I've been reading last few weeks on proper shower wall install since mine leaked bad enough that I'm tearing it down to the studs. House is only about 15 years old but, IMO, improperly built like so many other tract homes. I'm discovering It's greenboard with no vapor barrier or waterproofing of any kind. At first I thought leak was from cracking grout, then running around the prefab shower pan and exiting the front where the shower door and curb are since there is no flange. I siliconed the wall-pan interface 3 years ago when I discovered a small leak, also tried to seal various shower door channels. Now, 3 years later and wiser, I think the combination of wall and all those channels/panels of the shower door was the bigger problem. Silicone on the wall bottom only helped trap some of the water running behind the wall from coming out while any water on the shower curb went straight out the side to the floor. So I'm pretty much set on cement board and few coats of paint on waterproofing, reusing the plastic pan, but one thing I haven't seen addressed much is the shower door. I believe that is a big problem because any water that gets on the "threshold" channel may run straight into the wall and out the front, no matter how much waterproofing I have on the walls. And the only line of defense is silicone at the time of installation. I'm the kind of person that likes a physical barrier or redirection, not rely on cualk to keep water out. I feel no matter how well caulked, it's only a matter of time when water works its way to open up a gap since daily use by 2-3 people is a lot of use. It's not like I can check daily if there's water outside the shower. Everything is nicely hidden so I don't know failure until it's bad enough and there's evidence of damage. I think with the cement back/waterproofing paint I'm comfortable with the wall install, but how is a guy supposed to properly install a shower door and never worry about it? Sorry for the long read, but I wanted to give some rationale on why I'm concerned about the shower door instead when there's so much discussion on the wall/tile itself.

slc, we replaced our standard tub with a shower only, using the kerdi shower kit. With the slate tile on top of the curb, the outside finished cork floor to top of curb measurement is around five and five 8ths high. The inside shower floor to tile top is around 3. I find my shower curtain blows in a bit at the bottom, but I generally solve this by putting a shampoo bottle on the bottom hem, on the curb, or making sure the window in the shower is closed while showering. Had I realized that the inside measurement was higher with the kerdi floor in, than the outside.. well duh!! (brain malfunction on my behalf!!) I'd have raised the curb another couple of inches, just to not feel the cold curtain on warm body parts. Someone had mentioned in passing that perhaps I have an issue because I have over a foot of space above the curtain rod to the shower arch, and if I got a longer curtain (to the inside top of the arch, I might not have this issue. Haven't done it yet! Good luck! Kym

We've seen lots of issues with drains near the door,, just seems like a bad idea. Does your door swing in and out? If so I'd try swinging it in as often as you can instead of our, that way the sweep on the bottom of the door won't push water out.

More notes regarding setting drain depths... once the rough plumbing is run under floor, whether its a raised floor or slab, the maximum drain depth is set, as slope from the sewer tap to the drain has limits. The installation of the actual drain fitting is subject to those previously set limits. Its really important to PLAN AHEAD. Curbless showers are still getting introduced into the market. I have one in each of my current homes underway, but only in the master. Installed my first over a decade ago for wheelchair access. Costs more to do. Cannot always retrofit as it requires lowering the entire drain system under floor 4". Linear drains cost more to do. Etc. Anything that doesn't cost more would show up in production homes.