Shower tray manufacturers in China include stone resin and solid surface tray makers, acrylic tray makers, ceramic and enamelled steel tray makers, makers of tile-ready shower bases that are finished with the bathroom tiles, and bathroom suite suppliers that sell trays together with enclosures and sanitaryware. A shower tray is the floor of the shower: it carries the user, collects the water and connects to the waste, and it has to fit the enclosure, the tiles and the drainage drawn for the room. Each route supplies a different material, edge and installation method under the same name “tray”.
This guide sorts the supply side into five sourcing routes so a procurement team can send one brief to the right makers and compare the answers fairly. It is not a ranking. No factory is named or scored here, and no claim is made about the slip resistance, strength or water tightness of any tray. The architect, the plumbing engineer and the local authority define those requirements, and each maker must show evidence for the exact model it offers. For the parts that sit around the tray, see our guides to shower enclosure and shower door manufacturers, framed and frameless shower enclosures, floor drains and waterproofing membrane manufacturers.
What should a shower tray brief state?
A brief that says only “shower tray, white, 900 x 900” produces quotations that cannot be compared, because the height, the waste and the edge are left open. State at least the following, copied from the bathroom plans, the plumbing drawings and the enclosure schedule.
- Size and shape: the size of each tray type from the bathroom plans, its shape and the quantity per bathroom type, with a note of whether the size is the overall size or the finished floor area.
- Height and profile: a low-profile or standard tray, and whether the tray is fitted flush into the floor or stands on top of it.
- Waste: the position and size of the waste outlet as drawn by the plumbing engineer, the trap or channel it connects to, and whether the waste fitting comes with the tray.
- Surface: smooth, textured or tile-ready, with the slip requirement as stated by the designer and not by the maker.
- Edge: an upstand, a tiling flange or a flush edge, drawn for each side, so that it meets the wall tiles and the enclosure as designed.
- Enclosure: which enclosure sits on or beside the tray and who supplies it, so that the tray edge and the enclosure profile are drawn together.
- Colour and finish: the colour reference and the surface finish, matched to a sample.
- Installation: on a frame or feet, bedded in mortar or adhesive, or set into the floor, with the maker’s installation instructions attached.
- Cutting: whether trays are made to size at the factory or cut to size on site.
- Packing and marking: trays marked by bathroom type and floor, with the protective packing described.
Five sourcing routes for shower trays and shower bases
1. Stone resin and solid surface tray makers
These makers cast trays from resin and mineral filler in standard and custom sizes, with a smooth or textured surface. Ask for a sample piece in the colour, the drawing of the edge and the underside, how custom sizes are made, where the waste outlet can sit and how the trays are packed. This route suits hotel and apartment bathrooms where the tray is a visible surface and a custom size is needed.
2. Acrylic tray makers
Acrylic makers form trays from acrylic sheet with a reinforced underside. Ask for the description of the layers, how the underside is supported, the surface finish and what frame or feet are supplied with each tray. This route suits bathrooms where a light tray with a standard size range is wanted.
3. Ceramic and enamelled steel tray makers
These makers supply trays with a ceramic or an enamelled steel body. Ask for the description of the body and the glaze or enamel, a sample of the finish, the edge drawing and the available sizes. This route suits projects where the tray should match other ceramic fittings in the room.
4. Tile-ready shower base makers
Tile-ready bases carry a built-in fall to the drain and are covered with a waterproofing layer and the bathroom tiles, and they may be made with board, foam or other cores. Ask which waterproofing layer and drain assembly are included, who supplies the layer, how the base is installed and which documents the maker holds for the exact model. See our guide to waterproofing membrane manufacturers for the layer itself.
5. Bathroom suite and prefabricated bathroom suppliers
Suppliers of complete bathroom sets and prefabricated bathrooms may include the tray with the enclosure, the sanitaryware and the vanity. This gives one party for the room, but ask the supplier to quote each tray type on its own line, to say which items it makes and which it buys in, and to provide the maker’s documents for each exact tray model.
Sourcing this for a commercial project?
FBM Sourcing manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects. We work with Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Send your BOQ, drawings or product schedule for review.
How to compare shower tray quotations
- Size basis: whether the stated size is the overall size or the finished floor area, on every line.
