We moved the valve to the wall opposite the shower head. Problem solved. It works quite well.

Thanks, jlhug. I'm sure moving it and using glass will be more attractive. It's hard to resist the ease of throwing a shower curtain in the wash though. It's DH's bathroom and I know he won't squeegee after every shower. Good to know we have options!

The squeegee takes less than a minute. It is an easy habit to get into.

The ease of keeping the glass clean has really surprised me.

I have the same set up along with the same complaint about having to get into the shower to turn on the water. My DH doesn't see the problem because he is tall and can reach the valve from outside the shower easily. When we do this bath the valve is going on the opposite wall like jhug's. It's not negotiable. LOL

Cleaning the glass doors is not my concern. Don't find them currently hard to keep clean and we don't squeegee. My concern would be keeping that cast iron shower pan clean. I love the look and build of the Kohler pans but I hate hate hate those non slip surfaces. They are the reason I kept my old builders grade steel tub in the hall bath. Refuse to do another acrylic so I'm leaning toward a solid surface pan for the shower. Have decided I want solid surface walls this time around too.

Mayflowers, I have this same configuration too. Currently I have glass bypass doors and I'm considering a curtain because I actually like the look and agree they're so easy to keep fresh and clean. Like you, I have the same concern about an adequate curb to keep the curtain inside. I've posted before, but got minimal responses. I'll be interested in what you decide on.

If you live in a cold climate, it's not a good idea to put any supply pipes in an outside wall. The toe tester at the bottom (as in the photo above) takes care of standing in the spray of water. You could also do a short pony wall to house the valve.

Is the curb 4" on the outside or inside? If it's the inside, it should be adequate. The inside height is what's important, and I wouldn't count on 2" or less to be adequate to hold the shower curtain in.

We put the diverter on the opposite wall. Works well. (Doesn't freeze where we live.).

My Dh was insistent on glass and we have a curbless shower so I can't tell you how a shower curtain would work with a cast iron pan. We do have a cast iron tub with a non-slip bottom in our other bathroom and I have not had trouble keeping it clean. (Baking soda and dish soap works great, IME).

So that extra spout is a toe tester which allows the water to warm. I did not know that! I never really paid much attention to it and I probably could have figured it out eventually. I'll have to test DH on it. ;) edit: Just did and he was clueless. It's going to be a long remodel between the two of us.

I think the left glass in the photo is stationary. I don't want to go into the shower to clean, which the stationary glass forces you to do.

Our shower is only 32" wide, so I don't think we could do a pony wall. If we did, we'd need to tile the floor (want to avoid) or maybe do solid surface? Solid surface means a Corian-type product, correct? What keeps them from being slippery? I have read some complaints about the Kohler surface holding the dirt.

The only 32" Kohler cast iron is the Bellweather. So it doesn't look like there's enough inside curb to hold a shower curtain. Am I stuck doing bypass doors?

If we move the diverter to the outside wall, the pipes along the back of the shower are on an interior wall. We're in the PNW where we occasionally go into the mid-20s at night, but typically we're above freezing. We do leave a faucet dripping on very cold nights. Does it sound okay to move the diverter under those circumstances?

Linelle, I remember you asking about the shower curtain. If you were as charming as me, you'd have gotten answers. Snort!! (She's the charming one for those who don't know.)

We have a Kohler pan but it is acrylic. We have run out of money at the end of a whole house restoration and are using shower curtains until our finances recover a bit. The curtain is working fine and, honestly, I'm thinking about forgetting the glass all together.

Do you know the inside depth, Daisy?

2 inches

Thank you. That was my other idea--try out the curtain and add the doors later if we keep flooding the bathroom.

Mayflowers, you are silly. :)

Think you're going to try the shower curtain, Linelle? I'll see what our tile guy says. Hope to get started before spring and I think we'll just replace the shower for this phase of the project, along with installing a kitchen backsplash.

Just make sure you get it framed in as if you were putting doors so that there are studs to hang them on if needed later. I don't really know if this is necessary as I'm no builder, but it seems logical.

I sure will! Thanks!

Mayflowers, I'm not close to remodeling this bathroom yet. I'm trying to figure out what I want and what can realistically be done before talking to contractors. I'm over glass shower surrounds. I don't love the tracks that bypass doors need, but, like you, the business end of my shower needs access from the outside and with a fixed piece of glass, that means going inside to futz with temp, etc. I was surprised how much I like my simple white on white curtain in my other bathroom. No multiple layers, just one, light, airy, simple, throw it in the washer, replace it for $20. My other shower is a tub combo and I used a curved rod to expand the space. Does it ever. However, I don't know if I'd need to do that with a plain shower and the curb issue.

It's kinda hard to find a lot of photos of this setup on Houzz, although a few can be had, like this:

Haven · More Info

That's a pretty shower curtain. I do like pattern on a curtain. I also have a curved rod in my shower/tub. The shower does have more foot room than the tub, so I think I can forego the curved rod. I suppose if we're really committed to the shower curtain, we could do a tiled base. I think I'd rather do that than do glass doors with a shower pan.

