Yeah. That’s a lot of factories, but this is an enormous product segment.
We work with various factories to design, create, manufacture, test, source, and ship showers, shower enclosures, and other bathroom related products. We do this with a very large network of factories that are located all throughout Asia. Bathroom products is a very interesting area and definitely worth some time to discuss.
To the layperson, so what? What is so great about a shower? A bathtub? A faucet? Or anything regarding a bathroom?
But that is silly. Actually, the bathroom is THE MOST used room in a house, or in a building. As such, it is pretty much taken for granted. But it should not be. Architects and designers who lay out hotel rooms, well know and understand this importance. Thy take the time to develop beautiful, and durable bathroom systems. And if you go ahead and visit any of the upper scale four-star hotels, you can easily see that the bathroom is the absolute highlight of the hotel room.
We have been working with factories to manufacture bathroom solutions for our clients. Some we source directly from products that the factories make. Many are custom designs that our clients provide drawings and CAD files to work from, and others are just ideas that they are just “kicking around”. If you want to work with a remote factory in Asia, we are your one-stop solution. We can help you.
This section includes full complete shower enclosures, and all fixings, and elements that is used within a bathroom.
Quadrant Shower Enclosures
A Quadrant Shower Enclosure is a small glass enclosed room that sits in a corner of the bathroom. It is self-contained with a base, fixtures, shower head, and all associated hardware.
Shower Side Panels
A shower side panel s a flat sheet of glass. It is designed to prevent the water spray from a shower head from messing up the rest of the bathroom. It comes with a frame (of course) so that it can be mounted to the floor and the walls. These frames are known as “profiles” and are almost always made out of aluminum extrusions.
Sliding Shower Enclosures
Sliding shower enclosures generally consist of a set of sliding glass doors that move smoothly and freely in front of an open shower area. They tend to be unique as many do not have profile frames, and instead rely on the glass panels themselves for support.
Sliding doors move from side to side and usually run along a track, although some modern versions are trackless. They are also referred to as bypass shower doors.
Advantages
Because they don’t need to move outwards, these doors don’t take up space in the bathroom when they are open. Their design makes it easy to attach a handle that runs the length of the door, which is helpful if you need extra stability when using the tub or shower. If you opt for a circular bath, the sliding doors will also be curved, which has a pleasing aesthetic.
Disadvantages
Sliding shower doors require more maintenance and are more difficult to clean. This is because the doors trap water when they are open, and the tracks that the doors slide along collect dirt. Without sufficient cleaning, these issues could eventually lead to mold and mildew. These doors require more hardware than hinged doors and aren’t as easy to install. While they save space in the room, the entry point to the shower is smaller.
Hinged Shower Doors
Hinged shower doors are similar to the sliding shower enclosure, except that instead of a sliding door, the door opens using hinges. As with the sliding shower enclosure, the hinged shower doors also enclose a fixed shower area and is relatively easy to install.
Also known as pivot doors, hinged shower doors have hinges on the side and swing outwards to open. Some have a frame, while frameless options have hinges that you drill into the wall.
Advantages
When hinged doors are open, they leave a large opening and plenty of room to enter the shower. This option is particularly useful for anyone with mobility problems. Frameless versions are aesthetically pleasing due to minimal use of tracks and brackets, creating a seamless look. This also makes the doors easier to clean and means there are fewer crevices for mold and mildew to grow.
Disadvantages
Although hinged doors create a wider opening to enter the shower, they also need considerable space in front of them to open. This requirement makes them less than ideal for smaller bathrooms. Openings in the hinges are challenging to clean, and hinges may eventually need replacement. Another disadvantage is that after you finish showering, water may drop onto the floor outside the shower when the door is open.
Bifold Shower Enclosures
A bifold shower enclosure is one where the door splits into two sections and opens up tightly. This is a very common design, and is often found in the lower-end shower designs. These types of enclosures are ideal for small space, and tight cramped locations.
