IMO a waste of money for no real advantage

I'd do it for two reasons: aesthetics and function.

If you plan to age in place in your current home (or plan to sell your home to someone who will), a barrier-free shower is ideal for people with limited mobility, even if they are not using a wheelchair. Having to step over shower curbs when you're elderly is a trip and fall hazard, so having an even floor is really beneficial. If you're going this route, ask your contractor to also put in the blocking behind the wall for grab bar attachments, even if you don't plan to put them in right away. This way, the support is there and you won't have to rip out tile later on in order to build the support back in.

And personally, I love the way barrier-free showers look. They're cleaner looking and they make your bathroom feel bigger.

When my elderly neighbor broke her pelvis and was using a walker, she kept a spare walker inside her kitchen door. The door was too narrow to get the walker through, so she walked to the door and transferred to the other walker. I can see how having the curbless shower could work in the future. And if the need ever arises you would already have the biggest obstacle addressed.

Transfer chairs will fit through most doors.

Anyone who requires a wheelchair needs a transfer chair also because wheelchairs weigh about 53lbs, and it is too heavy to lift into a car oftentimes.

I don't really like the look of many barrier free showers I've seen, but I think that's because they are often built like something for a retirement home - very institutional and bland.

We went through this debate with a recent renovation, and came up with a compromise for a 48"x34" shower. I used a Kerdi shower pan with the lowest perimeter height I could get, and then they laid the stone shower threshold a little above the tile that is on the shower floor We still have about a 3" step-in height, but its lower than many showers.

I also installed 2x8 blocking centered at 36" all around the shower, and up and down the side walls where you might mount vertical grab bars. We installed a Kohler shower rail that has both a standard shower head and a hand shower. We are using a shower curtain with a curved rail so that you get more elbow room when in the shower, and there is no door to work around. This shower won't meet ADA standards, but its a very easy step-in, has grab bars (not yet installed in the pictures), and provides the space needed for one person and maybe even a helper to assist in showering.

Bruce

You've all given me a lot of things to think about, many that I had never considered.

A couple more questions regarding curbless:

In a small bathroom with a shower that will measure about 60" by 30" (replacing tub), will water on the rest of the bathroom floor be an issue? I can see how this would also be a slip hazard.

A transfer chair or walker could get in the door and up to the shower. Right? We had already planned to install grab bars (I've found several models that are attractive and don't look institutional) in the shower. Should I also add blocking in case I'd want to add a bar(s) along the wall plain opposite the vanity so this could be used as an aid in getting to the shower?

No, if the barrier-free shower is done correctly, there will be a slight slope toward the drain which should handle the flow of water. You can also put in a single glass panel to keep water spray inside the shower space.

Modern Twist on Traditional · More Info

modern ranch in san jose · More Info

You could put in a full glass enclosure with a door, but that somewhat defeats the purpose of getting in/out of a shower if you might also be juggling a walker.

Kohler has Choreograph that has well-designed grab bars that also function has shelves in the shower to hold products.

I would use a combination towel bar and grab bar. That wall is the obvious location for a towel bar and use one designed to be sturdy to be a grab bar. Also be sure to add a toilet paper holder with built in grab bar

Sabrina--Thank you for including those photos because those bathrooms are just about exactly the size and layout I am talking about. It gives me a good visual of the possibilities if I decide to go that curbless route.

Another question after looking at those photos. I assume it is not possible to just use a curtain with a curbless shower.

The layout of our bathroom causes an issue for us because the shower head is on the opposite wall from the toilet wall. If I were to use just the solid piece of glass as is shown in the photos above, we'd have to access the shower next to the toilet. Won't work.

A slider would have a track on the floor thus defeating the idea of curbless. I suppose a pivot door could maybe work. I've stayed in a few too many places in Europe that had curbless wet room design but also had water all over the floor after a shower. This doesn't appeal to me. Thanks.

Without seeing a floor plan of your bathroom, it’s tough to make a solid recommendation. A shower curtain would defeat the purpose of making your bathroom feel larger, unless you always kept it open after use. Not as clean looking.

If you are tearing up the bathroom, why not have the shower head moved to the other side?

Thank you for all the advice. Now, after mulling it all over, I am almost back to where I started from with this conundrum.

This is a situation where I am remodeling a bathroom and want to not spend a lot of extra money to get a curbless shower set up. And, it's remodeling a bathroom for a "what if" situation, rather than knowing that there is already a disabled person in the household who definitely needs this accommodation. It's also a scenario where I am starting to see the snowball effect with one change starting to trigger another. And, most importantly of all this is existing construction on a concrete slab and in a condo association where we would need to get permission to cut into the existing slab.

I guess I need to decide whether or not spending the extra money to have a bathroom that would be accessible via walker or transfer chair would be worth it. Adding grab bars and chair height toilets is a no brainer, and we've done it in our other bathrooms we've remodeled.

If anyone else is following this, I found this good information on curtains and doors for curbless showers. http://homeability.com/curbless-shower-water-containment-guide/

FWIW, I'm designing a shower like this for a client as we speak. The contractor said it would not increase the cost of his bid. So check before you make the assumption it's more expensive. Now, that said, it's a larger project than just the bathroom, so maybe he's got more wiggle room to play with cost-wise. Worth investigating.

Make sure you and your contractor understand the difference between a roll-in shower and a transfer shower. Transfer shower means the user has enough upper body strength or ability to stand long enough to move from a wheelchair to a bench. A roll-in shower means there must be enough space to roll in with a wheelchair.

My BIL is a paraplegic who must always be in a wheelchair, and we frequently have problems with hotels not understanding what he needs. He used to transfer and use a bench in the shower, but as he ages and his shoulders take more of a beating, he does not want to transfer to take a shower. He is afraid of slipping or losing strength at the wrong time, and then ending up on the shower floor. He brings a separate shower chair with him (actually one of his old chairs with most of the accessory pieces stripped off), transfers to that chair to roll into the shower, and then goes back to his regular wheelchair later on.

Kerdi and other manufacturers recommend that if you use a curbless or zero entry shower design, you should plan for the entire bathroom area around it as a wet room. That is relatively easy to do when you prep the floor for tile, since they just use waterproof membrane and sealed seams under the tile. Its not a lot different than the decoupling membrane they use for a standard tile installation.

Bruce