After several showers, you won't notice the difference in pitch.

It all depends how narrow the shower is... it could potentially be an inch or more difference from outside foot to outside foot. Just make sure your tile has a high COF rating to prevent slipping.

Thx. He also said Black linear drains do not “wear well” and strongly prefers polished chrome. Is this accurate? My mom loves black accents and hardware.

Any finish that faces scrubbing by maids is not safe. I would just assume that black finish on metal is going to wear poorly. However, I do not agree that polished chrome would be better... that finish will be brushed looking in no time if a green scrub pad and comet type cleanser is ever used. I would opt for a brushed metal.

not if you stand 90 degrees = parallel to slope. 0 threshold key.

Agree with Chispa. Also, get main on/off in position so when you turn water on to get hot you aren’t getting sprayed with cold water. Probably move control away from outside wall. Not sure based on pictures. Not crazy about linear drains personally. Good luck.

Honestly? I am so over the curbless unless a huge space , no door. It's a "look", and too often translates to wet floors where you do not want a wet floor. Ninety percent of senior living facilities, unless built to luxury in the last decade , do not have these!

If you can't lift a foot three inches to get in a shower? You have bigger issues by far. .

ADU, needing a wheelchair....is far different than , "gee, I'm getting older and want easy first floor living, and I will be carried out this home, my last.....feet first".

Odds are you won't. Few get that lucky as we age well past even more recent generations. A whole lot happens when you are planning something else.

Linear drains look cool but the trough needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. Not a big deal for the young and agile. Not so compatible for those who need or anticipate the need for a curbless design in the first place.

Bar Keepers Friend will get anything off. No damage.

Tell the cleaning person.

Matte black is indeed a cool look - for as long as it shall "last" . Just like black windows. : )

There is no denying one can make a gorgeous bath with chrome plumbing, and save the black for accent lighting and hardware. The chrome drain will last a hundred years. So too the shower fittings, easy as pie to keep shiny and new.

I an 77 yrs old and so far so good I get in andout of a tub. But I have never heard of this BS about a linear drain and one foot higher than the other other get another contractor . I am the board for a aprtment complex all wheel chair accessible all no threshold and every client hates all the water on the floor but necessary for the wheel chair . All shower drains need cleaning so oyur parents either do it themselves or have agood cleaning person.The whole house is not accessible so make this whatever you want. The whole bathroom needs to be a wet room and IMO slipping on the wet floor all over the bathroom is a bigger hazard that having a proper threshold and dealing with all the issues taht will arise in thta house when someone needs a wheechair

@Michelle NJ last year I paid a contractor to put in a curbless shower with no door or curtains. The contractor put in two linear drains. One was under the shower head. The other was at the threshold where the curb would have been. I used half-cut marble pebbles which others think I used because I thought it was in style. That wasn't why I chose them. I find that when people make assumptions about my motives, it often reveals what usually motivates their choices rather than mine, so I don't worry about whatever they said after that. I expected the edge of the drain to be Schluter and to have a crisper look, but this one is easier to get up so I can clean it. And it seems more natural, which is why I chose the pebbles with this particular porcelain wall tile, which I chose first. I don't know what kind of floor tile you will want, but whatever you choose, it's probably possible to have two linear drains without it looking weird. See my pictures of my two drains and make your own decision based on your preferences.

Does water splash out? No, it mists out, so I lay a cotton bath mat just outside the shower when I use it and hang it up on the grab bar after. I wash all my whites once a week, so it gets washed if I used that shower that week.

