I am about to tell you about the huge problem you will need to overcome with having shower seats in your bathroom.

So when I mention a shower seat what I am referring to is the use of bricks to create a shower seat in your shower area to sit on or use as a footrest.

Additionally, these shower seats are built not like the ones where you install a plastic chair into the shower and take a little more technical know-how and the number one mistake you will need to avoid.

Below we will cover the following

• What is a bricked shower seat?
• Two types of built shower seats
• Biggest mistake when it comes to building shower seats?
• Examples of the bricked-tiled seats in a shower
• Alternative bricked shelving ideas?

What is a bricked shower seat?

A bricked shower seat is exactly as it sounds, it is the use of bricks to build a ledge for someone to sit on or use as footrest.

The big advantage of these seats can be for people needing to bathe while sitting or for someone who wants to do what is called task activities.

These might be shaving legs, or getting to sections of the body without having to strain your as well as you might just like the idea of sitting down and letting it all wash over you.

The Two Main Types

When building a shower seat you will get wall-to-wall shower seats or wall-to-screen shower seats as they are called which is a bricked shelf that runs at knee height from the wall to the edge of the screen.

The screen will often be custom-made and run over the wall like in the example below

Alternatively the second option is wall to gap shelf. This shelf runs just short of the shower screen and saves you money by not needing to have a custom-made screen.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE TO AVOID

Here you are, looking to find out the biggest mistake for shower seats and that answer is the shower head placement.

The number one item renovators fail to consider is the depth of the shower seat and how it impacts your shower head.

Imagine standing in your shower at home you place your feet pretty close to the wall to get under that shower head which is often only about 300mm to 400mm deep from the wall with the arm.

Once you build a shower seat from the wall outwards around the 400mm to 600mm mark your shower head will struggle to even get close to you.

So what’s the plan Jim? well, the best thing you can do is the double shower. This is the hand outlet on the wall for the person who likes to wash while sitting down

Furthermore, the second shower head will need to come out of the ceiling to get past that shower seat.

Ideally, you would want a pretty large shower for a shower seat or at least a closed shower as having an open shower with the seat makes it hard to keep the water in due to the location of the head to the opening.

Shower Seat and Shower Shelf Examples

We all love pretty pictures so here is a bunch of shower seats to inspire you for your next bathroom renovation or new bathroom build.

Some of the are DIFFERENT to show you what can be done or how something may look.

The example below from ABI is the more aggressive approach from the shower head problem with the seat on the opposite wall.

American shower seats will often instead of just using tiles as the seat will use a marble or stone as the finish of the top part.

Sidewall shower seats get you away from the shower head issue placement but the width of the seat makes the need for a huge shower a must.

Alternative Shower Shelving Options

Modern times call for modern choices and shower shelving has some great bricked shelving options.

Let’s say the shower seat is too big for you and you are looking for something a little more slimline to hold your items or shave your legs.

Below are the three most common types of alternative shower shelving to pick from.

Wall To Wall Shower Shelf

The wall-to-wall shower shelf is the best for creating a stunning feature where you can run the floor tile up the wall and a feature above and also allow for the maximum amount of items to put on without taking up much footprint.

Wall-to-wall shower shelves is only between 75mm to 100mm maximum in width so won’t knock into you.

Boxed Shower Niche

Shower niches are my favourite but becoming not as popular for whatever reason I love them as they make your small space feel so much bigger.

They take no internal room making it perfect for a clumsy person like me who swings his bulky arms everywhere

Shower Foot Rest

Lastly, we have the shower footrest which is a low-brick corner section or semi-half wall which is only 300mm high and often only 400mm wide.

Not the most popular built-in shelving we do just because it’s not sexy and often people do low shower niches to use as a footrest.

Final Thoughts

Shower seats are a nice luxury to have but it will impact your plumbing decisions, both the shower head location and floor drain setup.

Open showers in small spaces are ideal for shower seats but can be made to work with the right planning with you and your tiler/plumber.

If you are looking for a larger breakdown of the best bathroom shelving options CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW

It’s important to note that all our advice is general in nature and all bathrooms are unique so always speak to your local qualified tradesman for the best advice.

If you are looking for a bathroom renovation quote and live in Perth, Western Australia just email us at smallbathroomrenovations@gmail.com

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If you have any shower seat questions or need any advice about shower shelving for your bathroom do not hesitate to comment below.