Got a picture of your space?

We ended up with a small step into shower on all our showers….not what I expected but there it is. It’s good that you are asking questions… wish I’d done that. So our shower door sweep is level with the floor outside the shower….it sweeps up the bath carpet if you open out… which is necessary for a few. The less wide showers can leak out just a bit at the corner of the sweep because of the location of the shower head. Which is ok unless it starts building up and wets the baseboards too long. Just a few other bits of info as you make these decisions.

@Chris the space is too small to get a good photo, but here is the layout.

Is this new construction? Or existing space?

Dam, that is small, not even 44 sq ft, interior usable is about 34 sq ft. Can you make it a wet room, sure, but just know that EVERYTHING very well may get quite wet, including the vanity. You are able to drop the floor in order to pitch the floor to a linear drain or for a center drain?

We have a couple of 3 foot showers.. they are adequate…. Your shower seems really tight. Not that I haven’t had a smaller shower… we used to have a 1960s house! It may help to get some sidewalk chalk and go out in the driveway and draw it to scale and see how it feels.

@Chris existing (1953 construction I think)

@millworkman the plan is total waterproofing and tile baseboard with benjamin moore spa paint on walls and water-resistant vanity (the wood was submerged overnite without damage). I would have liked to have tiled the walls as recommended, but that got the project over budget.

Linear drain at back is planned, although I will consider a center square drain if that is most reliable.

They didn’t think much of bathrooms space back then did they! I think you are going to find it a rather tight shower. We had a shower this size at a 60s beach house.(actually the whole bathroom was smaller than yours)They actually just left it open to the room with a tile curb….. so we hung a shower curtain… not so pretty or everyday functional( size wise), but for a shower that wasn’t used often it was fine since there was no changing it without losing a closet.

We had tile baseboards at our last house. It was a great idea. Make sure they get it as flush against the wall as possible… so you don’t see mortar.
Someone will have to chime in about the linear drain… I’ve wondered how well they work and if it’s difficult to get the floor properly leveled to drain well.

@Chris yes, this is the LARGE bath 😂 I would have liked to have stolen some space from the adjoining room's closet, but knocking out walls would have driven the cost well above our budget (especially now)...it was pretty shocking to hear the cost to remodel our small space, but it's in line with the cost vs value website for our region.

I think this shower is too small. Can you move plumbing around or are you stuck with this?

@scout none of the contractors has suggested moving plumbing (except for rain shower head to external wall after bumping in from it 4 inches). Probably due to expense.

Our shower is similar in width, and only a bit longer. Your shower will BE roomier, not just feel roomier — no more tub walls encroaching on your stance, no clingy curtain or glass inset on the tub edge.

The perception of openness depends far more on what’s above waist height than below. The lack of a curb won’t contribute to it much at all, especially in your layout when the only direct approach is from the vanity 2 feet away — the curb won’t even be in your line of sight unless you’re looking down. Outside of the shower the floor won’t slope to a drain, so you’ll either have to sop it up with a towel that you then hang somewhere to dry, or clean more often to prevent mildew.

To me the benefits of a curb outweigh the negatives. A curb would let you keep a bathmat between the vanity and floor. And you’d be able to warm the shower before entering without dousing the floor.

We tore out our tub to have a nicer shower, you’re going to be so happy!

Are you really in need of a curbless shower like in a wheel chaor or using a walker to enter the space . I think wet rooms are horrible except in the tropics where tyiu have atiny bathroom with no actual vanity.

Has the contractor priced out the 20K+ upgrade for the required structural changes and all the rest needed to do to curbless over a standard shower?

@User yes (not line item, but the cost between curbed and curbless overall is in that range)

I say that I think it’s too small because I had a bathtub I converted to a shower at 30” wide and it was very narrow. It was never used and I got rid of t. The glass partition made it confining. I think your shower will end up being less than 30” wide. Can your contactor remove the frame from the door and bring the shower out as far as possible? I wonder if a shower curtain will give more elbow room and effectively make the shower wider.

A wall-mounted toilet and a floating or wall-mounted vanity can help make a small bathroom seem larger as well as easier to clean. I would put a center drain in the middle of the room if you can. Water from my curb-less shower runs everywhere despite the sloped floor.

A curb could be a trip hazard unless there is a definite difference in color or material to make it obvious. Even then, you can stub your toe. Another issue is the narrow space. You will stand facing the narrow direction where the shower head is located….washing my hair requires two arms out, bent at the elbows: is there enough space for that? I hate a rain head for washing hair because I don’t like shampoo and water on my face…I prefer a standard wall-mounted shower head.