Your going to get quite a bit of water splashing outside the shower with that set up as the opening is opposite the shower head and without it being set up as a wet bath with the entire floor waterproofed and with a drain will make quite a mess.

I, admittedly, don't have first hand experience with this. But browsing Houzz, I've seen several setups that are quite similar....glass walls, that extend only about 2.5 feet of a 5' shower or tub/shower set up. In each case, the owner or designer has responded to questions about splashing saying, no there isn't much. I do know that my shower wall in both my current house and previous house was about 3 feet long and there was almost no splashing on to the bathroom floor.

A couple of things that are likely to help, if you want to go this route, though. Think about putting the handheld on the same wall as the shower head...as far from the opening as possible. And consider a rainfall type shower head that comes out from the wall and then points directly down, rather than one that angles out.

HTH

We have the exact setup as you are envisioning. BUT our shower is 47" wide rather than 3 feet, we have a rain head rather than a regular shower head and our handshower is on the short wall. We get very little overspray.

I think this could work only if you use a rainhead (so the water will come straight down) and if you move the handshower to the top right of your picture. If you can widen your shower by a few inches, even better.

Melissastar--we must have read each other's minds!

My current shower is about the same size, a couple of inches shorter and less wide. My shower head is in the same position as yours and isn't spectacularly powerful. I have frameless bypass doors. I am a faithful squeegee-er and I can tell you that there's plenty of water on both doors and I'm extremely grateful that it's all contained within the shower space. Honestly, I don't want any wet outside the shower.

I understand that it might look good without glass, but this is one instance of function beating form.

Thanks millworkman..the entire bathroom is tiled but only a drain in the shower itself, so even with the curb I'm sure there will be some splashing.

melissa, I'm happy to hear you didn't have too much of an issue with just a shower wall. Thanks for the tips, however everything is already finished except for the door. No turning back now.

What I have to weigh....could the splashing outside the shower be worse than the water my 6'3" DH already leaves upon exiting the shower?? hmm... Any success stories in a similar setup?

Also, we put our rain head in the ceiling rather than on an arm. It is exactly centered in the shower on the 47" side and about two feet from the back wall where your shower head is currently located. It is all about the rain head. That's why the water doesn't come out. We did the same thing in our hall bath where we have the Kohler 48" long Greek tub that we also use as a shower. We have no curtain or door on it but we do have a rain head. The step in front of the shower doesn't get wet.

thanks nyc and linelle...looks like our situation will be needing the door..

I don't know where you live Nan, but I'm in the SF Bay Area and our winters are fairly mild, but it's still chilly in the mornings and during the winter. The enclosed shower stays cozy. When I open the door to grab my towel I immediately feel the draft from outside the enclosure.

A quick squeegee (which stays inside the shower enclosure) is so much easier than if I had to wipe off the toilet seat and floor from splashing. No contest.

Strongly suggest that that 6'3 DH dry off while IN the shower. Regarding the placement of the shower heads, I'd have just one big one (6") on a slider on the short wall. They are very adjustable to put the water on your head or bod.

Overhead rain showers go straight down until they hit broad shoulders, when they bounce sideways.

I'm also in the SF Bay Area and had planned a doorless shower...so I took a shower (in my old bathroom) with the shower door open...COLD in the morning.

That hand held (where you have it placed) might make a mess If you aren't supremely careful while rinsing.

-Babka

It is interesting to read the posts with opposite conclusions. It is always hard to evaluate since no one has the exact same layout (or behavior!). We are planning something similar, but I haven't gotten the drawing up yet, so I'll be following your responses carefully!

I'm small and don't get wild in the shower (bummer), yet water would be everywhere without an enclosure of some sort. Who wants to have to constrain their movements in the shower lest water escape? Who wants to be wet when it's 40 degrees outside? Yeah, the heater's on in the bathroom, but the perception of warm forced air on a wet bod is chilly just the same.

Unless your DH dries off in the shower before stepping out, you'll have wet on the floor whether you have a glass door or not.

linelle and babka...my point exactly. If I couldn't get him to dry off thoroughly in the 25 years we've been married, it sure ain't gonna happen now because I want a doorless shower! Water either way...may as well lose the door ;)

Anyone think that trying it with only the partition glass at first is a good idea? Could you easily add a door later?

