Shower tray legs and a riser kit do one job: they lift the tray off the floor so the waste pipe has somewhere to run and the trap stays reachable. You need one when the tray sits on a solid floor you cannot chase into, when the pipe run to the drain is long, or when you are swapping a deep old tray for a slim modern one and suddenly have no depth underneath for the plumbing. If the tray already has room under it for the trap and the pipe to drain away, you do not need a riser at all.

Here is what the kit is made of, when it earns its place, which pack fits which tray, how you fit it, and the questions people actually type in.

• What a riser kit actually is
• When you actually need one
• Which kit fits which tray
• Fitting it: levelling, fascia and trap access
• The packs worth knowing, and what they cost
• FAQ

What a riser kit actually is

A shower tray riser kit is a set of adjustable legs plus a plinth or fascia panel that lifts the tray off the floor and hides the gap you have just created. The legs bolt or clip to the underside of the tray, usually onto moulded points on a resin stone tray or a fixing frame on the back, and each one screws up or down so you can level the tray on a floor that is nowhere near flat. The plinth, sometimes called a fascia, is the strip that clips across the front once the tray is up, so you do not see the legs or the void underneath.

On the packs Bathroom Point stocks you get adjustable legs and a fascia or plinth to close off the front, and the whole point of the design is that it leaves the plumbing underneath easy to get at. That access is the part people underrate. A tray sat straight on the floor buries the trap and the waste run; a tray on legs gives you a hand-sized void to reach the trap if it ever blocks or leaks. The finished lift depends on how far you wind the legs down and how you trim the fascia, so treat it as adjustable rather than a fixed number.

When you actually need one

You do not always need a riser. Plenty of trays sit fine straight on a timber floor where you can drop the waste between the joists. The riser earns its keep in four situations, and if none of them apply to you, save your money.

A solid or concrete floor. You cannot chase a waste pipe and trap into a concrete slab without serious work. Lifting the tray on legs gives you the depth to run the pipe across the top of the floor and out to the stack, which is far less grief than digging.

A long pipe run to the waste. Waste water has to run downhill to drain properly, so the further the trap is from the soil stack, the more height you need at the tray end to keep that gradient. A slim tray flat on the floor often does not give you enough depth to hold the fall across a long run. Raising the tray buys you that depth. The exact gradient a waste pipe needs is a building-regs matter, so check the current standard for your run rather than eyeballing it.

Replacing an old deep tray. Older trays were tall, which left a generous void underneath for the plumbing. Swap one for a modern low-profile tray and that void vanishes, along with the room your existing trap was sitting in. A riser puts the height back so the old pipework still works.

Keeping trap access. Even on a suspended floor, some fitters raise the tray simply so the trap stays reachable through the fascia rather than sealed under the tray forever. If you have had a blocked shower trap before, you will understand why.

If you have not settled on the tray itself yet, our guide on what size shower tray you need covers the footprints and how to measure the space. This guide picks up where that one leaves off, on getting the tray up off the floor once you know the size.

Which kit fits which tray

Riser packs are matched to the size and shape of the tray, not the brand of shower over it. The two things that decide your pack are the longest side of the tray and whether it is square, rectangular or a quadrant. Here is how the live packs line up against the sizes people search for.

Tray size or shape	Pack that fits	Notes
800 x 800 shower tray with legs	Square & Rectangular Legs & Plinth Riser Pack, or the Kudos K-Stone 5-leg pack	Both cover small square trays. The 5-leg pack suits trays up to 1200mm long.
1200mm rectangular trays	Kudos K-Stone 5-leg pack, or the Square & Rectangular pack	The 5-leg K-Stone is rated up to 1200mm; the Square & Rectangular pack goes further.
1700 x 700 shower tray with riser kit	Kudos K-Stone 9-leg pack, or the Square & Rectangular pack	Long trays need more legs across the middle so they do not flex. The 9-leg pack is rated to 1700mm.
1700 x 800 shower tray with riser kit	Kudos K-Stone 9-leg pack, or the Square & Rectangular pack (up to 1700mm)	Same story as the 1700 x 700; the extra width does not change the pack.
Quadrant and offset quadrant trays	Quadrant Legs & Plinth Riser Pack	The curved front needs a shaped plinth. This pack suits MX and Shire quadrant trays.

The rule of thumb: match the pack to the longest side and the shape, and if the tray is 1700mm you want the 9-leg option rather than the 5-leg one, because a long tray needs support across the middle so it does not bow underfoot. For the trays themselves, browse rectangular shower trays, square shower trays and quadrant shower trays, then pick the riser to suit. Quadrants have their own quirks, and our quadrant shower trays buying guide runs through them.

Fitting it: levelling, fascia and trap access

Fitting a riser kit is not hard, but the order matters and two or three details make the difference between a solid tray and one that rocks. Here is the sequence.

