First of all, we're right there with you. A DIY bathroom with an overwhelmed DH. The shower is the hold up. We're going doorless too and are wondering if we need a tile wall now. Our shower will finish out at 4' x 7'8.

If you screwed the shower wall to the studs of the door wall, as well as the floor,
don't you think that would be pretty strong?

As for the height of the shower head, I have no idea. Just writing in case misery wanted a little company. Ha!

Thank you for sharing, Golddust. I will tell my DH that he is not alone. I thought that it would be fine to screw the wall to one wall and to the floor. My brother who is building his own house and works in construction said that the wall would be floppy and unstable unless it was braced to the ceiling. I am a little afraid to try it and find out.

Thank you so much for your help, Bill. I didn't know that there was a code for the height of a shower wall. I will check into that. I have seen several photos on the internet of showers with walls lower than 72" but perhaps the shower was wider than ours. My DH does not want to make the wall that high because it would block the light from the window. We are considering making it 5 feet and then adding a layer or two of glass block if it is too short. (I am trying to avoid glass because it is so difficult to keep clean with hard water.)

If you use glass block, make sure you waterproof the top of that wall (where the glass block will sit) and down about a foot or so (the vapor barrier behind the cement board will take care of the rest), or you'll have major problems. I found out the hard way. I figured just caulking the block to the tile would take care of it. It cost me almost 500.00 out of my pocket to tear down that wall and redo it.

Bill, thank you for the heads-up. I would never have thought of that. What do you mean by "waterproofing the top of the wall? Do you spray something on the surface? What type of caulking should be used to attach the block to the tile? Do you think it is necessary to anchor the wall to the ceiling?

What do you mean by "waterproofing the top of the wall? Do you spray something on the surface?

You can go to either of the big box stores. Lowes has Laticrete's 9235 and Hydroban, and Home Depot has Custom Building Products' Redgard. Apply either one to the to and down a bit onto the wall.

What type of caulking should be used to attach the block to the tile?

Siliconized latex will be sufficient.

Do you think it is necessary to anchor the wall to the ceiling?

Although most glass block companies will tell you no, I think it is. I know one in particular-- Pittsburgh-Corning-- that has a system where the block is actually put together with 100% silicone, and even they say their system end short of the ceiling and not be anchored. They even show pictures in their literature of a shower where the walls are only about 6 1/2' high. I'd be scared to death to lose my balance or slip and try and brace myself on that wall.

If it's me doing the shower, I'll strongly recommend that it be anchored.

Thank you very much Bill. My husband will take your advice and run a 4x4 to the ceiling.

We now have another issue. I would really appreciate your opinion on this. We discovered that code requires a 2" drain for the shower. Our drain is 1 1/2". Since we are on a slab, we cannot see how far it is to a 2" pipe to which we could connect. The toilet is next to the shower. drain. It is about 2 1/2 to 3' away. I don't know if that is any clue.

I asked about the drain size in the plumbing forum. We had planned to move the drain about 34" from the wall so that it would be more centered instead of close to the shower head wall. One person told us to leave the drain where it is (close to the stack) and it would be fine with a 1 1/2" drain. Another person said that we should either put in a 2" drain and move it to the center or install another tub and shower. What is your opinion on this? If you think we should make the drain 2", how can we do it? Hiring a plumber is not an option for us. Thank you.