Planning a walk-in shower

Reading Time: 12 minutes | Article from 16.5.2024

A walk-in shower creates additional comfort and quality of life – for people of all ages. A walk-in shower is a shower cabinet that has a low threshold, close to ground level, i.e. it has no raised shower tray and the bathroom walls or glass panels serve as spray guards. With an open shower, there is often no glass door on the shower cabinet. Walk-in showers are often installed to make bathrooms more accessible and thus easier for older people to use.

How big should a walk-in shower be?

There is no ideal size for a walk-in shower – this is entirely up to you and your personal requirements. In principle, even a small shower can have a walk-in design. Floor-level showers are particularly suitable for bathrooms with a small surface area. With its clean lines and floor-to-ceiling, transparent glass walls, a walk-in shower helps to visually expand the room, creating a harmonious and inviting atmosphere.

At Villeroy & Boch, you can also get walk-in shower trays that are particularly space-saving. Our quadrant shower trays measuring 90 x 90 x 60 centimetres, for example, are ideal for small bathrooms. In narrow bathrooms, rectangular shower trays measuring 90 x 70 x 60 centimetres offer a comfortable showering experience without taking up too much space.

If you have more space available in your bathroom, a larger walk-in shower makes sense. This is because a large shower tray allows greater freedom of movement when showering and is also optimal for people with limited mobility. You may not need this extra space just yet – but with a large accessible shower, your bathroom will still be suitable as you get older.

For example, a floor-level shower measuring 120 x 120 centimetres is easily accessible even with a walking frame. For extra safety, you may want to install a grab handle in the shower at some point.

Older people often also benefit from a bench or folding seat in the shower – it is also easy to retrofit these. To ensure you can sit comfortably on the folding seat and shower without bumping into the walls, the walk-in shower should also be at least 120 x 120 centimetres.In many cases, a shower with a floor area of 150 x 150 centimetres is recommended – from this size upwards, a floor-level shower can also be accessed by wheelchair users.

A close-up of a white rimless Le Valence shower tray in a modern bathroom by Villeroy & Boch with wood panelling.

Black Universal Showers shower tap in a petrol-coloured bathroom with large windows and a washstand.

The Wallway shower system by Villeroy & Boch and a white towel.

Under certain conditions, you can receive a grant from the KfW bank for the age-based conversion of your home. To be eligible for this funding, however, the shower should not only be of a walk-in design, but should also be installed at ground level and thus accessible to wheelchair users.To be considered accessible, it must meet a number of established, standardised criteria.

In addition to the size, these include other requirements that are summarised in DIN standard 18040-2:

The minimum size is 120 x 120 centimetres.
Minimal height difference between the shower tray and floor.
The possibility of retrofitting a grab handle or seat.
Single-lever mixer tap with lever pointing downwards or contactless fitting.
Shower fitting with temperature limiter.

To benefit from a grant or subsidy, your application must be submitted before you have the walk-in shower installed. To be on the safe side, consult an expert advisor or a specialised plumbing company.

Benefits of a walk-in shower

A walk-in shower has many advantages, and not just for older people.

These include:

Safe and comfortable entry and exit
Timelessly elegant and sleek designs
Easy cleaning for good hygiene
Jointless design possible
Greater freedom of movement when showering
The bathrooms looks and feels bigger
Makes independent showering possible, even in old age

Retrofitting a walk-in shower

In most cases, a walk-in shower can be retrofitted – as a rule, it makes sense to ask a specialist company to do this. If your bathroom already has a shower, converting this into a walk-in shower in the same spot is not usually problem, because the corresponding water connections and drain are already in place. A bath can also be easily replaced with a floor-level shower.

If the bathroom has neither a shower nor a bath, the easiest place to install the floor-level shower tray is where the toilet used to be, due to the existing water connections and drain. Of course, it is also possible to retrofit a new shower in a completely different location. In this case, however, the project may be more complex, as the water connection and drain will need to be installed first.

What else should be considered when planning a walk-in shower?

A black and white bathroom with a glass shower cubicle and a Squaro Infinity shower tray.

Floor foundation height

If you want to retrofit a walk-in shower, the height of the floor foundation is important. The floor foundation height is the thickness of the floor including the floor covering, insulation and screed. Exact details can be found in the construction drawings. However, a specialist installer will often also need to drill a test hole to determine the floor height. Due to the specific thickness of the shower tray in numerous models, a minimum floor foundation height of seven centimetres is usually required.

In new buildings, the floor usually has a reasonable foundation height due to the various construction layers, which means a walk-in shower can be installed without issues. In older buildings, the floor foundation height may be lower – but there are also practical solutions to get around this. If the shower has a sloping drain, the shower tray will require a greater installation height – an additional three to four centimetres are usually needed. Less height is required for a shower tray with a wall drain or with a surrounding shower channel. However, there are simple solutions that can be installed quite easily on the existing tiled floor.

Modern walk-in shower with a glass partition and grey tiles

Villeroy & Boch shower trays

Thanks to innovative materials, these shower trays have been load-tested at up to 1000 kilograms. The shower tray can be installed flush with the surface, requiring a low floor height, or it can rest on the tiles.

Many other Villeroy & Boch models can also be installed directly on the tiles. A shower tray that rests on the tiles is not completely level, because it has an edge of about two to four centimetres high. However, this edge remains flat enough to ensure safe and comfortable entry and exit, and it therefore pretty much akin to a walk-in shower cabinet.

Discover our shower trays

If you are looking to replace your shower, you should consider creating a fully accessible bathroom. At Villeroy & Boch, you will find an array of accessibility solutions for the bathroom that perfectly combine form and function.

Expert assistance for every occasion