Rather than jumping out to buy that corner bathtub shower you had been dreaming of, you would better take the measurements of your bathroom first and save yourself the disappointment and embarrassment of having bought something that wouldn’t fit in your bathroom.

It’s a very common practice to position a new corner tub shower in the same position where your present bathtub and/or shower unit is. The reason is that having removed the old unit, you can install new corner tub shower with existing plumbing, and that saves your expense and botheration. Else, you have to call in a plumber to devise a new route for piping that may involve additional constructional work. All that is going to cost. So, it’s better to stick to the present bathing area.

For taking accurate measurements don’t hesitate requesting help from a friend or somebody from the family, as it won’t be convenient for one man to do it and the results can’t be accurate. You should carry these measurements with you at the time of shopping and compare the same with the recommendations of the manufacturer as regards to space. So, it saves you from the embarrassment and disappointment of buying an item that wouldn’t fit into the available space of your bathroom.

Understand that a Corner shower tub is actually a two-in one device. As a matter of fact you are buying a corner bathtub and a shower door kit to fit it. When looking at any specific corner bathtub, you need check if a matching shower door kit is available. That saves you time and effort, as generally the corner bath and shower door kit are coordinated together. However, you may exercise your freedom and may choose only one of the items and look for the other any way you find convenient, but do keep the dimensions and recommendations of the manufacturer in mind.

You’ll get these two options while shopping for it:

• Recessed corner bathtub shower: such tubs necessitate the making of a hole in your floor and the tub is fixed therein. The rim of the bathtub would project above the level of the floor. Such units are floor-saving as compared to freestanding corner shower tubs.

• Freestanding corner bathtub showers: These are fixed on a platform over the existing floor of your bathroom. You get the freedom of choosing design flare in the enclosure that surrounds the tub. Once the tub gets installed and needed plumbing arrangements are provided, you can frame an enclosure of your choice around the corner bathtub shower.

You may provide some kind of storage beneath the enclosure for keeping toiletries and bath products. There are many options for covering the enclosure. You may have brick, stone, carpet, wood, and paneling. Spend some time and search online looking for an appealing design that pleases you and continue enjoying the pleasure of a corner tub with shower door.

Mira Showers have been in the business of shower making for more than eighty years and their products are exported to more than forty countries.

It’s great to have wide variety to choose from, but at the same time it is quite perplexing too. But, understanding the kind of arrangement you have at home for hot and cold water would simplify the problem to a good extent. Just understand that all over the world there are two kinds of water systems in homes.

Low pressure Mira shower for the gravity hot water system

You see, the pressure with which water comes out of your shower depends upon two factors. One is the height of the tank above the shower and the other, the volume of water it has. Of course there is some room for manipulating the pressure by having some attachments at the end of the shower. The higher the tank above the shower, the greater is the pressure. This pressure is insufficient for most people who like to have a powerful shower. For such pressure, termed as low pressure, Mira has low water pressure shower. Unless you have a very good pressure or happen to be on a tight budget, such showers are not recommendable. Another feature you should take note of is that the connection from the cold tank to your shower must always be below the cold fill to your cylinder that stores hot water for Mira shower. This is to ensure that the user doesn’t get scolded in the event of cold-water tank running out of water.

High pressure Mira shower when you add shower pumps

To get water at high pressure it is necessary to have a pump that builds up the pressure. They are not very expensive and surely provide a different experience while showering. Plumbers generally recommend salamander Pumps and they are one of the best-known manufacturers of pumps. However, the operation of shower pumps is a bit noisy. If the walls of your house are thin, you may have to consider soundproofing arrangement or locate the pump strategically, traditionally it is housed in the loft or next to the cylinder.

Along with your Salamander pump, you would need to buy “hot flange connection”, a device that prevents undesirable water problem and facilitates installation. The following three types are available.

1. S Type Flange 1″ x 22mm compressed top entry flange

2. Essex Flange 15 (no stop) 15mm for RSP 45 & NP50 Salamander Pumps only

3. Essex Flange 22 22mm for all other Salamander Pumps

High pressure Mira showers for Combination Boilers

Installation of Mira showers is further facilitated if you already have a combination boiler facility as it eliminates the requirements of many components and complex pipe work. You just need to fix a tee close to your hot and cold pipe work. Generally, combination boilers have a capacity of delivering nine liters of hot water per minute. If you find that insufficient, you need to buy a boiler with higher KW rating. These days you may even get a boiler combination to deliver fourteen liters of hot water a minute or even more.

Irrespective of the system you choose, it is very important that the installation of Mira shower is designed to get hot and cold water at equal pressure. That can be obtained by use of pressure regulators. Else, you may take your cold supply from a tank or use a pressure vessel with balanced hot and cold supplies.

Commissioning your Mira shower: New pipe work should always be flushed thru before connecting it to your shower. This action removes all the debris or wire wool etc. that might have been used at the time installation of piping. Blowing down the pipe and passing small volume of clean water thru it can achieve it.

It must be added here that the above be treated as a brief guideline only for installation of Mira showers. You should always consult a qualified plumber before purchasing a system and its installation.

Choosing the right shower tray while installing a shower system in your bathroom is vitally important as it forms the foundation of shower enclosure. You get these trays in a number of shapes, from a simple rectangle to a pentagon. The large variety of designs is certainly accompanied with a large range of prices too. It depends upon your budget and the kind of looks you want your bathroom to have. This may be a plain simple look or a very luxurious look. But, before you make a hasty decision, you’ll need to consider a few factors.

So where do I start in choosing the perfect shower tray?

Apart from financial budget, the most important factor that decides the tray for your bathroom is the size of your bathroom and the space available for installing the tray. And the most practical way of assessing the available space is to make a drawing of your bathroom and consider different possibilities for placing your bathroom fixtures and sanitary wares.

Though a shower enclosure may be located anywhere in the bathroom, its exact location is dependent on the location of doors, windows and other fixtures as well the shape of the tray you like to install.

Certainly, you would like to have a roomy area for the shower with convenient entry and exit points, but other bathroom fixtures should not crowd the space.

For the purpose it will be worth consulting your plumber who can know the present layout of the piping and assess the requirements and route of further piping, if required. The plumber will be able to help deciding the position of fixtures and joists.

Once you have taken into consideration all the above parameters, you are better equipped to choose your ideally suited shape of your shower tray. Well, there is no dearth of shapes and sizes of shower trays, which are available in square, rectangular, pentangle, quadrant, offset quadrant, offset pentangle shapes. You may have it in “U’ shape, better known as a “D” shaped shower tray.

The perfect shower tray for the bathroom depends upon many factors, most important of which are the space available for its installation, your financial budget and the style you like to have.

For a better understanding of the subject you may seek the help of a plumber or get in touch with a bathroom supplier for expert guidance on the kind of tray that will be most suitable for your bathroom.