I installed a steam shower in my master bath when I renovated a couple of years ago. I took out the tub and enlarged the shower to about 4x6. I have 2 sides tile and the other 2 sides glass. I love my steam shower, especially in the winter. It's really nice to slip into a warm cocoon when the rest of the house is cool. You should think about how often you might use it and if it's in your budget as it will add quite a bit to the cost. Not just for the steam unit ($1000+) but also the glass up to the ceiling, sloped ceiling, and the installation of everything.

I don't understand the last post to this thread? Thermasol offers a 5-year replacement warranty on all their controllers. Why would you pay to replace it? Maybe you had it more than 5 years? If so, then it's too bad it failed but how long do you expect it to last? I doubt you could expect a car to last reliably with no problems longer than 5 years, so why expect that of your steam shower. I have a PRO-395 that I installed 14 months ago. It just failed tonight. Not sure if it is the controller board or the heating element, but it stopped producing steam. Called tech support and they are shipping me a new replacement unit tomorrow and paying for the install, all at no cost. I am going to call them tomorrow to talk to them about the fact that it failed so soon. They are supposedly the best and charge a premium for their product. I am curious how they will explain that it failed so soon. Will update this post if they say anything interesting. Update: Spoke to them this morning and they are sending me a new unit, and pay for installation charge. One other thing. Someone in the tread above talked about making their shower with a 10 ft ceiling. Don't do that! That is just dumb, and will affect the experience of a good steam. If you ever want to make your steam shower bigger, do it in the length or width but never in the height. My house has 10 ft. ceilings, but my shower has a 7.5 ft up to an 8 ft. ceiling and that is plenty high enough. The 7.5 ft part is over the bench so the fact that it is lower there makes no difference because you are sitting down.

Our current bath is 6x10 and it holds a 42" vanity, toilet and 3x6 shower. We are expanding it to 6x13 so we can have a 6' vanity with 2 sinks, as well as a wall with pocket door separating the toilet and shower space from the vanity. With 6x11, I would have along 1 long wall as you enter the room first a 42" vanity, then an 18" linen tower, then 3' for the toilet, then a 3x6 shower against the short wall at the far end. It would also work with a 3' vanity and 2' linen tower, or 4' vanity, no linen cabinet and 4x6 shower, etc. Is this configuration, the door into the bathroom can be on the short wall next to the vanity and opposite the shower, or on the 2nd long wall opposite the vanity.

Presumably spraying the backsplash with great abandon, with a chemical solution or even vinegar and water solution, is a thing of the past? You betcha. I can't remember, though, the last time I grouted a job that had to have the haze cleaned with anything other than water... WITHOUT the vinegar. You just need to take your time. I KNOW you can afford your own labor fees! :-) As for a newbie grouting it, It's not going to be easy to get nice clean lines, even for a pro, but if you take your time, mixing just a little bit of grout at a time so it doesn't "go off" on you, you should be fine. It's not impossible for someone like yourself to grout tile like that.