EN 14428 Shower Enclosures - Functional Requirements and Test Methods

The European standard "EN 14428 Shower enclosures - Functional requirements and test methods" describes the requirements for shower enclosures for domestic purposes, which, when installed in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions, ensure that the product will perform satisfactorily when used as intended. This standard does not apply to shower enclosures or screens and does not specify aesthetic or dimensional requirements.

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply:

• The term domestic use includes use in hotels, student accommodation, hospitals and similar buildings, except where special medical arrangements are required.
• A shower enclosure is an arrangement of panels or doors, i.e. full or half height access doors, erected over or around a shower stall, shower tray or bathtub, in conjunction with one or more walls of the main building structure to provide a water retention area for showering purposes.
• A shower enclosure is a prefabricated but not pre-assembled unit for showering purposes, consisting of a shower tray or bath and rigid waterproof enclosing walls, with or without a roof and an entrance which can be closed to provide a completely enclosed compartment.

The manufacturer must provide detailed instructions for installation and use for each shower enclosure, which must include at least the following information:

• Description of the installation, especially considering the structure construction and the necessary tools and sealants.
• Proper care and maintenance instructions, including guidance on cleaning.

When visually inspected, the surfaces of shower enclosure components accessible during use and cleaning should be free of sharp corners, edges and burrs. When recommended cleaning agents are used in accordance with the manufacturer's installation and maintenance instructions, there should be no reduction in the safety or function of the shower enclosure.

In this standard, impact resistance and fracture properties are given as follows:

• In general, shower enclosures can be glazed with a variety of materials. When glass is used, it must meet the requirements described below:
  • Thermally toughened flat safety glass must meet the requirements of standard prEN 12150-1.
  • Thermally toughened curved safety glass shall be subjected to impact resistance/fracture properties testing to ensure that the particle count of the glass is 40 or more under these test conditions and that the length of the longest particle does not exceed 100 mm.
  • Laminated safety glass must comply with EN 14449 and EN ISO 12543-2. ​​Laminated safety glass must not have holes, for example for fixings, hinges, handles or other fittings. Laminated safety glass is susceptible to water penetration at the edges if not properly protected.
• When plastic materials are used in shower enclosures, these materials must not break or must break safely when subjected to the impact behavior test of plastic sheets.

According to this standard, products that meet the following criteria are considered durable:

• Corrosion resistance: All components shall be made of corrosion resistant materials or shall be protected against corrosion. All corrosion protection performance shall be assessed by test methods specified in an appropriate European or international standard. The standard used and the test results shall be recorded. Examples of minimum requirements:
  • The minimum paint adhesion performance for powder-coated or wet-painted surfaces is a cross-cut value of not more than 2409 when tested in accordance with EN ISO 2.
  • The minimum average coating thickness on aluminium is class AA7599 when tested in accordance with one of the methods given in EN ISO 5. In no case is the minimum local thickness less than 80 percent of the minimum average thickness.
  • Compliance with the neutral salt spray (NSS) test, i.e. corrosion testing in artificial atmospheres as specified in the EN ISO 9227 standard (salt spray tests with a minimum exposure time of 200 hours), the defect surface area A is less than or equal to 0,1 percent. Defects do not exceed a size of 0,3 mm.

This list is not exhaustive.

• Resistance to chemicals and stains: When tested to this standard, glass materials must not show permanent staining or deterioration.
• Resistance to wet and dry cycling: When tested to this standard, glass materials shall not show any cracks, fissures or discoloration. Uncoated and unpainted thermally toughened safety glass is considered resistant to wet and dry cycling and does not need to be tested.
• Durability: When tested to this standard, shower enclosures must not show any functional deterioration after 20 thousand closing/opening cycles.
• Stability: When tested to this standard, shower enclosures must withstand an energy representative of the impact of the human body over a large impact area (e.g. impact to the shoulder, fall) without any functional deterioration that could cause injury to the user.
• Water retention: When tested to this standard, shower enclosures must retain water. A few small drops of water outside the water retention area are acceptable. If shower enclosures are intended to be installed in wet areas (where waterproofing is not required), water may temporarily pass outside the water retention area as long as it is drained into the water retention area.

National regulations on hazardous substances may require verification and declaration of release and sometimes of content when construction products subject to this standard are placed on these markets. In the absence of European harmonized test methods, verification and declaration of release/content must be carried out taking into account national provisions at the place of use.

The test methods defined in the EN 14428 standard are:

• Impact resistance / fracture properties testing
• Impact behavior testing of plastic sheets
• Testing for resistance to chemicals and stains
• Wet and dry cycle resistance test
• Endurance test
• Stability test
• Water retention test

Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also appropriate test services in accordance with the "EN 14428 Shower cabins - Functional requirements and test methods" standard.