Walk in Shower Enclosures
A Walk in Shower Enclosure may or may not have a door of some type on it. Originally, the idea or concept for a Walk in Shower Enclosure was one that had no door. You just simply walk in, take a shower, and then walk out. However, over the years, people have been adding doors to these systems, while still continuing to refer to them as “walk in enclosures”.
Shower Trays
We also can provide other individual elements of shower enclosure. We can provide Shower Trays in a wide selection of sizes, shapes and characteristics. They are available in different materials as well.
Shower trays are the “floor” upon which the shower enclosure sits upon. It not only provides an easy to clean surface, but also provides easy access for the bath / shower drain.
Wet Rooms
A Wet Room is a bathroom in which the shower is open or set behind a single wall, its floor area being flush with the floor of the rest of the room and the water draining away through an outlet set into the floor.
Wet Room Kits
Standard Wet Room Kits They are normally an extremely easy to install floor level walk-in access tray. It consists of a flush floor panel and also has pre-built drains along with the falls to easily flush out the waste water. They have a cemented top layer that can be used to easily install the tiles.
Wet Room Shower Trays
The wet room shower tray is waterproof and designed to sit level with the floor, providing easy access. There is no need to worry about slipping in wet room showers once they are tiled with slip resistant or mosaic tiles.
Wet Room Shower Screens
Wet room shower screens are an integral part of the wet room and shield the rest of the room from shower spray while retaining an open feel to the space. They are particularly important when installing modern showers that have a much more powerful spray.
Wet Room Wall Panels
Wet Wall is a long-lasting, waterproof, interior wall lining system with a hygienic easy-to-clean, high-impact surface which makes it perfect for bathrooms and wet areas. Because of the ease of install it also lowers labor times and costs significantly.
Accessories
We, at Smoking Lion, also have our own specific product lines that fall under the bath-ware accessories category. To see what we have to offer, please visit our page here…
Floor Drains. Of course, we can supply drains and all associated hardware. There are entire towns that are devoted tot his industry. And we know just about everyone in the business.
There are more shower drains available than you can count, but they all really fall into two types – point drains and linear drains. Point drains are most common and are what we are used to seeing in showers. They are typically located in the middle of the shower floor, and the floor is sloped from all directions down to the drain.
Faucets. Like drains, there are entire communities that manufacture these products in a bewildering array of finishes, styles, and configurations. Catalogs from any one specific factory looks like one of those old thick telephone books. We can help you with the selection of any type of faucet that you might require.
Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling, waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for plumbing. we at Smoking Lion have been involved in working with the factories that produce these systems and all the related parts and components associated with them.
Bath Fixtures is a “catch all” category that can mean many different things to many different people. In short is tends to refer to “collections” of products that are associated with a bathroom. Such as towel, shirt, and soap racks. Or, perhaps all the faucets and mounting hardware. Or, even yet, the “furniture” associated with the bathroom.
As is, we can source, or many any number of fixtures. And there is such a wide selection to select from as well, it is difficult to determine which one is “best”, and that is something that is determined by the customer. Not us.
Shower Hinges. A shower hinge is a hinge that is used in hinged shower doors. These tend to be well constructed, and able to handle temperature cycling, corrosive water and wet environments, and extended use over long periods of time. They tend to be of attractive appearance, and are quite rugged and well made. We work with many factories to help provide the perfect hinge design for your application.
Rollers are those wheel assembles that sit upon the sliding glass doors. They, like faucets, fixtures, and hinges come in a bewildering array of types, styles, finishes, and applications. We can source from existing factory stock, or we can work and help you to design new ones.
Magnetic Enclosures. These are co-extruded Magnetic Shower Door Seal strips for 90, 135 or 180 degree glass-to-glass door closure applications to prevent water escaping. The seals are made of translucent PVC with black or white magnet profiles. Working in pairs for straight or curved shower doors, the seals simply push into the edge of shower doors.
