Ideas needed please! Space above shower - what to do with it

[ladylola]

Which leaves you with around 18" of space?

I'd be inclined to lower the ceiling in this area and take the studwork right up. Lights and that all important extractor fan can be mounted in the void so created which should allow for ease of maintance and storage can be built in as suggested. Wheather you use it or leave it as an attraction for future owners is up to you although if you are not intent on moving in the foreseeable future I'd omit the storage you don't want.
I wouldn't have the stud work solid all the way up. Tiles to the height of the door and then a window (approx 18" if I'm seeeing this right) to "fill in " the space before the lowered ceiling which exrernally could be either tiles or painted finish.
Good luck with what ever you decide upon and feel free to post pictures when it's finished.

 

[sussexwoman]

Hi and thanks for the replies.

It's a low rise tray, 6mm not 6 inches.

Which leaves 24" above Bighole's 7ft 6.

I didn't think I could have an extractor fan because this isn't an outside wall, plus I hate them, and will avoid unless there is no other option.

If there was a window (glassless, presumably) for 18" above shower and beneath false ceiling, wouldn't that exonerate me from having to have a fan?

 

[Burnerman]

This one appears to have fizzled out a bit...but please do consider an extractor - you would really regret not doing so in due course.
John

 

[sussexwoman]

But there is no outside wall for an extractor to vent into. I cannot fathom how I can get around this problem.

My plan at the moment is to build the cupboard, as reply no1 said, I may find a use for it and if the house outlives me then someone else may find it of use.

The cpd will be about 18" high, and beneath it will be a space, then the shower door and stud walls which will be 6ft 6 high.

There will be three uprights (prob. staircase spindles) connecting the stud walls to the cupboard, to tie the two items together visually and, to give extra support to the cupboard.

If I can find some garden trellis that is PAR instead of the rough finished variety, I may also fit that, stretched, across the voids between the spindles, for visual effect while still allowing plenty of ventilation. If not, perhaps some very thin spindles or dowel could be placed vertically between the spindles all the way across. Might even grow a plant across it....

I am still thinking, and therefore still open to ideas.

 

[Burnerman]

Hello and good morning
I fully understand your concerns about fitting an extractor for your shower, but it is possible for the trunking from the extractor to rise vertically into a roof void (if applicable) and then back down to exhaust at a soffit outside....its even possible to run trunking between the ceiling joists if there is a room above.
As for supports to hold up the cupboard above, stair spindles are one of the few attractive mouldings that you can buy but naturally they are of a certain length, and this may decide the height of the cupboard above the shower.
Dowelling is available in different diameters, and so is chromium or brass tubing - both of which could be used if you like that idea.
John

 

[sussexwoman]

Good morning!

Would the trunking idea not involve me in considerable expense? The room in question is on the first floor of a large, tall three storey Victorian house. Running trunking through ceiling joists and here and there under floorboards would cost a lot of money and cause a lot of disruption (having to lift carpets and floorboards in occupied rooms) plus I think would involve mini scaffolding for the external work (I have in ten years never managed to find a builder or even a window cleaner who will use a ladder to get access to the upper floors of the house.

I still cannot quite see why, with all that overhead empty space starting at 6ft 6 above the floor, plus an 800mm bifold door that can be left open all day after a morning shower, in a room in which the wondow is open 24/7 (I'm a fresh air freak) an extractor fan is considered to be so necessary.

I don't have an extractor in my bathroom, where four people currently use a shower (above the bath type with triple-fold screen) and the window there is never opened, and it is a smaller room with a lower ceiling.

 

[Burnerman]

Hi we can see that you aren't going to be convinced so I'll drop that one and naturally there would be some disruption to the ceiling or floor above if you went ahead.
Something that I can't answer....does a proposal like this require any sort of permission or regulation? Maybe others can advise, unless you've done some homework.
John

 

[sussexwoman]

Well, that's because nobody has written anything that might convince me, other than "you need a fan" which isn't at all persuasive, merely what is known as a circular argument -- ie "You need a fan. Why? Because you do".

It's not a legal requirement nor do you need planning permission or anything like that to install a shower.

Well thanks very much for your time. Much appreciated.

I was hoping for more creative suggestions than mine as to what to do with the whole space above the shower rather than a long discussion about a fan that I have no need or desire to fit.

Lotsa love

Sussex woman

 

[Burnerman]

Only speaking as a square pragmatist I guess, regarding the necessity of an extractor fan....
Anyway, you've had some assistance (hopefully) so here's wishing you well with your project - do lets know what you decide upon.
(The permission comment was merely a thought - external drainage, etc).
John