Hob, Hobless or Shower Base? Which Frameless Screen Suits Your Floor

Before you choose a layout, look down. Your shower floor decides a lot about how a frameless screen will sit and how well it keeps water in.

There are three common types in Sydney bathrooms.

1. A hob: the raised tiled step

A hob is the small tiled kerb, usually 50 to 100mm high, that separates the shower from the bathroom floor. It's the most forgiving floor for frameless glass.

How the glass sits: the National Construction Code says the screen should sit flush with the shower side of the hob, or overhang slightly into the shower. That way water running down the glass drops inside the shower. If the glass is set on the outside edge of the hob, water runs down it and onto your bathroom floor.

Watch for: the NCC also says the waterproof membrane must come up over the top of the hob. Glass sits on the tiles above the membrane, so a screen shouldn't disturb it. Brackets fix to the walls, not into the hob.

Also watch: a hob with a tiled channel or groove in it. One homeowner found "the hob is actually forming a channel between tiles which means frameless is not an option" without some rework. If your hob isn't flat on top, send us a photo.

2. Hobless: level entry

Hobless showers have no step. The shower floor is level with, or slightly below, the rest of the bathroom. They look great and they're easier for older people to walk into. They need more care to keep water in.

What keeps water in is:

• The floor fall. The shower floor must slope towards the drain. The NCC sets that fall at between 1:80 and 1:50.
• The waterstop. A strip set into the floor along the screen line, under the tiles. The NCC says its vertical leg must finish at least 5mm above the finished floor level where a screen is installed.
• Door seals and a water bar. Our doors are 1985mm high, 15mm shorter than the 2000mm panels, to leave room for a bottom seal and a low water bar.

A builder once told a Whirlpool poster it's "best to put a hob especially for frameless as they leak water out." That's overcautious if the floor is built right, but it's true that hobless showers are less forgiving of a poor fall. See do frameless shower screens leak?

3. A shower base or tray

Many older and budget bathrooms have a moulded shower base (acrylic or similar) with a raised lip, rather than a tiled floor.

Frameless glass can work on a base, but:

• The glass must sit inside the lip, so water runs back into the tray.
• The lip must be flat and level along the glass line.
• Don't drill into the base unless its maker says you can. Frameless brackets normally fix to the walls.

Check your base's make and the width of its lip before you order. If you're not sure, a photo tells us a lot.

Which layouts suit which floor?

Then use the configurator to pick your layout and size.

Not sure what you've got?

Take a photo of your shower floor from the doorway and one close-up of where the glass would sit. Send them through the Five-Minute Fit Check with your suburb. We'll tell you which layouts suit your floor before you order.