Aluminum shower

[vet57air]

Am fabricating a wet shower from scratch. Have seen stainless steel ones that are very nice, but would there be any reason to not make one from Aluminum? I would be able to weld all the edges ( no caulking).

[Tim A.]

Take a look at this thread: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f39/...num-53085.html and you will find quite a bit of discussion about an aluminum shower enclosure.

Tim

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by vet57air

...would there be any reason to not make one from Aluminum?

I would suggest to you to use stainless instead of aluminum - aluminum is very soft and more prone to scratches, dents & dimples and it oxidizes very quickly, especially with soaps & such. Personally, I'd hate to go to all the effort to build this this thing and have it look cruddy in a couple of years.

We went with the stainless after removing the original aluminum side panels. The pan was stainless, but the walls were aluminum which was a good example of the difference between the two. On our new shower, the pan is welded - as the walls could be if there was a need, but we used the curved exterior Zolatoned walls and flat side walls. The only caulking is where the pan & tank cover come together (Vulkem between the sheets), top of the pan at the wall & at screw/rivet penetrations (you would most likely have these even with aluminum). I certainly wouldn't use normal bathroom caulking - the Vulkem is heavy-duty stuff, I don't expect to ever have to replace it in my lifetime.

Based on the longevity & other benefits of stainless, I think it outweighs any of the reasons you may think there are with aluminum. They only benefit I can even think of with aluminum is maybe cost - but our whole shower in stainless - even having the pan professionally welded was about $450 as I recall. I can't imagine aluminum being much of a savings...

Shari

[vet57air]

Thanks for the replies. I am leaning more to the aluminum shower. The aluminum can be welded easier without the distortion that you get from stainless. I will be useing relatively thick material, 12 or 10 gauge. I really like the idea of welding up all the seams, no caulking! In my application the shower may get user a half dozen times a year and after use we will wipe it down.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by vet57air

Thanks for the replies. I am leaning more to the aluminum shower. The aluminum can be welded easier without the distortion that you get from stainless. I will be useing relatively thick material, 12 or 10 gauge. I really like the idea of welding up all the seams, no caulking! In my application the shower may get user a half dozen times a year and after use we will wipe it down.

If you do go with aluminum you may want to look into anodizing the pan after welding is completed. This will help with staining and add some color. If you anodize, avoid using 4043 filler material, as it typically doesn't react well with anodizing (unless you want the welds to be black).

We use to use 5356 filler for these applications.

Best of luck, and keep us posted,

Kevin