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What should you agree before a shower tray is fitted?

A shower tray job is the base, the waste and the joint to the wall or the enclosure, and it is not the electric unit on the wall. This guide says what the fitter should confirm in writing, and it does not tell you to set the tray.

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By the QuoteZila editorial team. Editorial policy.

What is in, and what is a different guide?

Fitting a shower tray means the base you stand on, the waste that leaves it, and the way the walls or the enclosure meet the edge. It does not mean choosing the electric heater. That is electric shower installation. It does not mean tiling the whole room, which is a tiled bathroom, or the rest of the suite, which is bathroom installation.

Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are the first towns. Anyone in the UK can post or register.

What should be confirmed before the old tray comes out?

Ask the fitter to write:

  • Whether the existing tray is being reused or replaced, and who supplies the new one.
  • Whether the waste and trap are included, and whether the run under the floor is known or still to be found.
  • How the edge is sealed to the wall or the enclosure, in their words. This page does not name a sealant and does not give a bead method.
  • Whether the floor needs to be built up or cut down so the waste can leave. Say if you have a concrete floor or a timber floor, if you know. If you do not, say you do not.
  • Who makes good the ceiling below if the waste is reached from there.

Do not smash the tray out to "see the waste". Describe the symptom: slow to empty, water on the floor outside, or a stain on the ceiling below.

What do the official pages say about the room?

A planning application for installing a bathroom is generally not required unless it is part of a house extension [S1]. If the property is listed, consult the local planning authority [S1]. GOV.UK says installing a bathroom that will involve plumbing might need building regulations approval, and that approval is different from planning permission [S2]. A like-for-like tray in an existing cubicle may not be the whole of that sentence. A new shower where there was a bath, with new pipework, might be. Ask the fitter which they are pricing, and who speaks to building control if they think approval is needed [S2]. You might need approval for works that are not on GOV.UK's example list, so check if you cannot decide [S2].

GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

Read kitchens and bathrooms: planning and building regulations approval.

Any new shower room should have extract ventilation to reduce condensation and remove smells [S3]. If you are refurbishing, keep or replace an existing fan [S3]. If there is no fan, you need not add one, though you can [S3]. A tray quote does not have to include a fan, but a new shower room should not pretend the fan sentence does not exist. Say whether a fan is already there.

If the waste work means moving a light or a pump supply, that is electrical. With the exception of some minor tasks, Electrical Safety First says electrical work is reported to building control or done by a registered electrician in a government-approved scheme [S4]. Keep that out of a tray price unless an electrician is named. Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. See Electrical Safety First. In England the spaces around baths and showers are special locations [S5].

Who do you hire?

WaterSafe Register describes itself as a free online directory of plumbers and water supply pipe installers that can be searched [S6]. Plumbers, bathroom fitters and tilers may all touch the edge of a tray. Ask one of them to be responsible for the joint between tray and tile, in writing, so a leak is not passed between three firms.

Citizens Advice says some traders charge for quotes, so ask first, and to try to get written quotes from at least 3 traders [S7]. A quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess [S7]. Materials, including the tray if they supply it, should be separate [S7]. A business registers for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S8]. Ask. This guide does not print a tray price. The plumber cost guide is the wider plumbing page.

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

  • "Tray in an existing cubicle holds water at one corner. Please quote to find out why, and price a replacement separately. Electric unit stays. I have not removed the tray."
  • "New tray where a bath is coming out. Please include the waste and say if the timber floor needs altering. Electrics for a future shower are excluded."
  • "Stain on the ceiling under the shower. Please quote the ceiling inspection from below and the tray edge, and say if a plasterer is separate."

What a comparable reply looks like

The waste is mentioned. The edge is mentioned. The electric unit is either excluded or pointed at the other guide. A price that says "refit tray" and nothing else cannot be set beside a price that includes a new waste run and a raised floor.

Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].

Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.

Posting a job is not open yet

Is the electric shower on this page?

No. The unit that heats the water, and the circuit that feeds it, are a different guide. This page stops at the tray, the waste and the edge. If both are being done, ask for two lines so a leak and a circuit are not one muddy total.

Do I need planning permission for a tray?

The Planning Portal says a planning application for installing a bathroom is generally not required unless it is part of a house extension. A tray in an existing shower room is that ordinary case. If the property is listed, consult the local planning authority before anyone cuts a floor.

Who deals with the waste?

The fitter or the plumber should say, in the quote, whether the waste and the trap are included and where they run. This page does not describe how to cut a joist or set a fall. If the floor cannot take the waste they want, that is a reason to re-price, not a surprise on the day.

What if water sits on the tray or escapes at the edge?

Say whether water pools on the tray or appears outside it, on the ceiling below or on the floor. Those are different faults. Ask for the price to find the cause to be separate from the price to replace the tray, unless you already know you want a new one.

Does QuoteZila check fitters?

No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.

Part of Guides. All services

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  • Toilet Flush Button: What to Look At. What to look at when a toilet flush button in Cheshire sticks or does nothing. This guide has no repair steps and no price. It says when to stop.
  • Toilet Repairs: What to Ask a Plumber. Toilet repairs cover the pan, the flush and a leak at the base. This guide says what to describe, and it does not tell you to open the cistern.

Sources

  1. QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
  2. QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
  3. S1: Planning permission: kitchens and bathrooms, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/kitchens-and-bathrooms/planning-permission/
  4. S2: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
  5. S3: Ventilation for kitchens and bathrooms, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/kitchens-and-bathrooms/building-regulations-need-for-additional-ventilation/
  6. S4: Building regulations, Electrical Safety First. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-a-registered-electrician/building-regulations/
  7. S5: Building regulations: electrics, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/electrics/building-regulations-general-information/
  8. S6: WaterSafe Register, WaterSafe. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.watersafe.org.uk/
  9. S7: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
  10. S8: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat