trialsrider Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 Hi. I'm fitting a shower in my toilet area. I have ordered a shower tray and toilet surround from magnums. According to magnums the shower tray and surround are made of hipps. I was thinking of using my router to trim the edges so that I can get a really straight edge. Has anybody any experience of cutting shower trays. Anybody used a router ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 Gareth, It's actually HIPS or High Impact Polystyrene Sheet. Some info on cutting it is here... http://www.plasticsdirect.co.uk/html/HIPS_47.html Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 Keithl - 2020-07-05 9:14 PM Gareth, It's actually HIPS or High Impact Polystyrene Sheet. Some info on cutting it is here... http://www.plasticsdirect.co.uk/html/HIPS_47.html Keith. Thanks Keith. Router it is then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 This link https://www.stephen-webster.co.uk/products/hips/ says High Impact Polystyrene Properties It’s a strong plastic. It can handle high impact. Despite its strength you can easily cut, router or saw it to an ideal size. Through thermoforming almost any shape of any size can be created. Available in a variety of colours. A very affordable solution. (Obviously) the practicability of using a router to trim your shower-tray’s edges will depend on the router that you have and the shape and strength of the shower-tray/surround itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Well I made a template of the shower tray area so that I could route around the template and get a perfect fit. One of the walls has a slight curve to it. Template fitted like a glove. Routered around it using gaffer tape to hold template to shower tray. I didn't want to clamp up the tray in case I cracked it. Gaffer tape worked well and the router cut perfectly. When I offered the tray up to the space it was going all four corners fitted perfectly but the two sides I had routered curved inwards leaving a gap between wall and tray in the middle. I couldn't work out what had happened as I had used a template. Then it dawned on me. I had put a heavy weight on top of the template to stop the tray and template moving around the workbench whilst I routered. This had inadvertently pushed the middle of the tray outwards on each side which I had then routered. When the weight was removed the tray returned to its normal shape however not the same shape as the template. Schoolboy error. No need for such a weight. So I've just reordered another tray which comes Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 My rookie error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 The offending weight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 But when you stand on the shower tray it will distort again so your original attempt should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 AND possibly even a tighter fit as you are heavier than the weight you pictured, just make sure the shower is off when you step off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Will86 - 2020-07-07 1:10 PM But when you stand on the shower tray it will distort again so your original attempt should be OK. Surely this would be minimal if the base is sikaflexed to the floor ? Movement occurred on mine because the weight was on the sides pushing down rather than solely on the base. Had I weighted the base inside the tray this wouldn't have happened. This is what I plan to do on my next attempt. Under each side lip of the shower tray will be a ledge to support the side. The underside of the lip will then be sikaflexed to the ledge. I'm hoping this should prevent movement. I may be wrong though ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 I’m not sure if this link will be of practical value to you https://vandogtraveller.com/fitting-thetford-c200-shower-tray/ but it does (sort of) emphasise the need to provide effective support beneath a plastic shower tray. If you are going to glue the tray to the floor with copious amounts of Sikaflex, you’ll need to be sure that you get it right first time - otherwise, once the Sikaflex has cured, the only way you’ll be able to remove the tray will be in pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Derek Uzzell - 2020-07-07 4:29 PM I’m not sure if this link will be of practical value to you https://vandogtraveller.com/fitting-thetford-c200-shower-tray/ but it does (sort of) emphasise the need to provide effective support beneath a plastic shower tray. If you are going to glue the tray to the floor with copious amounts of Sikaflex, you’ll need to be sure that you get it right first time - otherwise, once the Sikaflex has cured, the only way you’ll be able to remove the tray will be in pieces. Hi Derek. Yes I read the van dog shower fitting article a while back. My thoughts regarding sikaflexing the shower tray are mainly because if it needs to come out in the future it is probably because it is broken already so it coming out in piece's make little difference. There is going to be nothing under the tray other than the waste going straight through the floor so I shouldn't need access. The plumbing and waste will be accessible from under the van. I'm 6ft 4 and can just about stand up straight so I didn't want to.mount the tray on anything and lose standing height. I will definitely make sure everything is perfect before I go past the point of no return. I've still got to trim the toilet surround and build up the floor under it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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