- Material and construction: the material and the layers described per model, so a cheaper line is read against what it contains.
- Waste: the outlet position and size, and whether the waste fitting and the trap are included.
- Surface and edge: the surface description and the edge drawing, written against each item code.
- Installation items: frame, feet, adhesive, sealant and waterproofing layer, each listed as included or excluded.
- Units of measure: price per tray per size, and what a tray includes.
- Evidence: which documents are offered for each model and for which size range.
- Exclusions and substitutions: any change of material, size or waste position that the maker proposes.
A tray that is cheaper on one line may be thinner on another. Read the list of included items before reading the totals.
Matching the tray to the enclosure, the waste and the tiles
A tray meets three other parts: the enclosure on its edge, the waste beneath it and the tiles around it. Ask the maker of the enclosure to confirm the tray edge it is designed for, ask the plumbing engineer to confirm the waste position on the drawing and ask the tiler to confirm the edge detail that the tiles meet. Send the three confirmations to every maker in the same brief, so that each quotation is written against one agreed detail.
Where trays are made to a custom size, ask the maker for a drawing with the waste position dimensioned from two edges, and have the plumbing engineer approve it before production. A tray that is a few millimetres off the waste is a site problem that no quotation line covers, so settle the dimensions in drawings and not in messages.
Samples, approval and acceptance on delivery
Approve a sample piece of each tray surface and edge, with the colour beside the wall tile sample, before bulk production. Where trays are custom, approve the drawing with the waste position as well. Record the approval in writing against the item code and keep the sample as the reference for the bulk order.
On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order: size, waste outlet position, surface, edge and quantity per bathroom type. Note any damage or difference in writing on the day with photographs, so the maker can respond while the evidence is fresh. Before shipment our own team checks quantities, finish, labels and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video.
What evidence to ask each route for
Evidence should be requested for the exact model and size, not for a product family. Ask for the following in writing and keep the answers with the quotation.
- Stone resin and solid surface makers: the sample, the drawing of the edge and underside and the documents offered for the exact model.
- Acrylic makers: the description of the layers and the support, and the documents offered for the exact model.
- Ceramic and enamelled steel makers: the description of the body and the glaze or enamel, and a sample of the finish.
- Tile-ready base makers: the list of the layers and the drain assembly, the installation instructions and the documents offered for the exact model.
- Suite suppliers: the maker’s own documents for each exact tray model, not the trader’s summary.
Specification gaps to close before quotation
The questions below are ones a quotation cannot answer for itself. Check that the brief answers them before it goes out.
- Is each stated size the overall size or the finished floor area?
- Where does the waste outlet sit on each tray, and who supplies the waste fitting?
- Which slip requirement does the designer state for the shower floor?
- Which edge does each side of the tray take, and which enclosure sits on it?
- Who supplies the waterproofing layer, the adhesive and the sealant?
- How are trays marked by bathroom type and floor, and how are they packed?
Next steps for a shower tray package
Send each maker the same brief and ask for answers in writing, line by line, with samples or documents before bulk production. FBM Sourcing manages China procurement packages for overseas projects; furniture-only packages are also run through FBM Furniture.
Questions buyers ask about shower trays from China
Should a shower tray be quoted with the waste?
Only where the quotation lists it. Ask each maker to say whether the waste fitting and the trap come with the tray, and keep the waste on its own line so that quotations can be compared.
Who decides whether a tray surface meets the slip requirement?
The designer or the authority states the requirement, and the maker shows evidence for the exact surface it offers. Put the requirement into the brief so that every maker quotes against the same surface.
Can a tray be made to a custom size?
Some routes make custom sizes and others offer a fixed range. Ask each maker how custom sizes are made, where the waste outlet can sit and what the drawing approval looks like before production.
What is the difference between a tray and a tile-ready base?
A tray is a finished shower floor with its own surface. A tile-ready base is a formed base with a fall to the drain that is covered with a waterproofing layer and tiles on site. The brief should name which one each bathroom type takes.
How does FBM Sourcing support this kind of package?
We review the brief, collect comparable quotations and manage the package for the project. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and the client’s project team is welcome to attend.
FBM Sourcing manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects. We work with Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers.
