Shower Tray Removal

It's taken two days, but finally the shower tray has been lifted. It was set below the concrete floor level, then on three sides it was concreted in to the height of the enamel shower tray. As we wanted the shower tray out in one piece to use as a watertight base for a garden fountain, I had to break the concrete away relatively gently.

Shower tray cemented into ground

One thing that we have noticed is that the way that the previous renovation was done has made it almost impossible to perform a light renovation. For instance, because the shower tray was set into a concrete floor, the drain pipes all glued together and set into concrete, and the incoming water supply soldered, it is not possible to simply remove the shower tray and cubicle and replace with an new one of the same size. To remove the shower tray required us to smash all of the concrete and break the drainpipe. To change the shower tap we will have to cut the copper pipe.

It is arguable whether the previous renovation was performed in this way to make it long-lasting, or whether it was done to ensure that any future changes would require the intervention of an artisan.

In any case, the good news is that modern materials such as push-fit connectors for drainpipes and PER pipes for the incoming water are becoming easier to find and much cheaper. As the renovation goes on we hope to be able to convert the whole house to these more DIY-friendly materials.