Gio Bella Shower Channels and Traps

Twenty nine products: twenty one linear shower channels and eight floor traps, all of it floor drainage for a walk in shower. If you have been searching for a Gio shower drain, this is the page: the catalogue calls them channels and traps. Channels run from 250mm to 860mm, traps come square and rectangular, and both are stocked in stainless steel and matt black alongside brushed gold, brushed nickel and gun grey.

Channel or Trap

A trap is a point drain, so the shower floor has to fall towards it from every side. That is four falls converging on one small square, which is fiddly to tile with anything large format. A channel is a linear drain and the floor falls one way only, so big tiles and slabs lie flat and the cuts stay simple. That is the practical reason channels have taken over in new work, rather than any argument about looks.

Where the drain sits is the other half of the decision. A channel normally runs against the back wall or across the shower entrance so the grate reads as a deliberate line. A trap sits wherever the falls converge, usually near the middle of the floor. Both belong to the screed stage, not the tiling stage, and in a renovation the existing waste position often settles it.

Length and Top Style

The lengths listed here are 250mm, 300mm, 450mm, 500mm, 700mm and 860mm, with the slimline channels covering 300, 450 and 700. The top is the second decision. Solid tops give a flat plate, slotted tops show the drainage line, and the tile insert, tile grid and tile grate versions take a cut piece of your own floor tile so the channel very nearly disappears. Several slimline channels list a reversed tiling option, so the top can run either way up. Check where the outlet sits on the body against your waste position before settling on a length.

Where the Rest of the Drainage Lives

Channels and traps drain the floor. Basin wastes, bath wastes and isolating valves sit on Gio plumbing and wastes, and the bottle traps have a page of their own at Gio Bella bottle traps. If you are specifying a whole shower, the roses are on shower heads and the arms on shower arms. The rest of the range is on Gio Bella.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a shower channel and a shower trap?

A trap is a point drain and the floor has to fall towards it from all four sides, which is awkward to tile with large format tiles. A channel is a linear drain, so the floor falls in one direction only towards the line. That single fall is why channels have become the default in new walk in showers. Decide which you want before the screed goes down.

What lengths do the Gio shower channels come in?

The lengths listed on this page are 250mm, 300mm, 450mm, 500mm, 700mm and 860mm. The slimline channels cover the 300, 450 and 700 sizes. Not every length is offered in every top style or finish, so check the individual listing. If you need a length that is not showing, contact us and we will check what the supplier can bring in rather than guessing from this page.

What does tile insert mean on a shower channel?

A tile insert top is a tray rather than a solid plate. Your tiler cuts a piece of the floor tile and beds it into the top, so once the floor is finished all you see is a thin drainage line around the edge instead of a metal grate. It is the least visible option, and it needs to be planned with the tiler because the tile cut has to be accurate.

Is a shower channel the same thing as a shower drain?

Yes, in normal use. Shower drain is the everyday word for the whole assembly that takes water out of the shower floor, and it covers both the linear channels and the square and rectangular traps on this page. The catalogue uses the trade words channel and trap, which is why searching for a drain may not bring the products up directly.

Which finishes are available on the channels and traps?

The channels are listed in stainless steel, matt black and black, and several are supplied with a stainless steel insert. The square traps run through brushed gold, brushed nickel, gun grey and matt black. The grate is visible in a finished shower, so most people match it to the shower mixer and the shower head rather than treating it as hidden pipework.