Orbry Shower Tray Weight Limits

19th November 2015

Orbry Shower Tray Weight Limits

We are often asked about the weight load limits of our wet room shower trays, particularly when the trays are used to construct an accessible wet room for wheelchair users. Orbry shower trays are constructed using a cement filled fibre glass scrim around a closed cell polystyrene core, making them extremely strong.

The compressive strength of an Orbry Shower Tray is 38 tonnes/m2 (with 10% deformation), however it is point loading that is more relevant. A person standing on one stiletto can exert a pressure equivalent to over 800 tonnes a square metre! But if the same person performed the same balancing act after the tray had been tiled with 50x50mm mosaic tiles, the pressure exerted would be 32 tonnes per m2. This is why using a tile measuring a minimum of 50x50mm is extremely important when using Orbry shower trays.

As long as the covering is made of tiles that are larger than 50mm square, any load is distributed across the tile and will easily encompass all normal loads. The bigger the tile, the bigger the spread of the load. For example if a 300x300mm tile is used in the example above the load would be under 1 tonne per m2.

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