Buyers Guide
The Market
The shower cabin market can be rather confusing especially when only researched from the internet where much emphasis is placed on stark data such as price, features and gimmicks that tell us nothing about a product’s quality, durability or operational effectiveness.
Below we set out an overview of the UK market and some advice based on over twenty years’ experience in the industry.
We genuinely believe we offer the best designed and value steam showers and shower pods currently available. However, we always recommend viewing cabins before purchase if possible and would encourage potential customers to view the models we supply and those of our competitors to see the difference and judge for themselves. Visit our showroom
Price & Quality
We can purchase steam showers and shower pods for a fraction of the price we pay for our models. However, we choose not to sell this type of product because we believe that they offer the customer a false economy and ultimately very poor value for money due to the short life expectancy. It’s only possible to manufacture steam showers and shower pods so cheaply if compromises are made on the quality of build, materials and components.
Middlemen
Our range of Frog Larvik and Oslo cabins are designed and built exclusively for us. We sell these models direct to the public at a modest margin ensuring the best possible product at the most competitive price. We only buy carefully selected models from other suppliers that we feel will complement our range.
Design & Function
Practicality is often something overlooked when choosing a shower pods and steam showers. Often features that look impressive at first glance may be quite impractical as they will require cleaning every time the shower is used. These features are relatively cheap when compared to the cost of good structure and quality materials and often cheap models are often loaded with extra features just to appear to be good value. We would always suggest caution when comparing on features alone as these can be very misleading and are not always desirable.
Our Frog cabins are designed to be as practical and user friendly as possible. We have purposely omitted the more impractical features in favour of some of the following: trays with removable front skirt panels, larger fast flow 90mm waste traps, scale resistant glass, quick release doors, silicone free design, and many other design aspects not available elsewhere.
All these features make these models much easier to install, clean and maintain.
Choosing your Steam Shower or Shower Pod
There are literally hundreds of ways to cut costs when manufacturing a complex item such as a steam shower or shower pod and pretty much all of them are used in varying combinations in many of the models currently on the market today. Most of these are almost impossible to spot by looking at pictures alone.
Below we touch upon just a few of them; however, we believe the best defence against buying a poor-quality shower cabin is to view it in person before parting with any money. We have seen hundreds of cabins in person and normally you can tell the quality the moment you touch/feel it and stand inside it.
Build Quality
Build quality is something that is very difficult to convey in pictures and yet is probably the most important thing to consider when buying a shower cabin. A cabin built with a flimsy framework and tray will move, flex and creak the moment you stand in it. Trays with minimal structure will often crack over time and the unit will start to leak as the silicone that holds it all together starts to degrade.
Frames
Shower cabins are often free-standing units which are in effect self-contained rooms and therefore need to very sturdy. Many currently on the market have a very thin and poor-quality framework and are often very weak and unstable. Cheap lacquered aluminium alloys are used which will inevitably corrode when the lacquer perforated. Some cheaply made cabins rely on the roof and or silicone to strengthen the cabin and hold the structure together.
All our Frog brand cabins have very heavy-duty high-grade corrosion resistant anodised aluminium frames. Our Larvik models are also available as open top shower rooms with no roof and these have the exact same frame as the steam shower versions.
Our Frog Larvik and Oslo models are constructed with high quality, corrosion resistant anodised aluminium frames for strength, stability and longevity.”
Shower Trays
The tray is a critical part of the structure as a flimsy base tray will flex under load and will inevitably weaken and crack over time. A cheap tray can be built at a fraction of the cost of a sturdy well-built tray and it’s impossible to judge the structure from photographs alone.
All our Frog Larvik and Oslo trays are built using 5-ply re-enforced acrylic bonded on to a thick wooden board and then to a heavy-duty, stainless steel box metal framework.
Again, we welcome customers to visit our showroom and test our trays for themselves.
“All of our shower trays are built to last”
Silicone
Many cabins on the market require the liberal use of silicone sealer. Often silicone is required to re-enforce poor build quality. The inside of a self-contained cabin such as a steam shower is the worst possible place to use silicone as inevitably this silicone will deteriorate, dis-colour and can harbour moulds and fungal growths.
All our models are sturdy enough to not require any silicone for structural support and stability. Some designs are silicone free, and some require a minimal amount of sealant on the exterior, but none require the application of silicone inside the cabin.
“None of our models require sealant inside the cabin”
Mixer Taps
Mixer taps may all look similar in photographs but on closer inspection they can be very different indeed. The quality and type of materials used will make a huge difference to its service life. Often cabins are fitted with cheap caravan fittings due to the weakness of the cabin structure.
All the mixer taps supplied with our Frog cabins are thermostatically controlled cast brass units with chromed stainless-steel controls and ceramic cores. All are fitted with a safety button that prevents temperatures beyond 38 degrees being accessed accidentally. It is also possible to replace the thermostat on all Larvik and Oslo models from inside the cabin making servicing the tap much easier.
Combi Compatible
Many cheap taps are not designed to work with Combination boilers and may not even be able to cope with minor fluctuations in water pressure.
All our mixer taps are high quality thermostatic units and will work with Combination boilers, or any pumped vented system that can supply adequate flow and pressure.
