A shower base is designed to drain the wastewater in the bathroom. It is a great idea if you are planning to remodel or upgrade your home. You’ll need the best shower pan for a number of reasons.
First, it is a longer life. It is a onetime investment that will let you reap a lot of benefits for a very long time. But for the base to last longer, one needs to properly maintain it.
Another thing is that they are cost-effective compared to the normal tiles. Remember that you will only invest this for a long time. Tiles need to be changed after some time. But with a shower pan, you can save the costs of getting a new one.
Another reason why you need this is because of its strength. The best shower pan systems are made from strong and durable materials like PVC, acrylic, and fiberglass. These materials guarantee a long life plus you don’t need to worry about changing your pan.
Lastly, you can be sure of protecting the floor around your bathroom from leaks. The concrete floor is not strong enough to withstand the water and may need repair after a while. Let’s go on and look at how we picked the best models.
How Did We Pick the Best?
We know that finding a product that suits your needs and at the same time your budget is not that easy. That’s why in this shower base review, we want you to understand how we picked the best in the market plus help you choose one that meets your preferences.
To ensure that we picked trustworthy shower pans, we first consulted asked a few experts in this field on what is the best shower base. They advised us on what to go for and factors to look at when choosing a pan. We used their pieces of advice to come up with a list of our own.
We spent more than 72 hours doing proper research on the web which led us to pick top 20 products in the market. We first had more than that but due to some factors, we left out a few of them. And for every item, we had set criteria to look at. That includes the material and durability, size, ease of cleaning and maintenance, installation, design and style, waterproof base, stain and scratch resistance, integration with other systems, versatility, and cost.
We made sure that each of the 20 products matched with our considerations. After that, it was time for us to test them. For quality results, we couldn’t test all of them at once. So we included a team of volunteers who helped us analyze the products. Each of the products was tested in a period of 3 months for maximum results.
The reason we had to do it for that period was to see how durable the materials were and how reliable the shower base was. The volunteers then gave their feedback. With their results and ours at hand, we had to choose the top 10 bases. This was done by analyzing their user experience, ratings, features, and reviews.
Finally, the last step was to look at what other customers were saying about these products. Our first place to land was Amazon. Here, we looked at the price, the customers’ ratings, and their reviews. We went ahead to look at the same things in other e-shops. The last part was important since it helped us look if other users agree with our list.
Things to Consider While Buying the Best Shower Pan?
Before referring to our top 10 shower pans, be sure to first understand what you are going for, and what to look for. In short, be familiar with general knowledge. In this section, we are going to discuss on factors that you need to choose the best shower base pan.
1. Size
The size of your shower pan is the key consideration. It has to fit the space in the bathroom perfectly, without occupying the whole washroom area. Before choosing the right size, make sure that you have confirmed your space carefully. Do not worry if your bathroom size is too big or too small. There are different sizes of pans for all bathrooms.
2. Material and Durability
The lifetime of your shower pan depends on the quality of the material. To get the best one, consider going for the most common ones like acrylic, ceramic, or steel materials. These are certain to last you for a very long time. Here is a list of shower pan material comparison.
- Acrylic shower base is the most preferred material since it is easier to clean and lasts longer. Another good thing about it is that you don’t need to worry about maintaining it because it takes less money and effort.
- Steel shower base is the best when it comes to stain resistant. Make sure you confirm if it is stainless steel before you buy shower base.
- Ceramic shower base gives your bathroom a contemporary and classic look. They are also good in terms of cleaning and maintenance.
3. Design and Style
Most people prefer a modern and classy look when it comes to their homes. If you are one of them, go for a shower base that compliments all the other bathroom accessories. There are different shapes and colors. Some of the popular designs include rectangle, single threshold, neo-angle, quarter round, and many others.
If you want an elegant look, go for vibrant colors that will brighten up your shower area. In addition to that, you can also go for a custom-made shower base. It will enable you to add creativity and make the base unique from the others.
4. Ease of Cleaning Maintenance
When it comes to shower bases, you will be confused by the many fancy ones. But remember no matter how good a base looks like, how easy it is to maintain and to clean it is the key. Confirm first how to clean the product and if it is rust and scratch resistant. The easiness of maintaining the pan will save you costs of repairing or buying another one. It will also save you time and energy.
5. Installation Option
Consider if you can install the shower pan on your own or if you’ll need a professional. A good base should be easy to install so as to avoid breaking or damaging the floor. You don’t need extra labor or expenses for the installation process.
6. Scratch and Stain Resistance
Go for a product that cannot get scratches easily. Scratches are known to occur if one cleans the pan for a long time and with abrasive products. Another thing that can cause scratches is dropping heavy objects on the pan. So, to avoid such issues, go for a product that is strong enough.
Make sure to also look if the pan is stain resistant. We know that the cleaning process is tiresome and you wouldn’t like to spend a lot of time cleaning one part. That’s why it’s important that you get a base that has a stain resistant feature so as to avoid unnecessary marks that will steal the beauty of the whole thing.
7. Waterproof Base
The best shower pan has a waterproof base which prevents water from accumulating on the surface after showering. Excess water may lead to watermark buildup which may be hard to clean. To avoid this, go for a pan that has the waterproof feature.
8. Versatility
You can look at versatility in different perspectives but with a shower pan consider its usefulness and adaptability in the bathroom. Make sure you buy shower pan that is compatible with all the bathroom accessories and how flexible you can use it.
9. Integration with Other Systems
Same with versatility but in this case, you’ll look at how well the base can be used with different shower accessories. Confirm if the shower pan is meant to work separately with products from the same manufacturer or if it can combine well with any bathroom items from different manufacturers.
10. Budget
How much do you plan to spend on the bathroom shower base? Your money is the greatest determiner when it comes to purchasing a shower pan. When it comes to budget, consider everything from purchasing to installation if you’ll need an expert. There is a wide variety of cheap shower base, mid-range, and high priced models. It depends on the budget you have set.
Our Top 10 Best Shower Pans
We have categorized out top 10 shower pans depending on the type they belong to. All these products have been carefully listed and analyzed by the factors discussed above. Similarly, we choose the models according to things like price and their strong features.
After looking at some of the factors like material, size, durability, etc, we composed these shower pan reviews to help you chose the one that suits your needs.
Let’s get started!
