Heavy shower!

[whistler]

I'm currently renovating the bathroom and installing a new shower cubicle. It's a 1970's bungalow and the bathroom floorboards have been replaced at some time with chipboard flooring. The weight of the shower is 400kg (10mm glass) and the shower tray comes with five adjustable legs, so the load is spread over five points over a 900mm by 900mm area, four corners and one centre.

This is quite a heavy shower and I'm wondering if the chipboard floor will be strong enough. I have been using Hardibacker 6mm cement board as a subfloor for the tiled areas and I'm wondering whether to cover the shower area chipboard with this to add extra strength.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[noseall]

On legs? I thought a shower was meant to sit on the floor - ease of access and all that?

 

[flameport]

100kg per leg once a person is standing in the shower seems excessive, and it would be better with proper timber below the tray rather than chipboard.
An additional problem is that if chipboard gets wet or even damp, it's strength is compromised.

However if the floor is a suspended one, why is the shower tray on legs at all?

 

[whistler]

The tray has the option of (a) being placed directly on a flat surface or (b) being raised on legs. I had planned option (a), but there is very limited space under the floor and as luck would have it, wherever I place the waste outlet, it's always directly above a joist! so (b) seems a better option. I'm thinking it might be better to remove a section of chipboard and replace with 18mm plywood.

 

[whistler]

False alarm! I added an extra zero it weighs 44kg not 440kg.