“Thermostatically controlled cast brass mixer taps”
Jets, Shower Heads, Door Handles etc.
Everything down to the smallest screw can be purchased more cheaply if you are prepared to compromise on quality. This applies to all the components that go together to make a shower cabin. Whether this is pipe fittings, door rollers or shower heads, compromises can be made anywhere.
We work very closely with all the manufacturers we buy from and have all our Frog brand showers built to the highest specifications possible. Again, in a picture a plastic door handle for example will look very much the same as a chromed brass or stainless steel one the only way to tell for sure is ask your supplier or view the cabin in person.
“All the fixtures and fittings on our cabins are designed and built for a long service life”
Steam Generator & Control Circuit
A good quality and reliable electrical control circuit and steam generator is essential for a long and trouble-free service life. Many manufacturers are now producing overly complex control circuits with a variety of gizmos and gimmicks that are poorly suited for use in steam showers. These are often added to look good on the specification list often at the expense of more practical features and higher quality components.
Our Frog Larvik and Floro steam cabins are designed to be easier to service, all the main electrical components are connected via multi-plugs which make them much easier to replace should this be necessary.
Cheap and Unbranded Showers
The market has recently been flooded with unbranded steam showers and shower pods for which parts can be almost impossible to source. We get numerous requests each week for parts for unidentifiable/unbranded or end of line shower cabins from other suppliers. It is essential that you choose a long-established supplier to ensure the availability of spares and support if required. Our Frog Cabins are modular and share components across the range which ensures a ready supply of spare parts if required.
Quality Brand
We sell our own brand Frog cabins and a few specially selected models from other long-established suppliers. All our Frog cabins are built to our own exacting specifications and many of our Frog models are designed in house drawing upon over 20 years of experience in the UK marketplace.
It’s comforting to know that when you buy a shower cabin you are purchasing a product from a supplier that’s proud to associate their name and reputation to the products they supply.
“Quality showers from long established suppliers “
Spin & Sales
We have all seen Companies offering seemingly attractive price reductions and never-ending sales and the shower cabin marketplace is no different. We believe that discounted fake RRP (Recommended retail prices) and permanent sales are misleading and ultimately dishonest.
We offer our customers the best value we can on our products all year round and offer a straightforward, honest and professional service. We very rarely if ever run sales and then only to genuinely balance stock. In these instances, the reductions are very modest which reflects our pricing policy. All our prices are fully inclusive of VAT and delivery (Highlands & Islands and other exclusions apply) and there are no hidden extra’s.
We will never attempt to trick or in any way pressure a customer into purchasing a shower from us either at our showroom or over the phone. We do not cold call or retain any customer information for sales or marketing purposes.
“Honest straight forward and inclusive pricing with no hidden extras”
The Supplier
It is important that the Company you choose is willing and able support your shower after purchase. A new supplier or drop shipper simply re-selling another Companies product is far less likely to be able to offer the same depth of support as an established specialist that works directly with the manufacturer.
Warranty
Warranties are often only as good as the Company that offers it. We have seen many Companies offering very long or even lifetime warranties that upon closer inspection offer little or no protection at all. Some of these Companies are no longer in business. If you are buying a shower cabin because of a generous warranty, we would recommend that you make sure that you check the terms and conditions very carefully as they are not always as generous as they seem.
There are often so many exclusions in the small print that make the warranty almost useless in practice. In some cases, there is great deal of form filling and bureaucracy required simply just to register the warranty. This is often designed to be as difficult as possible to create loopholes for exclusions in the event of a claim.
We do not believe this approach is fair and do not exaggerate our warranty, we offer a simple 2-year parts warranty on all our steam showers which applies to all the components except for glass. We will often supply glass free of charge although this is at our discretion.
Our Frog Larvik and Oslo shower pods are covered by a 5-year parts warranty (limitations apply) and our third-party models have a generous limited 2-year parts and labour warranty.
We hold a vast inventory of spare parts in stock at our warehouse and because we work directly with the source factories, we can order any part for you in the unlikely event it’s not in stock and available straight away. Beyond the warranty period we will continue to provide support for your shower and will provide parts at a modest cost.
Stock
We attempt to keep all of our models in stock at our own warehouse facility in Bisley and will hold hundreds showers in stock at any one time. We do however sometimes run out of certain sizes and in these cases, we will always be open and honest regarding replacement arrival times.
“We keep hundreds of shower cabins in stock”
Display Models
The shower cabin market has expanded rapidly over the last few years. We have seen many Companies come and go but there are still relatively few that have the infrastructure in place to both stock and display their own showers.
Whether or not it’s possible for you to travel to view a steam shower or shower pod before purchase it’s still comforting to know that the supplier is offering a model that they are proud to show off. Shower cabins sold just via pictures over the internet do not necessarily need to hold up to the scrutiny that comes with a personal inspection.
Many showers are built to the lowest possible price to be sold through web and auction sites and consequently are very poor quality.
“Come and see the build quality of our showers for yourself”
Showroom
We at Eden Steam Showers display all types of our models at our showroom in Chobham, Surrey and always advise and welcome viewings. We are also happy to send additional photographs of our display models upon request.
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Any Questions?
Just call us:
01276 856 240