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Design Dilemma Bathrooms

How high should my glass shower enclosure be?

2 years ago

My shower head is pictured below. Should the glass enclosure be level with, below, or above the horizontal bar across the top of the shower assembly? The bar is 5" higher than the shower head. Shower head will sit at the 81" (height from floor, also where the thingy juts out of the wall of the shower in the photo) and the bar will be at 87". My bathroom has a 9-ft ceiling; the blue tape in the photo of my shower is at 88".

Featured Answer

PRO

StarCraft Custom Builders

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

See The Rules of Bathroom Design (Illustrated) for all such information. Guideline 13 addresses shower enclosure height.

Building Code Requirement: The wall area above a tub or shower pan must be covered in a waterproof material to a height of not less than 72" above the finished floor. (IPC 417.4.1, IRC R 307.2)

In our bath remodels, we treat the code required 72" as the minimum height but build the enclosure to 3" or more above the shower rough-in as recommended by the guideline.
The shower rough-in is nothing more complicated than the height at which the shower arm comes out of the wall.
If a ceiling-mounted showerhead is used in a bath remodel, we generally build the enclosure to within 12" of the ceiling, or to 84" in a bathroom with a standard 96" ceiling.
The shower enclosure should not extend all the way to the ceiling unless power ventilation is provided inside the enclosure. Otherwise, steam from the shower has no place to vent. Eventually, the constant moisture inside the shower enclosure will result in mold and mildew forming on the shower walls. Leave a space at least 6-12" between the top of the shower enclosure and the ceiling.

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Comments (10)

PRO
Stonetech/Avanti Tile
2 years ago
The blue tape is about right, or one tile lower. As long as it's above the protruding pipe, I think you're OK.
HU-524723126 thanked Stonetech/Avanti Tile
Shasta
2 years ago
We have 9’ ceilings with 2 shower heads and a walk in shower. Our glass panel in low iron satin is 84” x 42”.
HU-524723126 thanked Shasta
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chispa
2 years ago
Make sure you get low iron glass, so your white tiles don't look green. There is an up charge, but worth it if you have used white/light tile.
HU-524723126 thanked chispa
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
2 years ago
Gosh I hope you aren’t adding in a niche at this point…
HU-524723126 thanked HALLETT & Co.
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GN Builders L.L.C
2 years ago
I hope you used composite crown molding in your bathroom, especially in the shower area.
HU-524723126 thanked GN Builders L.L.C
HU-524723126
Original Author
2 years ago
These comments are so helpful; thank you all so much. I had no idea about the low iron glass; I definitely want that. . . The crown molding was already there; it's probably not composite but I do agree that it should be. I will look into that. . . .And lol, the shower niche actually was pretty simple at this stage. The tile is not grouted, so my contractor popped out the necessary tiles. I originally wanted corner shelves, but could not find them in a "white" similar to my subway. The whites that I found were much chalkier and brighter and stuck out. My contractor agreed that they didn't look like they belonged and proposed the niche instead.
chispa
2 years ago
So he just cut a hole and added a niche? How was the shower and niche waterproofed? Do you have any in progress photos?
HU-524723126
Original Author
2 years ago
I don't have any in progress, but here's how it looks installed. What should I be asking my contractor?
markco1
11 months ago
I would ask how he intergrated that waterproofing in the nitch to the waterproofing behind the wall tiles at the surround? It doesn't look right to me

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