because of the benefits they offer in terms of convenience, style and economy.

From the simplest electric shower setup designed for speed and efficiency, to the luxury of body jets, rain showerheads and the remote activation of the latest digital systems, we have a solution for every home, family and budget.

As a leading UK-based online retailer, we advise on and supply the beautiful ranges on offer from some of the best brands in showering. Including Aqualisa, Vado, Burlington and Matki to name but a few. What’s more, our close relationships with these leading manufacturers means that you never have to compromise on style, quality and performance for the sake of price. 

Mixer showers draw hot and cold water directly from the domestic water system and mixes them together in a valve, before sending the warm water to the showerhead. Mixer showers typically provide a higher flow rate than electric showers and they can easily be teamed with a separate pump to provide the pressure needed to make the most of those luxurious rain showerheads.

Manual Mixer Showers: represent the simplest option. The temperature of the water from the showerhead depends on the position of a temperature control on the mixer itself. The consistency of that temperature depends on the pressure within the water system and the temperature of the cold water which varies according to the season. This means you must adjust the position of the control in winter/summer. It also means that, if someone flushes the toilet or turns on the cold water tap in the kitchen while you are in the shower, you could be scalded.

Thermostatic Mixer Showers: are more expensive than their manual mixers. The thermostatic control ensures that, even if pressure in the system changes or the temperature of the cold water supply falls, the shower will maintain the temperature you have chosen. It does this by varying the amount of hot and cold water that goes into the mixing chamber. What’s more, if the cold water supply fails abruptly, the shower shuts off automatically, eliminating the chance of injury due to scalding. 

Power showers are essentially mixer showers with a built-in pump, usually used in households with low water pressure. To all intents and purposes, power showers are a cross between a mixer shower and an electric shower. It still draws on a hot and cold water supply from the household system but it uses an electric pump to boost the flow rate, resulting in a much stronger stream of water from the showerhead.

Exposed valve showers retain their popularity because of their cost-effectiveness, their simplicity and a growing fashion for exposed pipework can provide an appealing, utilitarian look to a bathroom. We supply a comprehensive range of beautifully-designed exposed valve shower kits, made from the highest quality materials. They are aesthetically-pleasing, tough, durable and incredibly easy to install without the need for lots of separate fittings. Your plumber will be pleased.

Concealed valve showers are based on the reliable mixer shower system, which draws hot and cold water directly from the water supply in your home before mixing it to the desired temperature.

Concealed valve showers are popular with those who prefer a clean, minimalist design in the bathroom. With these kits, the pipework and the mixer valve that handles the water’s temperature and flow rate are hidden away behind a wall, leaving only the shower head, the riser rail and the controls on display. 

Shower towers are an elegant, luxurious all-in-one showering solution. With body jets, an overhead deluge and a handset, they offer a showering experience that leaves you feeling as invigorated as you would after a day at the spa.

The single-body design makes them simple to install, easy to maintain and capable of making a bold but stylish statement in your bathroom. 

Opting for a complete shower is simpler, more convenient and more cost-effective than choosing separate parts. Rather than buying shower heads, riser rails, valves and so on separately, buying a kit gets you all the parts handily packaged together. They’ll be fully compatible with each other and the overall cost will be lower.

We supply an impressive range of complete shower kits available to suit every installation. Whether you prefer a concealed valve, exposed valve, a tower or one of the latest digital showers, you can be certain that our range will have a kit in a style that suits you. 

Types Of Shower Enclosures

Also called shower cubicles, enclosures are a core component of the modern bathroom. Whether you’re after a splash and dash first thing in the morning, or you want to bask in a cleansing deluge from body jets and rain shower heads after a busy day, a fit-for-purpose shower enclosure is essential.

Our range of shower enclosures combine form and function effortlessly to guarantee a superb showering experience. We have a staggering range of sizes and styles to suit every palate and every budget. 

Quadrant enclosures are the most popular in UK homes on account that our bathrooms tend to be rather small. In instances where there isn’t an abundance of space, the quadrant enclosure is an excellent choice that fits snugly into a corner while giving you plenty of highly-practical, yet still aesthetically-pleasing, options. 