Fix the legs to the tray upside down. Turn the tray over on a soft surface so you do not scratch it, and fit the legs to the moulded points or the frame on the underside. Get them all on before you flip it back, spaced evenly, with the long trays carrying legs across the centre and not just round the edge.

Level it with the adjustable legs. Stand the tray in place, drop your waste and trap in, and then wind each leg up or down with a spirit level across the tray in both directions. This is the whole reason the legs adjust: floors are never flat, and a tray that is out of level either pools water in a corner or drains slowly. Take your time here, because once the fascia is on you do not want to be going back.

Connect and test the waste before you close it up. Fit the trap and waste, and run water through it while you can still see underneath. Find a weep now, not after the plinth is sealed on. Have a look at the shower wastes range if you are replacing the trap at the same time, since a fast-flow waste is worth fitting while everything is open.

Cut the fascia and leave an access panel. The plinth or fascia is trimmed to the finished height and clipped across the front. The trick most people miss: fit it so it comes off again. Make the front panel removable, or leave a section you can pop out, so the trap stays reachable through it. Seal the tray to the wall, not the fascia to the floor, and you keep that access for the day the shower blocks.

The packs worth knowing, and what they cost

Bathroom Point stocks riser packs covering square, rectangular and quadrant trays. Prices are the current selling price.

The Kudos K-Stone 5-Leg Riser Pack at £49.99 is the one for small and mid trays, rated for trays up to 1200mm long. You get five strong legs, a choice of anti-slip or gloss white fascia, an easy-to-fit leg system and a 2 year guarantee, and like all these packs it leaves the plumbing underneath easy to reach. It is the cheaper of the two Kudos packs and the easy pick for a square or short rectangular tray.

For a full-length tray, step up to the Kudos K-Stone 9-Leg Riser Pack at £69.99, rated for trays up to 1700mm. The extra legs are not padding; a 1700mm tray flexes in the middle without support there, so the nine-leg layout keeps it solid underfoot. Same anti-slip or gloss white fascia choice, same easy-to-fit system, same 2 year guarantee as the 5-leg pack.

The Square & Rectangular Legs & Plinth Riser Pack at £79.99 is the do-most option for square and rectangular trays up to 1700mm long. It comes with strong, robust legs, a high gloss white plinth and an easy-to-fit leg system, and carries a 1 year guarantee. If you want one pack that covers the common square and rectangular sizes rather than picking by leg count, this is it.

For a curved tray you need the shaped plinth on the Quadrant Legs & Plinth Riser Pack at £69.99, which suits MX and Shire quadrant trays. It is a complete support pack with adjustable legs for levelling on an uneven floor, a plinth riser for a neat finish, corrosion-resistant construction and a 1 year guarantee. A straight fascia will not follow a quadrant curve, so do not try to make a square pack fit a rounded tray. You can see the full set in the tray riser kits category.

FAQ

Is there a universal shower tray riser kit?

Near enough. A universal kit is one built to fit a range of trays rather than a single model, and for square and rectangular trays the Square & Rectangular Legs & Plinth Riser Pack at £79.99 does that job up to 1700mm long. The one thing it will not do is fit a quadrant, because a curved tray needs a shaped plinth, so quadrants get their own pack. Match the kit to the shape first, then the length.

Can I buy a replacement shower tray plinth on its own?

The packs Bathroom Point stocks come as a set, legs and plinth together, rather than a plinth sold on its own. If your legs are fine and you have only lost or damaged the fascia, the cheapest sensible route is usually a full pack matched to your tray size, since a mismatched plinth off another kit rarely lines up. Check the current options in the tray riser kits range.

What is an easy plumb shower tray riser kit?

Easy plumb is the trade name for a tray that comes with the riser legs and a matching plinth already designed around it, so the height and the fascia are sorted out of the box. A universal riser kit is the alternative: you buy the legs and plinth separately and fit them to a standard tray. Both get you the same result, a raised tray with the plumbing accessible underneath. The difference is whether the kit is matched to one tray at the factory or fits a range.

What is a shower tray upstand kit?

An upstand is a different part from a riser, and people often mix the two up. An upstand is the sealing detail where the tray meets the wall, the raised lip or trim that stops water tracking behind the tray. A riser kit lifts the tray off the floor. If it is the join to the wall you are trying to seal you want an upstand, and if it is height and trap access you are after you want a riser like the packs above.

How high does a riser kit lift the tray?

Enough to run a trap and the waste pipe underneath and keep the fall to the drain, which is the whole reason to fit one. The legs adjust, so the finished height is not fixed; you wind them to the depth your plumbing needs and trim the fascia to suit. As a guide, aim for enough void to get a hand to the trap, then set the legs so the tray sits dead level once the waste is in.

Getting the tray sorted

Pick the pack by the shape and the longest side of your tray, level it properly on the adjustable legs, and leave yourself an access panel in the fascia. Do that and a riser kit turns an awkward solid floor or a long waste run into a straightforward job. Browse the tray riser kits to match a pack to your tray, and if you are still choosing the tray, start with what size shower tray you need.