Can anyone give me any information about the construction of a curbless shower? I have seen european references to custom sized preformed bases but have seen no such thing as yet from North America.
If preformed bases are not available, how does one go about building a properly sloped, waterproof base without having to bump up a curb?
Thanks

Hi Mia
Actually those style of shower are popular for handicap applications. When constructed with new homes the joists are notched or lowered in that specific location to accomodate a lower floor surface to build a mortar bed

You would have to cut out the floor's plywood to expose the joists, and then remove possibly 2 inches of material of the top of each joist. This may require you to add support to the joists depending on their current size.
After a new layer of subfloor is installed a mortar bed can be built, waterproofed and tiled.

An old thread and my favourite type of bathroom renovation. I love to build curbless showers and there are many ways of doing so. Be careful notching or removing any of your floor joist material. A structural engineer will be required to do this as any modifications of the floors framing members will weaken them.

There are many ways to skin a cat and if you check with your local building department you can get a good starting off point. Often like mentioned in the above post the floor joists need beefing up to allow them to be made smaller.

Smart planning and top shelf water proofing are the keys to any level access shower.

I'm build a new curbless in North Vancouver in my home and will be using a channel drain from ACO in the design. We installed yesterday a Quick Drain USA channel drain on another project that looks amazing.

To get proper answers to building a curbless shower many many questions need to be answered. Find your top setters, builders, renovators in your home town and set up appointments with each. Check with your local building department to see if any curbless showers have been built in your area.

Research the subject and find design elements you like. www.houzz.com is a good source for pictures. Armed with your wish list, home plans and coffee start the process of designing your new curbless shower with the help of your local top trades.

Good Luck.

John Whipple
North Vancouver

"When it's perfect. It's good enough."

I saw a show on TV where they were putting in a wheelchair accessible shower, but instead of having a lower section of the floor to fill with a mortar bed they just lowered the drain and used Ditra and Kerdi over the plywood construction floor. I've never tried it. Do you guys think that would really work?

How did they pitch the floor, or did they?

I have built a few curbless showers this way. It is a sketchy subject as this type of install walks a fine line of not meeting all tile and stone installation guidelines. Honestly it falls outside the acceptable installation techniques.

If you follow all the rules you end up with large transitions from room to room or massive structural changes to the homes framing members.

I have a hybrid approach that has worked well in 2 out of 3 attempts. My approach is much like I think what you saw on TV.

I have two videos online showing curbless showers which where built on wood subfloors. Both showers I lowered the drain so it was egual in height to the top side of the floor joists. With 5/8" + 1/2" plywood on top. I graded the floor with a 5-1 mix and Versa Bond combination and then topped with Ditra. We Kerdi'd the wet zones and set tile.

The blue and white bathroom was completed almost 2 years ago and was seen in House and Home Magazine (April 2009) and the black and white marble bathroom was complete last summer. Both work great and only a 1 1/4" height difference from hallway to bathroom was created in each case.

My failure happened when we tried to create a 1/8" per foot drop instead of a 1/4" per foot. This shower did work well but we forgot to factor the handheld spray head and the second fixture when in use and spray near the door caused critical mass and after 10 minutes of testing my third curbless failed. We will not try that again as it cost me a weeks pay to fix.

My friend and co worker Riccardo built a curbless shower for his Mom and family and it like our other 3 was built on a plywood subfloor.

It can be done - many will preach code and this and that. But it can be done. I have picture and video to prove it...

What show was it? Any one in these pages building curbless showers?

Actually, I saw it on Holmes on Homes and I'm not sure how they got the pitch. It didn`t really look like there was any pitch, but they often leave steps out when they are showing you the project.

I have never had the opportunity to build a curbless shower as I have never been asked to. I just find it interesting to learn about what other people do and how they go about it.

Building a curbless shower is simple if you break it do step by step. You need your 2" grade with your drain and your finished waterproof floor. You will most likely want tile under foot so you can calculate ground zero and work out from the drain.

Study all building codes and insure you don't alter a homes structure with out a structural engineers report and a city permit.

I would like to put a curbless shower in a small bathroom with the shower dimensions prox. 36" x 36" . the design will have a glass wall floor to ceiling on one wall, with the other having the door and the back two walls being tile and the corner of the room, since the drain will be in the center a 1/4" per every foot limits to prox. 3/4" slope, with that said, I would like to use a membrane that extends out past the size of the shower just for a safety reason and protection of leaking. Any thoughts from the group on do's and dont'ts? Thanks for your help.

One way I have done curbless when lowering the shower was not feasible, is to ramp up the tiles at the shower threshold. I used about a 6 inch strip to ramp up one inch at the door and then 1/4"/foot down to a schluter drain. even at that the mortar bed ends up pretty thin at the drain. it looks like a big reducer. Can't say I was entirely pleased with the aesthetics of it, but certainly works.