Why Choose a Quadrant Shower Enclosure for my Bathroom?

Quadrant Shower Enclosures are one of the most popular shower enclosure on the market. There are a number of reasons why people choose to install a quadrant shower, and one of the most popular is to save space in the bathroom. Quadrant enclosures are cleverly designed to utilise minimum bathroom space and provide maximum showering area. These units come in a range of sizes, commonly including 800mm, 900mm and 1000mm (with various configurations).

Another reason for their popularity is the enclosure’s curvaceous, minimalistic design.  Quadrant shower enclosures are a modern, striking addition to the bathroom. Aluminium shower door frames are widely available in white, silver and chrome, and seamlessly complement most bathroom colour schemes. The glass doors also have different options: there’s clear glass, patterned or frosted, depending on your design or requirements.

Three major suppliers of shower enclosures in the UK are Manhattan Showers, April Shower Doors and The London Water Closet Company (LWCC). These distributors’ products can be found in many UK bathroom stores or in bathroom shops online.

Popular Shower Enclosures

The “Uno” by Manhattan is a single door enclosure, measuring 800×800mm or 900×900mm, and requires its own bespoke tray. The Uno Quadrant Shower has a right or left hand option which can be tailored to the configuration of the bathroom. The Uno comes with a “click ‘n’ clean” system, which consists of front-operated bottom guides, making the shower door easier to fit, clean and maintain. Another benefit of the Uno Quadrant Shower Enclosure is its smooth running sliding door, as opposed to pull-out door type, which saves the hassle of annoying water drips when entering and exiting the shower.

Uno’s sister product is the Manhattan “Duo” enclosure, available in various sizes but most popular being 1200×900mm. As its name suggests, the Duo has two smooth-running sliding doors which meet in the middle and a choice of left or right hand side configuration. Similar to the Uno, this product also has the “click ‘n’ clean” system. All Manhattan’s products have a lifetime combination guarantee, offering a greater peace of mind. Manhattan Shower Enclosures include a combination lifetime guarantee when purchased with a Manhattan Duralite® shower tray.

The April Shower Door collection also has a range of products, including Identiti (standard/mid range) and Prestige (premium range). A popular April Shower Enclosure is the Identiti² Bow Fronted Quadrant Shower 900×900mm, which has concealed fixings and quick-release doors for safety. The Bow Front Quadrant Shower is also wet room compatible. Also in the Identiti range is a free-standing Identiti² U-Shaped Quadrant Shower Enclosure (also known as D-Shaped or U-Shaped Quadrant Shower Enclosure). This unit requires a small amount of wall space and a dedicated shower tray.

LWCC offers its best-selling budget Quad Shower, available in a chrome finish. The LWCC Quadrant Shower Enclosure has a sleek simple design with smooth running doors which slide either way. It has clear glass and fits elegantly into almost any bathroom style. The quality and price make this one of the most competitive Quadrant Shower buys on the market.

Shower Trays

There are two main types of trays to suit the Quadrant Enclosure: Slimline and Standard. The minimalist slimline is generally between 40-45mm high and the standard tray is around 100-110mm in height and made of a stone resin mix.

The Manhattan Quad Shower Doors can be installed with a Duralite® tray, which has superior durability and fast draining abilities. The tray has a patented concealed waste, draining water at a speed of 24 litres per minute. The trays have a smooth tread, are easy to clean (with a handy removable hair trap) and all trays come with a 25-year guarantee.

By Lindy Holman

The Introduction of The Shower Room

In one form or another, showers have been around for thousands of years, but what once comprised of a bucket poured from above, now includes some incredible technology and plumbing, from the showerhead to the walk in shower enclosures available.

The modern bathroom has become a shrine to the power of the shower room. Most of us shower at least once a day, and it’s a great way to keep clean while being economical with water, which is important for the environment. Most modern walk in shower enclosures, corner shower enclosures and quadrant shower enclosures are specially designed to minimize water wastage.

There’s a huge variety of showers to choose from, but a further factor that will affect your showering experience and the look of your bathroom is the shower enclosure. These fall into several categories, but some of the most important are walk in shower enclosures, corner shower enclosures and quadrant shower enclosures.

Corner shower enclosures are a robust and attractive addition to any bathroom. Corner shower enclosures have two sides, one with the door, and fit snugly into the bathroom, meaning that corner shower enclosures are great at making good use of the available space.

Corner shower enclosures have a lot of advantages. They can be extremely space-saving, although they do come in a number of sizes to suit everyone. The sides of corner shower enclosures fit firmly against the walls of the bathroom - usually tiled or covered in another water-resistant material - and are sealed to provide a water-tight environment. Because of their construction, corner shower enclosures are very robust and should stand up to many years of hard use. And corner shower enclosures are attractive, too, coming in many finishes both traditional and contemporary to suit the design of different bathrooms. They’re also available as walk in shower enclosures without doors.

Quadrant shower enclosures are a variation on the corner shower enclosures theme, fitting neatly into the corner of the bathroom. Quadrant shower enclosures differ in that they have a curved front and doors, which adds a particularly elegant air to the bathroom.

Quadrant shower enclosures can be even more space-saving than corner shower enclosures, though, because they lack the jutting outer edge - ideal in a tight bathroom where they allow plenty of space for bathroom users to pass. Like corner shower enclosures, though, quadrant shower enclosures come in a variety of - steel, chrome and gold are particular favourites - and they can also be bought as doorless walk in shower enclosures.

There’s also a wide range of shapes in quadrant shower enclosures. Some simply curve into the corner, while other quadrant shower enclosures have an ‘oasis’ shape that allows more space inside. One of the trends in modern steam room design has been the move towards walk in shower enclosures, which are growing in popularity all the time. It’s easy to see why - they are good-looking, spacious and easy to clean. Some walk in shower enclosures are straight panels that fit across a suitably-sized area of the bathroom, while others are curved in the style of quadrant shower enclosures and others fit the bathroom the same way that corner shower enclosures do.

The main difference with walk in shower enclosures, though, is - as the name suggests - they don’t have doors so you can walk straight in and out, which gives your morning shower a particular air of grace and ease.

Walk in shower enclosures are of great help to people with limited mobility or parents with children, as it’s easy to get them in and out.

In the end, choosing between walk in shower enclosures, corner shower enclosures and quadrant shower enclosures is a very personal matter, depending on your requirements and tastes. But one thing’s for sure - there’s so much choice, you won’t struggle to find exactly what you want.