Standard Shower Pan Sizes (With Drawings)

Shower pans come in various materials and sizes, but they all serve an important purpose. A shower pan is necessary to ensure adequate waterproofing and protect your subfloor. Depending on the size of your shower, you can select from a range of standard shower pan sizes.

Standard shower pan sizes range from 30 by 30 inches up to 48 by 60 inches. Shower pans come in even-numbered measurements and have a depth of at least 2 inches. However, shower pans can have depths up to 6 inches. If there’s a sloped shower floor, determine the slope per foot and subtract 2 inches for the minimum pan depth.

You can purchase standard-size shower pans at home improvement or plumbing stores. These standard sizes make it easy to fit most standard-sized showers. But if you have a unique-sized shower, it’s possible to get custom-size shower pans.

If you’re constructing a custom shower, then a standard ready-to-buy shower pan might not fit. Since it’s important your shower pan fit correctly, you would need to commission a custom shower pan. It can be done, for a price, of course.

Many specialty design and bathroom remodeling companies offer the option to order custom shower pans. You can send them your measurements, and they’ll cut and design a pan to your specifications.

Custom pans are also handy if your shower drain is in an unusual spot. In this scenario, your shower might be a standard size, but the drain, for whatever reason, won’t line up with a standard shower pan. You’ll also have the opportunity to choose your materials and other features.

When measuring for your shower pan, don’t forget to pay attention to the threshold and drain locations. You don’t want to purchase the correct size pan, then learn the drain cut-out is in the wrong spot. Or you got one with the threshold on the wrong side.

For example, some pans feature the drain in the center, others to the right, the left, and so on. Similarly, the threshold might be on only one side, but you need a double threshold.

You’d need a double threshold if you enter the shower from two sides, like a square/rectangular shower in a corner. The threshold is the side of the pan that faces the shower’s entrance. Typically, this part is slightly raised to help keep water in the shower.

Shower pans can come in several waterproof materials. Some of the most popular are acrylic and fiberglass. Fiberglass is usually very affordable when getting prefab shower pans.

However, it can be prone to staining and difficult to clean. These characteristics make it not the greatest for a long-term solution.

Acrylic pans are easier to clean and maintain, but they come at a slightly higher cost. You can typically choose from a variety of colors. Other options, if you want something more elegant, are molded stone shower pans.

These slightly higher-price pans look like tile but without the grout. They’re also easy to clean, and they’re mold and mildew-resistant.

You can also get tile-ready bases made of various materials. But, these cannot be used as stand-alone shower pans. You need to tile over them for proper waterproofing.

Technically speaking, no. A shower pan refers to the actual floor you step on in the shower. If you purchase a shower pan, it’s a prefab, ready-to-go piece.

On the other hand, a shower base refers to what’s under the shower floor. So if you get a shower base. It may come ready for tile, etc.

However, many places and people tend to use these terms interchangeably. So make sure you know exactly what you’re getting before you buy. Don’t rely solely on the product’s description as a shower pan or shower base.