Shower Enclosure Buying Guide: Types, Sizes and Which to Choose

A side panel turns any door into a corner enclosure: we have 65 of them, alongside 81 sliding doors, 22 quadrants and 49 wetroom screens.

In a small en-suite the question is where the door can go. A hinged or pivot door needs clear floor in front roughly as deep as the door is wide, so if a toilet, basin or radiator is in the way, choose one that stays in its own footprint:

• Bifold door — folds inwards, so it needs no room outside. The usual answer for a tight recess.
• Quadrant — the curve takes a corner off the room and the doors slide. 800 x 800mm suits most small en-suites; 760mm is our smallest.
• Corner entry — sliding doors on a square tray, keeping the full square of showering space.
• Sliding door — for a narrow room with a long tray along one wall.

Check the entrance width on the product page: on ICON quadrants it runs from 343mm (760mm size) to 534mm (900mm), while a 900mm hinged door opens to 737mm.

A door or enclosure is sized to the tray it stands on, so choose the tray first: a 900mm door for a 900mm-wide tray, a 900 x 900mm quadrant for a 900 x 900mm quadrant tray. 760 and 800mm are compact, 900mm gives noticeably more elbow room, and 1200 x 800mm or 1200 x 900mm makes a comfortable main-bathroom shower.

Most ICON doors adjust 40mm for walls that aren't straight, so a 900mm door fits a wall-to-wall opening of 850–890mm. See our shower tray sizes guide and how to measure for a shower enclosure.

Both are toughened safety glass. ICON 6mm is 1850mm tall, lighter and cheaper: pivot, bifold and sliding doors, quadrants, corner entry and bath screens. ICON 8mm is 1950mm tall and heavier: hinged and sliding doors, quadrants and offset quadrants. Wetroom screens and most Phantom sliding doors are 8mm and 2000mm high. Our 6mm vs 8mm guide compares them.

Finishes are chrome, matt black and brushed brass, plus brushed bronze in 8mm. The door, side panel and profiles must match in range, thickness and finish, because they share fixings. All ICON glass has an easy-clean coating and a 10-year warranty.

ICON doors and enclosures come with the glass, frame, adjustable wall profiles, magnetic closing strips and a full seal set. Buy separately:

• The shower tray — never included; each product page shows the shower trays that fit.
• A 90mm waste — included only with ICON White Slate trays.
• Sanitary silicone — silicone sealants.
• A side panel for a corner.
• An extension profile if the walls are beyond the door's adjustment, from £38.79.

Every maker's instructions differ in detail, but the order is always the same:

1. Fit the tray: level, fully supported on a mortar bed or the maker's riser kit, with the waste connected and tested.
2. Tile or panel the walls down onto the tray, so water runs into the tray, not behind it.
3. Stand each wall profile on the tray, check it's plumb and mark the holes.
4. Fix into masonry or noggins — plasterboard alone won't hold — after checking for pipes and cables.
5. Fit the glass, adjust until the doors close square and the seals meet, then silicone as the instructions show and let it cure (usually 24 hours) before use.

Rather not fit it yourself? We offer a supply & fit service across Greater London.

Glass goes by fragile-goods courier for £29.99 per order, however many pieces, or order online and collect from our Chingford counter, usually ready in about an hour.