Oh, whatever kind of porcelain or stone you use for your shower, get radiant heat under it, even in the shower. It's totally doable now and is wonderful. You can even use it in the shower surround if you want. I didn't need it but some people might. https://www.warmzone.com/

Oh, about cleaning the floors. Get a Braava for them. I installed an outlet for the charger under my floating vanity. I scheduled it to clean every night with just water. There's a cleaner you can add, but with nightly wiping isn't necessary, though maybe it would be for other locations like a kitchen. Just change the pads once in awhile when you refill the little water tank. I installed Velcro bumpers on mine after living with a Roomba.

https://www.irobot.com/en_US/braava.html?source=google_paid&medium=cpc&ds_campaign=US+-+Conversion+-+Brand+-+SEM+-+iRobot+-+General+-+Phrase&ds_content=General+-+Braava+-+Phrase&ds_keyword=braava+jet&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAjfyqBhAsEiwA-UdzJPrF8WKIZJmYVy7DFAdnRdSBGEf5cO1lRDnT-ngMXMDST071baqkfRoCGUsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A linear drain fills with hair in about 10 days or less and you get informed of when it needs cleaning when scummy water starts to rise at your feet. You need a special tool to lift out the heavy tiled center piece to get to the tiny little cup of hair. You could opt out of using the hair catching cup and deal with the hair clogging the pipes later on. Perhaps it is better to get the metal grate type of linear drain cover with a screen to catch the hair on top so there is not so much potential for overlooked maintenance for an elderly couple. They are a pain in the butt but I'd use them again because of the look.

build a mock up. I live in a cabin with a shower with a sloped floor. I wash my hair with my back to the shower head. With my eyes closed, turning around to rinse my hair, I usually feel off balance.

I don’t know anything about linear drains, but I can tell you that chrome does hold up very well. I use a softer sponge with Soft Scrub with Bleach…..no problems with scratching etc. And I would absolutely tell my cleaning people what to clean with! (Green scrubby pads are only used for the nastiest of pans with baked-on mess….they are too destructive for most things.)

@K L The new SwitchBot vacuum/mop has a small water station charger that can be place under a sink, it connects directly to the plumbing to fill and empty the machine. The company is coming out with compatible dehumidifiers (and humidifiers) that the robot vac will automatically visit when they need to be drained or filled... carrying the water to the drain. I love technology.

I agree with jan above about usage of the shower and the point of the curbless aspect being about the "look" and not for elder care.... UNLESS your shower is huge and has no door, or has a door so wide that a wheelchair and a caregiver can get inside comfortably.

I'm a caregiver (for my mom), and actually the best place to bathe her is upstairs (due to the configuration of the shower in that bathroom).... she gets up and down stairs ok and can step into the shower, but only with assistance, which means grab bars and ME stepping in WITH HER. A normal sized shower door doesn't really allow for 2 people to get in at the same time, and the 3" curb is the absolute least of the issues. The best showers for caregiving the elderly would have no door at all, if they are a normal size.

How is someone who is so handicapped that they have to take a shower in a wheelchair going to properly bathe themselves in that wheelchair, by themself? Perhaps this is possible (I'm not a professional caregiver after all), but again, it is such a specific circumstance that I can't see creating a shower for that purpose unless you already know you have that circumstance, unless you have the ability to hire real pros who are very experienced and you're willing to pay for it.

Another thing I want to point out, is that if you're this far in without a designer, you might consider getting one, because the opinions from your contractor are making you unsure of your choices, and you (and he, based on the responses here) don't know enough to make all of the various choices without professional input...just my recommendation.

@coray I don't believe bleach is a good thing to use with metal. I believe it is corrosive. Sounds like you have been successful with it though.

@Paul F I haven't had that experience at all with linear drains. What do you think could cause the difference in our experiences?

Linear drains are a pain and best used in much larger showers than this. Stick with center square drain. So much easier to install and maintain. Look is important in high end homes but for this application seems unwise. But, if you go with linear, infrastructure requirements are important now. Make sure these are understood by the contractor.

K L: I have used Soft Scrub for years, and in different homes….we had zero corrosion on any of our chrome fixtures. 7 years in this house (12 1/2 in our last) and our faucets still look brand new.

