Curbless shower questions and decisions
David
14 years ago
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David
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Any problems with 'curbless' showers leaking or plumbing back-up?
Comments (20)Thanks so much for the pics and I am sorry that I could not get back to you sooner. They are excellent photographs and I have several more questions starting with "Who keeps that shower so CLEAN??" THAT certainly doesn't look like a shower that someone has been using for 2 months! Especially a little son capable of sitting on top of the drain and stopping it up! I re-read your thread on "Before and After Pics" and I have scanned (not absorbed) the ADA shower installation guide, as well. I realize that my decision will be personal, but by looking at the example you posted of the threshold, you obviously did some soul searching, as well. What swayed your family to go curbless? Also, do you think, or does anyone know if a channel on the floor is likely to collect 'gunk', more than the 'glass directly to the floor' application? I must confess that I am new to the Forum, and new to the internet, and I have spent the last hour trying to figure out how to post images. I had some photos to show of my remodel, but I can't figure how to get to the screen that allows my pictures to connect to this message. When I went to "Galleries" that still got me nowhere. I'll get my 'whiz kid' daughter to help me tomorrow. Now, if all you veterans out there can manage to quit laffin' at the 'rookie' long enough, maybe together we can solve the 32 questions on my remodel that I need help with. :) One more of which is I am torn between completely enclosing my shower seat (as you did, Vern) and leaving it open because it makes my shower appear larger, and gives me a place to swing my feet. But then there is the question of the floor drying underneath after finishing your shower, and squatting under there to keep it clean and mold-free. Any thoughts? If I could have posted my pictures, it would have illustrated this! :)) Mongo, As usual, you save the day. I will look into the 'shut-off' device using the link you provided, but I don't know if it will work. We have no basement; we live in a single-story in Texas. But don't relax yet, I have more questions for you, too. Just give me time....See MoreCurbless shower?
Comments (1)A couple of numbers to throw out to your first: 1) Elevation: You need a minimum of a 2" height differential between the elevation of the shower drain and the top of your curb. Your curb can be traditional, like a step over curb, or for a curbless shower, it simply means that another part of your bathroom floor needs to be 2" higher than the drain. 2) Pitch: For the sloped part of the floor that makes up that 2" height differential, the slope needs to be a minimum of 1/4" per foot and a maximum of 1/2" per foot. The easiest way to do it is during the framing stage, and to "drop the joists" under the shower. That creates a lower floor elevation in the shower, creating a recess for the sloped pan. If your framing is complete and it cannot be modified, then you can build up the height of the floor in the remainder of the room. Realize, however, that you'll now have a "curb" or a couple-inch rise of sorts at your bathroom door. Another method is to create a "hump" curb. You still have a curb at your shower door, but you slope the floor upwards as you approach the doorway and after the crest, it transitions to your standard shower floor slope within the shower. Going back a bit, the entire bathroom floor does not have to be sloped. Just enough to get your 2" of vertical. All that lateral run, however, plus a bit more outside of it, is usually waterproofed. When doing accessible or curbless showers, it's not uncommon to make the entire bathroom a "wetroom". All that means is I'll use a membrane like Ditra on the floor outside of the shower and transition to it's sister membrane, Kerdi, within the shower. The seams in the ditra get covered with a strip of Kerdi. Then you tile on top of the Kerdi/Ditra. When properly detailed it makes for a waterproof bathroom floor. Your shower size will dictate pitch. IN THEORY if you have a large shower and you can place the drain 4' from the shower door, then you can pitch the floor 1/2" per foot to the drain, and that'll give you your 2" vertical. Then the bathroom floor can be level outside the shower. Remember, drains do not have to be centered in a shower, they can be offset, and in ADA showers they often are. There are a lot of ways to skin this one with all the variables involved. Best bet? Drop the framing in the shower. Overall it's the least expensive and easiest way to get the job done when planned for from the start. Engineering-wise your builder will be able to figure out if the joists can be notched. Most expensive and to me, least desirable, is to build up the entire floor. I hate transitions at the bathroom door. When all else fails the hump curb is a decent compromise, but it depends on your floor plan, how high the hump has to be, and how well the hump can be incorporated into the room without it being out of place. Mongo...See Morecurbless shower contractor/cost question
Comments (19)Curbless shower was on my list of "must haves", and I've decided it's something we can do without. My reasoning: - I wanted it because my grandmother, in her extreme old age -- like past 98, had trouble lifting her feet even a small bit; for example, onto a curb or into the shower. However, this is a big expense for something that won't be an issue for many, many years. - It's possible to go "minimal" instead of curbless. Right now we have something similar to this: It's a big, wide step into the shower -- plus we have a door, so there's another inch or so of track. Instead we're going minimal with the divider. Look at the difference here -- a much shorter, skinnier divider. We're going to put a grab bar on each side of the 36" entrance (not unlike the white bar on the left of this picture), and we're going with a curtain rather than a door. This may still become a problem in our extreme old age, but we feel like it's a happy medium between cost and function -- and we are all about value for the dollar....See Morecurbless shower linear drain questions
Comments (35)Sorry to tag on to the end of this thread, it's already a bit messy to say the least. I have spent countless hours researching linear drains and am at my wits end! Bathroom floor is dropped by 1-5/8" from floorboards (2-7/8" below wood floor in adjacent room) in a 56-1/4" x 90" area ready for this project. I need to place the drain as a barrier by the entry way spanning the entire 90". Cannot go against back wall easily because of joist limitation.Tile will be sloped in from 14" outside of the shower including capilliary break then up to the back wall, drawing NOT to scale! I will have wedge wire grate and two 2" ABS outlets in to a 3" ABS drain, so not overly concerned about flooding the bathroom. I am aware of the 3" drop and wet room requirements. My main dilemma is how to terminate the linear at each side wall. I saw photos in another forum where the wall tile 'tabs' in to the drain channel, drain channel extends under wall tile at each end. In order to do this could the entire floor and drain be finished first with channel extended about 3/4" past the intended plane of the finished wall? Silicone caulk the drain at each end. Then the walls could be floated in and the tab cut on the bottom of the two opposite tiles that would sit in the channel. Floor will be hot mopped (I'm in California), walls lath and mortar, and the floor also floated outside of shower area. I'm on a wooden sub floor obviously. Finally, I have narrowed my options down to site sizable QM Delmar or the DERA-Line. Both have pros and cons, does anyone have any advice as in 'stay away from' or any pointers re these two drains? I realise the DERA is cheaper, 304 S/S as opposed to 316. The DERA is custom made to exact length rather than site sizable as in the QM or I may not even be asking the question about the walls. I'm leaning in the DERA direction because price is getting high and the wife is pushing to avoid linear, which would pain me after getting this close. The Dera is coming in around $1100 vs $1500. I thoroughly appreciate any advice or guidance anyone can give. Btw, i am not doing the job personally, just due diligence to be 100% certain nothing is compromised or overlooked. Thanks very much in advance....See MoreMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodavidro1
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodavidro1
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodavidro1
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDavid
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMongoCT
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
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14 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohnfrwhipple
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