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shower floor issues & linear drain

14 years ago

In our master bath remodel, we are building a 4 x 6" tiled shower. In keeping with a contemporary minimalist design, I wanted a curb-less, door-less entry. But because this is a remodel, the contractor has advised me it will be costly to build in the proper slope in the floor and suggests this can be avoided by raising the shower floor, say 5". Anybody have a "step-up" shower?

Also, it's been suggested that we use a low-profile linear drain at the lowest edge of the shower floor rather than a conventional drain somewhere in the center. This will enable the floor to have a simple linear slope -- certainly a minimalist look, too. Any experience with one of these?

Featured Answer

bill_vincent

14 years ago

I don't know about percentage of incline. What I DO know is that first, the drain must be a minimum of 2" lower than the top of the "curb", even in a curbless shower. It also needs to be 1/4"-1/2" (no more, and no less) per linear foot from the furthest point of the pitch to the drain.

Comments (6)

jjaazzy
14 years ago
I am in the process but yet to complete the task. So I don't have the experiance to tell you exactly how to do it. We ordered our trench drain from quickdrainusa.com you can go there and pop around the web site for information. We have and existing plywood floor so had to build up the slope from the doorway to the back of the shower. I would have rather had the trench run along one of the walls. The company sells everything you will need including the styrofoam 2 percent slope material. You just order what is needed and they will help you. That goes under the waterproofing material. We ordered the blue Noble waterproofing material from them and will do the walls in Kerdi and the rest of bath with Dietra. You can visit this site I included for some info. There is a wonderful contemporary bathroom that I think I saw in here the guy who did the bathroom did all the work himself and even made the trench drains himself. He tucked the drains so you could not see them there was a gap at the base of the wall. It is a beautiful bathroom and maybe someone here will know which one I am speaking of and will post a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trench drain
lee676
14 years ago
I never understood why center drains became as popular as they did - invariably they are right where you stand when you shower, and feel uncomfortable under my foot.

I've seen trench drains at the far end of the shower or on one of the sides as well as the front placement shown in the link above. The rear drain can be almost hidden from view from the rest of the bathroom - there are wide, narrow drains (about 1 1/2" x 10") designed for this placement. However, the front trench drain, in addition to whatever aesthetic appeal it may have, also has a functional advantage - it makes cleaning the floor in the rest of the bathroom a breeze - wet it down as much as you want, then sweep the rinse water into the drain. If the whole bathroom is being renovated, you can slightly slope the whole floor outside the shower towards the trench drain. This design is also a godsend in event of a plumbing leak.
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You are not going to notice the floor slope whether it is all in one direction or comes from both sides to the center. As for whether you put the drain at one end or in the center, I think either would work. The only points I will make are that: 1) If a curbless shower is to be used by someone with a wheel chair, it would be better to have the drain at the far end from the entrance so it doesn't keep getting rolled over repeatedly. 2) if you have a drain in the center, then you have to only provide half as much difference in height for the slope to the drain compared to having the drain at one end. This can be important with curbless shower installations if there are framing or foundation problems that restrict how much you can lower the shower floor compared to the bathroom floor.
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jjaazzy
14 years ago
Exactly why I pushed for the trench. We are in the process of replacing the builder grade toilets and so far the Toto downstairs is working like a champ. We will be replacing the two BGT upstairs and it very well could be a plumbing / vent issue why these builder grade toilets work so bad. I am hoping with the new toilets I can put the plungers out to the garage. But should the toilet overflow it will not go all over but down the trench drain that is not too far. It is however expensive and after I ordered it I have been seeing many many curb less showers with center drains thinking I made a costly mistake. But the trench drain can handle more gal per min then the center drain and it should make cleaning the bathroom a breeze.
coolbeansw
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks. So if it's just a 2% incline, how hard is it to make this curbless? Am I asking for trouble?
jjaazzy
14 years ago
Scare me... I hope I don't screw up this portion of the bathroom / shower. The Styrofoam pieces are suppose to handle the grade/ slope for me. However we have a funky shaped shower and I am just really stumped as to how to handle putting this puzzle together. It might have been easier to do it in mud. We'll see?

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