Wetroom and bathroom
How to measure for a shower screen
A screen is measured from the tray, not the floor, and it is measured more than once. Walls bow, trays sit proud, and a panel that is 4mm too wide cannot be trimmed on site.
Before you start
What you are measuring
The dimensions that decide the job
- The width of the opening the panel crosses, taken at three heights.
- The height from the tray lip or the wetroom floor to the top of the panel, taken at both ends.
- How far out of plumb the wall the panel meets is.
- The position of every hinge, clamp, bracing bar or support arm.
What to have in your hand
- A steel tape measure
- A spirit level
- A pencil
- The measuring pack record sheet
The printable measuring pack carries the record sheet these steps fill in, plus a tracing grid for shapes a tape cannot describe.
In this order
The steps, in the order the workshop takes them
Start from the tray, not the floor
The panel stands on the tray lip or on the finished floor of a wetroom, so that surface is the datum for every height on the job. Mark it in pencil and take every vertical measurement from that line.
Measure the width at three heights
At the tray, at waist height and at the top of the run. Tiled walls bow and rarely run parallel. Write all three down and order to the smallest.
Measure the height at both ends
From the datum to the top of the panel at the wall end and again at the open end. Use the smaller of the two, so the panel clears the head detail at both ends.
Check the wall for plumb
Hold a level against the wall the panel meets and note how far it leans over the panel height. A wall profile takes up a small lean; a raw panel against a leaning wall leaves a wedge-shaped gap that water finds.
Decide the clearance the fittings need
A wall profile, a channel or a set of clamps each take a fixed gap. Tell us the opening size and the fittings and we make the deduction, or give us the exact glass size if you have already allowed for it. Say plainly which of the two you are giving us.
Mark the fixings before you order
Hinges, clamps, a bracing bar and a support arm all need holes or notches, and toughened glass cannot be drilled, notched or trimmed once it has been toughened. Count them and give the distance to the centre of each from the top and from the nearest side.
What we work to
The tolerance, and where to start
We cut to plus or minus 2mm, and every order is confirmed with a dimensioned drawing before anything is made. On a screen that tolerance is taken up by the seal and the profile, which is why the fittings are chosen before the glass is cut rather than after.
The usual specification
8mm toughened
8mm toughened is the wetroom standard; 10mm for frameless.
The configurator link below opens with a walk-in panel at 800 x 2000mm in that specification. It is a starting point the workshop cuts often, not a guess at your opening: change the numbers to the ones you have just measured and the price and the drawing follow.
What costs people a panel
The common mistakes
Measuring from the floor
The tray lip is usually 30mm to 80mm above the floor. Measure from the floor and the panel is that much too long to stand on the tray.
One measurement, taken in the middle
The middle is the one place a bowed wall is not. Three widths and two heights take a minute and settle it.
Giving the glass size when you meant the opening
Both are valid numbers and they are not the same number. Unmarked, a glass size gets the profile deduction taken off it twice.
Deciding the hinges after the glass is ordered
The cut-outs go in before toughening. A hinge chosen afterwards means a new panel, not a new hole.
Looking for a standard size
Made-to-measure exists because bathrooms are not standard. There is no size to match, only the opening you have.
When you order
What to send us
- The three widths and the two heights, in millimetres, and which end meets the wall.
- The tray or floor detail the panel stands on.
- The make and model of the hinges, clamps or profile, or a photograph of them.
- A photograph of the opening with a tape in shot.
Write them on the record sheet as you go: download the three-page measuring pack PDF, or read the same sheets on the measuring pack page.
Next
Settle the rest before you order
- Standard shower screen and bath screen sizes
- What thickness a shower screen needs
- What the panel will weigh to carry upstairs
- The safety glass rules for screens and doors
Measuring something else? Every product we cut to size has its own guide on the measuring pack page.