Nan, won't harp on wet DH anymore. :)

But using that as a reason to accept more water getting out begs the question. Would you rather clean up 1 cup of water or 3? Okay, that's an exaggeration but you get the point. Probably the water from DH lands mostly on the floor next to the shower? How about the water that gets splashed out the side? The steam that ends up condensing on vertical surfaces?

Drafts. Goose bumps just thinking about it.

Not clear on the proportions. Is the shower 3 x 6 and you are splitting the open and closed parts 50/50?

We're thinking of blocking for a door, but starting with just the panel. Still figuring out how narrow an opening would work, though. I don't think you'd need the whole 36"-- could you extend the pony wall a little or is it in place already?

Lori--I have attempted to copy my post with pictures of my shower. Hopefully it works. The pictures aren't great but you can get a pretty good view of how we worked it. Same setup as Nan. The shower is 47" wide by 5 feet long but there is a structrual column that juts into the length. The shower is sort of shaped like the state of Utah, if you can imagine that. We keep a small bathmat on the floor in front of the shower. It doesn't get wet. I am 5'3" and my husband is 6'4" if that matters. As mentioned above, the rainhead is centered in the middle. We even have body sprays on the right. They angle in at about 26 degrees. We always use them together with the rain head, which gives a really nice shower. We only use the handshower for cleaning or when I don't want to get my hair wet.

Here is a link that might be useful: shower without a door

Thanks, that does help. How wide is your non-door "opening" compared to the width of the glass panel?

Lori, I am not at home now to measure but I think that the pony wall comes out about 30" from the back wall. The third picture shows it best. The counter comes about 25 inches or so from the back wall and the pony wall extends a few inches beyond that. Subtract that from the 60" width of the room (yup--a five foot wide bathroom!) and that makes the opening 30" which is plenty of room. We also have that column that takes up space. If we didn't, I would think that an opening of 24" would be fine.

Also, for what it's worth, all of our niches are built in the wall next to the cabinet tower and the in the pony wall, so the shampoo etc. is hidden from view.

Ok, I took a quick photo to give a better visual of the space. As you can see, everything is in place already so it is what it is.

linelle..I live in the northeast and I can hear you regarding chilly weather. No matter how much heat you have blowing, it's still nippy getting out of the shower! Leaning towards getting the door...

Nan, I'm shivering just thinking about it. Now, if you guys think you're taking too long showers, this might speed things up. Brrrrrrrrr. :)

Honestly, I might give it a try and see if it works out without a door, if you are able to turn the handshower inward when you use it (which you probably can do).

Some people are really bothered by the open shower because they want to be able to keep it hot and steamy in there. Others are not bothered by the openness, especially if the bathroom itself is reasonably warm. I fall into the latter category.

It depends on where YOU fit on the spectrum.

i think if you have a regular shower head, there will still be splashing issues, if you do a overhead "rainfall" shower head, then it will probably be okay.

But I see a waste of space in your layout. why do you need a "full height" wall at the bottom of the shower area? is there some kind of code you have to fulfill? Can you just make the left side the shower area from top to bottom, then extend the "pony wall" a little longer to keep things proportional? and turn the corner seat to a flip down wall bench.

Thanks, nyc...since our bathroom is so small I think there's a possibility it may work without the door. I usually let the shower run for several minutes before hopping in anyhow..maybe a few more minutes would do the trick. :)

noopd: we have ZERO closet/cabinet space for towels, linens, etc so the space to left of shower seat is for that purpose.

A towel (which dries faster)or bath mat on the floor just outside the curb will catch any errant spray. If you install a heat lamp right above it, you can solve that chilly problem. You could hang the "foot towel" on a Command Hook on that pony wall next to the vanity. A hand/face towel doesn't take up much room on a hook. Just suggestions.

-Babka

Well we opted for the door. It came down to a very unsophisticated demonstration by the glass guy (who honestly didn't seem to care one way or the other if we chose a door or not.) He stood approximately where we will stand during a shower and noted how the spray would shoot right off of DH shoulders, out the door opening, and hitting me...all dressed and ready for work haha. SOLD.