Heated Towel racks. The typical heated towel rack features mild steel construction with dual mount positions enabling free-standing ability and also adds stability. It is available in both internally wired, and in a plugin configuration. In both cases, the material used in the rack (typically a low carbon, mild steel) is able to heat up pretty fast, allowing you to warm and dry your towel quickly.
Mirrors. There are very few bathrooms without mirrors. In fact, personally, I never came across one in my entire life. It seems that if you have a bathroom, or a shower stall, it is equally important to have a mirror along side it. In fact, I might argue that mirrors are more important than hot water supply. As I have seen bathrooms, and shower enclosures without hot water, but that actually did contain a mirror.
Like all things Bathroom, we can supply mirrors of many sizes, shapes and configurations to fit your needs.
Other Bathroom Items
Of course, any and all bathrooms have many other items beside showers, and shower enclosures. They have sinks, for instance. They have toilets, and commodes, and they have all sorts of innovations that stand apart from the central feature of the room; the shower.
We can, or course, help source, select, modify or design products that are available int he factories. We can also offer engineering design assistance for new technologies and all sort of innovations in finishes and configurations. All you need to do is ask.
Here’s a brief overview of some of the additional products that we cover that are made by our factories.
Bathroom Furniture. Bathroom furniture is a term that is used to describe individual pieces of furniture that are designed for use within a bathroom. These can be things such as a dresser drawer that has a sink, or a stand alone closet. This can include chairs, or stands or other stand-alone items that are designed to fit the decor of your bathroom as well as being able to handle the cycling of temperature and humidity.
Sinks. Sinks are unique in that they can be made out of just about any material. We have long time factories that have been making bathroom sinks out of ceramics for decades, while other ones are still involved in the ceramic coated iron castings. But you can have sinks made out of metal, out of copper, out of aluminum, and out of stone. And the sizes and shapes are all over the place. But the point is, that if it is a sink, we can make it. Just show us your specifications and we will discuss our sink solutions with you.
Bathroom tubs is another mature subject. For some reason that I am not really clear on, the market for tubs is far, far less than that for standing showers. Still, it is a very interesting product segment. And it encompasses everything from wooden tubs, to stone tubs, to porcelain, to ceramic baked cast iron and steel designs. No matter what your desire is, we can help you find the proper tub design and segment for your needs.
Toilets and Bidets. There is a world of products that help humans get clean and dispose of their excrement. These include toilets and such things as bidets and spray nozzles. Toilets can be further classified into other categories as well. One-piece toilets integrate the toilet tank and bowl into a seamless, easy-to-clean design. With a two-piece toilet, the tank and toilet bowl are separate. The all-in-one product features the toilet bowl, toilet tank and seat along with a wax ring and floor bolts with caps. Remember that most toilets do not come with the toilet seat included. They must be purchased separately.
We would love to help you source and select the perfect toilet for your next project. Whether it is a high-technology design, or something cheap and simple, we know just about every factory making these products.We can really help you all out sourcing these parts and their related elements.
Profiles. These are the metal pieces that hold up the glass in shower enclosures, and that support the glass and doors to the building structure wall and floors. These profiles ten to be made in either aluminum or stainless steel and come in a wide selection of finishes and shapes. We would be more than happy to assist you finding the perfect part for your needs.
Long Drains. A long drain is a drain that tends to be long, thin and shallow. It is a very useful and beautiful part that is often used in wet rooms and shower enclosures. It is also used outside on porches and other places where it can capture and drain off rain water and melting snow.
Whether you need a source of supply for an existing product, wish to design and create a new product, or have an interest an anything regarding the shower and bath industry, please talk to us.
Our constellation of factories manufacture to the world and that includes some of the most predominant names in the industry.
Conclusion
We at Smoking Lion work with factories to provide the best possible solutions to the needs of our clients. We source, select, manufacture, and produce the agreed upon products, then check for quality all prior to us shipping and handling the logistics involved. We also provide design assistance, testing, DFM and other services as needed. If you have questions or concerns about pollution, child labor, or other issues and compliance, we would be happy to provide auditing services for your operations.
Just give us a call and we would be most happy to assist you.