The linear drain is my one huge regret of our recent remodel of two bathrooms and a kitchen. The tiled drain cover is so very heavy to lift for cleaning the channel drain. We do have a deep hair basket that allows for less frequent cleaning than every day, but I really, really wish we had a center drain with a tiled drain cover instead. I’m thinking of getting the tiled drain cover made in two pieces in a 60/40 configuration so that I only have to lift a smaller length rather than the whole 5 ft length. It might be worth the $$$ to save my wrists as I get older.

Wow! I got so lucky. I have no problem with my linear drains. Mine are only 3' long, so they aren't heavy. The tools I use to lift them look like a pair of Allen wrenches. Didn't know what they were at first. All my other drains clog, but not my linear drains. I don't even notice the slope on the floor. I guess my contractor was pretty skilled too. I'll have to tell him about all the problems you all are having and ask what he did to prevent them in my shower.

a linear drain specifies a 1/4" slope for every foot. i would opt for a tiled linear drain. let it disapear. just make sure your tile person is good enough to do it. if they dont like the tile drain then chrome is your work horse. bring in the black metals as accents in lights or mirror.

Put the water control at an easy-to-reach spot so the water temperature can be adjusted before stepping into the spray. Point nozzle slightly away from the shower entry. As a “senior”, the most important thing for me is a non-slip floor finish: I used sheets of 1” square floor tiles for the added grout which makes the floor safe when wet. The wall tiles match the floor, but are larger. Put soap-holder at @shoulder height and out of the spray. I had the tiler add a brushed-stainless bar to hold onto when getting into or out of the shower.

@K L Sounds like you lift the tiled drain cover to remove hair on a regular basis. Those of us who wait a week to 10 days, get a clogged drain. This should be better known to people not use to that type of maintenance... but as I said I'd install it again. I just need to get with the program the drain requires.

If I do short term rentals again and get a group of 5 people, all with long hair, I could imagine the drain clogging in less than 48 hours. I'd probably remove the cup before they arrive at that point just to prevent disaster.

There is no reason to not build a curbless shower with a linear drain. Despite some of the problems documented here, it isn't rocket surgery.

@kl23 Still interested to hear how often you clean your drain or whether you even have the hair catching cup installed.

@Paul F I cleaned them before I used them, when they were dry. I used a little hand held vacuum. Then two weeks ago, I couldn't get one up. A chunk of the grout for the drain opening somehow got stuck to the drain grate. Now I can't get the grate up, so I haven't used it. Do you think I should chisel it off myself or contact the contractor to fix it in case the chiseling does damage?

I would send the contractor a pic of what you think the problem is and get his advice. Chiseling sounds extreme if it was coming up easily before and now it is not.

It sounds like you don't have the hair catching cup in place (pictured below) that we are all having the problem with, right? You just see an open hole when you lift your cover? When the cup is full of hair there's no way a vacuum would be able to pull out the contents.

I don't remember. I'll try to take a picture. I don't think it's that effective. Have you tried this?

https://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Durable-Silicone-Stopper-Bathroom/dp/B07PBV7D48/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=3FJ3BDGHT2QTW&keywords=shower+hair+catcher+for+linear+drain&qid=1703465096&sprefix=shower+hair+catcher+for+linear+drain,aps,89&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1#video-immersive-view_1703465280845

Never mind. I think those silicone things have too large of a diameter.

Maybe this one...

https://www.amazon.com/TubShroom-Revolutionary-Protector-Catcher-Strainer/dp/B01BYMTYBS?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

Ok, so you don't have the metal cup in place that comes with the drain. That is why you don't have the problems we are all having. The cup fills with hair in about 10 days. I'm thinking about taking them out in my rentals because of the potential for overflow and just dealing with the risk of a hair ball blockage in the future.

@Paul F I think that could just cause a clog further down, don't you? I have a sort of garbage disposal further down my line in that bathroom. It's called a grinder pump. It's to handle toilet waste, and push it up over a door threshold, but I imagine it could be useful for hair too. 🥴 I hope I never get a clog between the shower trap and the grinder pump. I really don't understand the grinder pump but maybe you could ask a plumber about it to find out if it could help.