When designing your shower enclosure, in addition to the shower faucet, tiles or shower screen, you also need to choose the type of drain. There is a basic division into linear and point drains. Below you will be able to learn about the basic advantages of each type of drain, which should help guide you in choosing the right model.
LINEAR SHOWER DRAINS
Linear drains have been dynamically gaining popularity for several years now. Manufacturers are trying to outdo each other in various models offering more and more interesting looks, lower siphons and better parameters. Design trends are leaning towards minimalism and simple shapes, therefore linear drains are more willingly chosen for domestic bathrooms than point ones. Also linear drain grille covers with minimalist appearance are definitely the most popular choice. The most frequently chosen covers are the tileable ones (such as, for example, the Premium Pure drain, Sieme Stone) and plain stainless steel without additional cut-outs (such as Sieme Clear, Premium Ponente).
Linear drains offer a much wider range of sizes than point drains. The most frequently chosen sizes are from 60 to 90 cm length, but the offer starts from a length of 50 cm and usually ends with up to 120 cm long. Some manufacturers (such as Wiper) offer the possibility of ordering a drain with a non-standard length of up to 200 cm or even longer multi-part with special connection.
One of the advantages of linear drains is the ability to choose the type of slope that we want to use in the shower, taking into account drain location. By installing a wall-mounted linear drain, you can even create an only oneway slope. By installing the drain as default with a margin of several dozen centimetres from the wall, you can create a two or four-way slope shower tray.
POINT SHOWER DRAINS
Point drains have been in use for a very long time. They are less popular for shower enclosures than linear drains, however, they have a much wider application. They are perfect as a central drainage for the entire bathroom, garage, laundry room, terrace and wherever the shape of the linear drain simply does not fit.
As for the size, the standard point drains (also called floor drains) are usually squares with dimensions from 10x10 cm even up to 20x20 cm and larger. Usually, in bathrooms, inlets up to 15x15 cm are more than enough. In the case of square drains, choosing the size for the shower is much easier and does not affect the way the tiles are cut so much.
With square drains, only four-way sloped floor will be appropriate. The very installation and leveling of the square drain should be a bit easier than with a linear one. It will also be much easier to keep the same distance from the wall when the drain is for example 15 cm long than 120 cm like the linear drain.
One of the biggest advantages of point drains is their price. Due to the smaller amount of stainless steel and the less complicated production process, they are much cheaper than linear drains. If the current trends are not a priority, it is worth considering the use of, for example, one of the Wiper WP Premium floor drains.
