Planning to remove your shower enclosure? Start with these tips.

There comes a time when worn-out fixtures should be replaced. Are you planning to swap your old shower enclosure for a new one but aren’t sure you can handle the job yourself? Here are a few tips that may prove helpful.

Why are shower enclosures still a good choice?

A shower with a tray remains very popular in Polish homes. It not only saves space but also works well for people with reduced mobility, for whom getting into a bath could be quite a challenge. The growing popularity of small flats also argues in favour of this type of bathroom fixture. Because shower enclosures don’t take up much room, you can opt for a larger washing machine or add a separate tumble dryer.

In which cases should you dismantle a shower enclosure?

There are several reasons why deciding to take apart a shower enclosure may prove necessary. For instance, when you want to rearrange an old bathroom, you dream of replacing old fixtures, or you’ve decided to install a luxurious bathtub.

It may also happen that repairing a major fault will require removing the shower tray. Ignoring leaks in the pipework can lead to irreparable damage to the floor or even flooding your neighbours. Whatever the reason, dismantling a shower should be carried out thoughtfully and with care.

How do you take apart a shower enclosure?

Whether you want to replace an old shower with a new one for aesthetic or practical reasons, before you start the job prepare a few basic tools and a pair of work gloves. How do you remove shower enclosure doors? A full dismantle is not as difficult as it may seem and takes, at most, a few hours.

Begin by removing all movable elements and the protective silicone sealant. The next steps may look a little different depending on the model of the enclosure.

In most cases, at this stage you should unscrew the stoppers of the sliding mechanisms and the tracks (or hinges), ideally with a power screwdriver, and remove the seals. At this point, removing the movable panels should be straightforward.

The next step is to separate the connectors that join the fixed panels to the enclosure’s top and bottom profiles. Disconnect the frame from the wall profiles, then remove those from the walls together with the wall plugs. And that’s it!

Replacing the glass in a shower enclosure

You don’t want to dismantle the entire shower enclosure with a tray and only need to replace old or damaged panes? To do it yourself, simply get matching replacement parts, fit the sliding mechanisms to them and unscrew the stoppers. After removing the old shower doors, you should place the new ones on the tracks.

If you also want to replace the fixed panels, separate the connectors fastening them to the wall profiles, fit the new panes and reassemble the enclosure. Remember to replace the seals and seal any potential gaps with silicone.

Wondering what to replace the glass in a shower enclosure with so it doesn’t get damaged so often in future? To avoid frequent replacements, you can opt for affordable acrylic panels or toughened glass.

Removing a shower tray

As with dismantling a shower enclosure, removing the tray should begin with taking off the silicone seals. You can do this using a special scraper.

The next step is to remove the cover plate and unscrew the plumbing components, including the shower waste trap. If you are dismantling a classic tray on legs, these should be unscrewed as well. After lifting off the tray, gently scrape silicone residue from the tiles. If necessary, call in a professional to seal the pipes.

As you can see, taking a shower apart isn’t rocket science. Doing the dismantling yourself is a good option if you want to save on professional labour.