Asymmetric quadrant enclosures have one side longer than the other. They’re perfect for installations when a larger shower is required but there is still a need for it to be situated in a corner. Don’t forget that you’ll need to choose which side of the enclosure should be longer according to the dimensions of your bathroom. You should determine whether it’s the left or right hand side while standing as if you were outside, directly in front of the enclosure, not as if you were standing inside it.

Corner enclosures are an alternative solution for those wanting to use the corner of the bathroom. It’s a simple combination of a glass door and a glass side panel that uses the two walls to make up the rest of the enclosure.

Door and slide panels are available in far smaller sizes than quadrants and that makes them an ideal choice for more compact spaces. That being said, don’t overlook the fact that pivot and hinged doors will require sufficient clearance when they’re opened. 

If you have the luxury of space, then nothing makes as bold a statement as a walk-in shower. Usually, these are comprised of two individual panels and a shower tray but, instead of relying on straight panels, you can defy convention and experiment with curved styles too. Because they have no moving parts, they’re much easier to maintain and keep clean but the space available must be sufficient for the panels to stop water getting into the rest of the bathroom, while being large enough for you to enter and exit the enclosure with ease. 

Types Of Shower Doors & Screens

There’s a huge choice when it comes to shower doors. We supply a range of doors to choose from, everything from the sleek sliding and compact bi-fold models to the classic pivot or hinge-operated doors that remain such a firm favourite in British bathrooms. Whatever your taste, we have a door that’s ideal for your space. 

The classic hinged shower door is essentially identical to the opening and closing mechanism used by most of the internal and external doors in your home. Hinges attach to the door itself and to the wall (or another glass panel) and the door swings outward into the bathroom. This makes it easy to enter and exit the shower but it’s important to ensure that there is enough space available to accommodate the width of the door when it’s fully opened.

Pivot shower doors tend to be quite easily confused with the hinged door, primarily because their method of operation is so similar. Where they differ, however, is in the location of the moving parts. Whereas the hinged door has its hinges attached to a wall (or another glass panel) and one of its longest sides, the pivot door has the pivots at the top and bottom of the door. This means that when the door is opened, part of it will intrude into the shower enclosure and part of it will extend outward and into the bathroom.

There must be sufficient clearance to accommodate the width of the door when it’s fully opened. Pivot doors can have their centre of movement on the left, the right or in the centre of the door. A door with a pivot in the centre will require the least clearance since only half of it will protrude into the bathroom but a compromise will have to be made on the ease of entering and exiting the enclosure. 

If you’d rather not eat into internal or external space, then a sliding shower door is very much the way to go. These doors are typically installed in larger enclosures and are available in sizes up to 1.5m long. The near friction-free sliding operation makes opening and closing these doors simply effortless. 

Corner entry shower doors are very similar to the doors found on quadrant shower enclosures. To all intents and purposes, they are a pair of sliding doors but unlike those on the quadrant enclosures, they are straight, not curved. They slide away from the corner of your enclosure towards the wall and are a good option for situations where the space available will not easily accommodate the more popular pivot or hinged door.

When space is at a premium, Bi-fold shower doors make an excellent choice. A simple, smooth operation sees these doors fold in half and slide gently to one side, allowing plenty of room for easy entry and exit. As if that wasn’t enough, because these doors open into the shower enclosure, they won’t protrude into the rest of your bathroom – a great benefit if washbasins or other fixtures are close by.

For decades, the lowly but ubiquitous shower curtain was the only way to avoid floor splashes for those with a shower located over their bath. Things have since moved on and, in may British homes, the shower screen has replaced the shower curtain and it’s easy to see why; the screen can do everything the curtain can but with better aesthetics and superior hygiene.

We supply a range of high quality shower screens that not only keep shower water off your floor but also represent an elegant visual upgrade to your bathroom. 

Considering their importance to the shower experience, it’s surprising that shower trays are often regarded as an afterthought. There’s a lot to take into consideration; shapes, sizes, construction materials and their compatibility with your shower enclosure just for starters. Before tending to matters like which colours and heights are going to be most suited to your bathroom, it’s usually best to engage a professional installer to ensure you get the right tray.

Unbeatable Bathrooms can supply shower trays suitable for use with wooden floors where plumbing can be easily accommodated but if you have a concrete floor, we have riser kits that permit the shower tray to be elevated in order to make room for wastepipe plumbing.