Walk-In Showers

Low curb or truly curbless

A low curb is a small step, usually two to four inches, and it keeps water containment simple. A curbless entry removes the step entirely, which is what makes a shower usable with a walker or a shower chair — but the floor has to be reworked to make room for slope. In a home over a crawlspace, which describes a large share of Treasure Valley housing, recessing the subfloor between joists is typically feasible. Over a concrete slab it is a harder problem and sometimes the answer is a very low curb instead.

• Curbless needs roughly a quarter inch of fall per foot to the drain across the whole wet area
• A linear drain against the back wall lets the floor slope in one direction instead of four
• The wet zone extends further into the room, so waterproofing and tile extend with it
• A splash screen or a longer wall usually replaces the containment a curb provided

Building for the next twenty years

Most people asking for a walk-in shower are not solving a problem they have today; they are removing one they can see coming. That is worth designing for explicitly. Blocking behind the tile costs almost nothing during construction and makes grab bars possible at any point later — retrofitting them into finished tile is a much worse day.

• Plywood blocking across the full wall height wherever a bar might later be mounted
• A bench or fold-down seat positioned so the valve is reachable while seated
• A hand shower on a slide bar in addition to, or instead of, a fixed head
• Slip resistance chosen for wet bare feet, not for how the tile looks dry
• A clear entry width that still works if a walker has to come through it

Walk-in showers — questions

Can any bathroom have a curbless shower?

Most homes over a crawlspace can, because the subfloor can be recessed between joists to create the slope. Over a concrete slab it depends on whether the drain can be reworked, and sometimes a very low curb is the better answer.

Does a curbless shower flood the bathroom?

Not when the slope, the wet-zone size and the drain are planned together. Failures come from too little fall, a wet zone that is too small for the spray pattern, or an entry placed directly opposite the shower head.

Should we add grab bars now or later?

Add the blocking now regardless. The bars themselves can go in whenever you want them, and with blocking in place they can be mounted where they are actually useful rather than where a stud happens to be.