curbless shower

[tucker2]

My folks are wanting to make their home more accessible for my eleven year old niece who is confined to a wheelchair. We're beginning an expansion of their masterbath that will help significantly. Part of the new bath will be a large walk-in shower. They would like to incorporate a curbless design so the floor of the shower will be flush with the floor of the bathroom. The main question is whether this will be possible to do. I know in new construction they make the slab lower than the slab in the rest of the house in order to accomodate the shower pan. Any resources on how this can be accomplished with existing construction would be greatly appreciated. Water and drain lines are beinging moved so some cutting of the foundation is already being planned. Let me know ya'll's thoughts on this.

thanks

[jimbo]

Showers with a driveable ramp instead of a curb are available. You can find it on the net or from a good supplier. You will need to work with your local inspectors as far as requirements on the drain, and what they want for the floor outside the shower, due to the potential overflow.

[LonnythePlumber]

I just love remodeling homes into ADA bathrooms. Sometimes taking part of a bedroom. This can be so nice for her. Think about hands free lavatory faucet and look in the assisted living magazines.
On the subject I agree with Jim on the curbs. I use vinyl flooring without problems but every jurisdiction is different. Jim is in California where they are more protective of their citizens than other parts of the country. My plumbers that work there and in Kansas say one of our $100,000. homes would be worth $800,000. out there. Probably won't want to hurt one of them babies.

[jdsoreacres]

We are remodeling our two bathrooms into a combination of something... The smaller bath is 5x8 now and we will be changing it to 6x7'. Quite small to have have a vanity, toilet and shower. We think we want tiled walls and floor (waterproof right?) and the shower to be a 3x4' area with no stall - only gently sloping floor to the drain with a shower curtain ring from the ceiling. (Something like a locker room shower.) Gently sloping so no one will lose balance etc. This bathroom is for guests but also the daily morning shower for my husband and I since "our" bath will have a large Sanijet tub we don't want to dirty with daily showers.

Our contractor has said "sure" "good idea" for the space etc, but I wonder... what should we watch out for? :o

[Bob NH]

I once stayed in a hotel room set up for wheelchair access. The shower had a rubber strip dam about 1/8" thick and 1.5" high that the wheel chair could simply roll over.

[jadnashua]

You need to build this properly, and there are a lot of people that don't have a clue. Suggest you visit www.johnbridge.com (http://www.johnbridge.com) where they can help you out using the nationally approved methods that work. People tend to think that tile and grout is waterproof - it is not, nor is cement board (cbu). Waterproofing something like this is critical. There are several methods. Check out that website and you'll be guided to them.

[johnfrwhipple]

There are many things to watch for if your contractor is offering up a curbless showers. Many curbless designs fail for different reasons. Here are a few key points I have found in building successful curbless showers.

1). The entire bathroom floor should be water tight and the water proofing should run up the walls 4"-6" at least in the none shower enclousure.

2). The floor drain should be a 2" ABS pipe and not restricted to 1 1/2" at any point.

3). Extra venting line from the shower drain is a good idea.

4). Waterproof the floor and flood test (24 hr).

5). Think about the direction of water flow from the shower head and or shower hand held. Many floors fail if the hand held hits the floor at the wrong direction.

6). Water test a live shower before glass and tile goes up. If your floor is water tight there should be no concerns over this test.

7). Your plumber may need framing help to recess the floor drain a little below stock grade.

8). Schulter makes great waterproofing protects and drains. All others can be used if the design is well thought out.

9). Try and postion the water flow to strike your body (of course) but the missed spray should ideally hit a glass panel and run back to the drain.

10). If you have multiple spray heads they should all be tested and tested in random patterns. Take your socks off and try it out.

Hope this helps. If anything asking these questions of contractor should help you know if they have experience in building them.

I have a couple examples up on my YouTube sight. Search "Curbless Shower Vancouver"

[jimbo]

I once stayed at a hotel where the entire large bathroom was a wet room. No shower curtains, tile from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Very nice room. This was in Pattya Beach, and as for the rest of the details about what went on, I am sworn to secrecy!

[johnfrwhipple]

You can raise the floor everywhere else with a good 4-1 mix (this step can cover your floor heat as well). We prep the old floors well by cleaning and priming then we scratch coat a mortified thinset mix and then add on the 4-1 mix and grade. Once your pitch is correct through out the bathroom get everything watertight and tile.

[hj]

Since a curbless shower CANNOT fill with water, a pan is redundant. But the floor does have to be cut so the tile can slope to the drain.

[jadnashua]

Since a curbless shower CANNOT fill with water, a pan is redundant. But the floor does have to be cut so the tile can slope to the drain.

I wouldn't put it quite that way...depending on use and rest time, there will always be some moisture that makes its way underneath the tile and grout. WIthout a sloped liner to the drain, that moisture can accumulate and so can some nasty stuff. The pH of concrete ends up getting modified over the years if moisture and contaminants are introduced, so it may not support growths for a number of years. And, if it can dry out in between (climate makes a difference - say AZ verses FL) you may never experience problems. But wood in the walls is subject to degradation if there's no liner or other protection.

The TCNA guidelines always require a liner, regardless of the location. This could be a surface or subsurface, depending on the contruction technique used.