The drain sets the floor, not the other way round
A floor drain looks like a small component and behaves like a structural decision. Its position and format determine which way the floor falls, how large a tile you can lay without cutting it into facets, and whether the shower can be level-access at all. It is worth deciding before the tiling layout is issued.
Point drains
A central point drain requires the floor to fall towards it from every direction. With a small mosaic tile that is straightforward. With a large-format tile it is not: the tile has to be cut into facets to follow a compound fall, and the result rarely looks deliberate. Point drains remain the right answer in a small shower tray or where the existing waste position cannot move.
Linear channel drains
A linear drain placed at the wall lets the entire floor fall in one direction. That single change is what makes large-format tile and level-access wet rooms practical. Our Linear Floor Drain series covers a range of lengths in SUS304, and because the range is made to project requirement the channel length can be set by the tile module rather than by a stock size.
Concealed tile-insert drains
A concealed drain takes the floor tile itself into the grate, so the drain reads as a fine joint in the floor rather than as a stainless strip. Where the floor finish is the feature — a large stone or porcelain slab — this is usually the right choice. It asks more of the tiler, because the insert has to be cut and bedded accurately.
Why the grating material matters
The grating sits in standing water containing soap, shampoo and cleaning product for the life of the building. Chrome-plated gratings pit and stain where product sits on them, and once pitted they cannot be cleaned back. Our drains are SUS304 in both body and grating.
What to send us before you order
The tile setting-out, the fall detail and the wall and floor build-up. With those three we can confirm the channel length, the format and the waterproofing interface before anything is made. Flow rates are not published on our current datasheets, so send us the shower flow as well and we will confirm rather than let you assume.