I found this one with a Corian pan. I hope those are porcelain tiles!

Bathroom Remodel · More Info

I don't understand how a shower curtain would stay in the shower base during use. When using a shower curtain in a tub it hangs well below the rim. Since shower curtains tend to billow a bit it seems that the shower base pictured wouldn't contain it.

I agree, but Daisy is doing it with 2" on the inside.

I'm thinking of having a curtain made so it can go to the ceiling. Metal weights in the hem may help keep it in place. But I think you'd have to carefully position the curtain. This is not an idea for a bathroom for kids!

Didn't read all the replies...but there are shower curtain liners with magnets sewn into the bottom hem. It'd work great with a cast iron pan.

MongoCT, thanks for the reminder about the magnets.

Watchmelol, I read where lots of people have billowing issues with shower curtains, or icky clinging. My curtain hangs straight and obedient, never moves an iota. I have a window open all the time and no fan. Maybe no fan makes a difference.

Oh, magnets! I overlooked the obvious. Thanks, mongo.

Lisa, Do you find the no slip surface hard to keep clean?

I'm working with a 32" shower. The entire house is about 2' short of giving us options when we remodel rooms. So frustrating!

I don't have a problem with washing a curtain frequently. That will happen more often than DH cleaning the glass.

I'm hoping the shower pan surface isn't hard to clean. DH never goes barefoot so he won't be rubbing in grime.

Watchmelol

Generally I don't have to do much extra to keep the shower pan clean. But I do go barefoot in the summer a lot and when I shower it leaves marks on the non skid stripes. I usually wipe down the whole enclosure weekly, and when it's like that I spend a couple extra minutes with a magic eraser (I think that's what it's called) or soft scrub to go over those spots. Not hard to do, but more than just a swipe with a rag.

To me the trade off for having a surface that I'm less likely to slip on is worth a little extra time on upkeep.

Hope this helps - Lisa

PS Only two shower users- both adults. Might be different with kids. Lisa

I am so glad to find this thread - as I just did the same thing - Kohler Salient (I think the 36"), and at this point, I am holding off on shower doors by using a ceiling mounted shower rod/track. They hid the track with a piece of molding in front of it, and I dropped the shower curtain using extension ball chains. I love the look, but haven't used the shower yet (various delays). I will report back, but I have a similar configuration issue, and just wasn't keen on the idea of having to move around a shower door (hate bypass), no matter what I did.

But the jury is out on whether this will work.

I've also considered the Trax ceiling mount. I think I may have read posts of yours before that you were considering it. Will look forward to your post after you've used the shower. Thank you!

Reporting back (Hi mayflowers - yes, I believe we've met before in other threads).

Ok - 2 showers in, and all seems well. I will say that for these two showers I have been aware of having to make sure the curtain is in place (I'm used to a tub combo in the same place, and for that, as long as the curtain was in, it was okay). But, on the flip side, you don't take the seconds after the shower squeegeeing the glass, so it's a wash either way. I have inspected carefully, and no water outside at all. I'm using one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BVMS2K?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

on the far end, and it seems to work very well. and from the outside, you can't see it. I'm also using an 84" shower curtain on the ceiling mounted trax, so I have a lot of play. Maybe too much? But anyway - a few comments:

1. The standard amount of magnets could be added to, and I think it would hold better. I got a good, thick curtain liner, and unsurprisingly, the plastic itself weighs enough to drag the magnets, where the old - dollar store/replace every month/tissue paper ones stuck solid with the magnets. But, magnets can be added simply enough to a good liner, and I think it would be fine.
2. You do loose a few inches in the pan to this, but I deliberately mounted my trax out a scootch from where you would be able to put a shower curtain rod, so that it wouldn't be as bad.
3. The shower curtain can blow in, again, not badly, because I've got a weighty curtain, and I dropped the chain from the ceiling for air flow to the fan. TBH, I've grown up with curtains, and brushing them while showering doesn't bother me - I know it does some people. I had the reverse issue once, where in a nice hotel, with a BEAUTIFUL bathroom (jetted tub, large glass sided shower - real swank), I SLAMMED my elbow into the fixed panel when showering. It made me very bitter towards the bathroom.

So in conclusion (yikes, sorry for the opus) - this works fine for adults, I don't know that I would trust kids.

Thank you for your opus, Anne. Not TMI at all! How long are your chains? Will you be posting photos of your new bath?

In our tub, we have a fabric liner with a patterned shower curtain in front, hanging from U shaped metal roller ball rings. I think it's polyester and it keeps water in. I'd like to use one fabric curtain instead of a plain liner because I feel I need to dress it up if it's not going to have glass. You've probably seen this photo of the Trax system, which I'm sure is a custom curtain. It looks very elegant.

Palo Alto remodel · More Info

While looking for that^, I found this. Neat how they tiled the ceiling to hide the track.

Transformer Loft · More Info

Heh - I owe a lot of people (my GC loves my bathroom) pics of my bathroom - I'm nagging my sister (I am the type that will take pictures of my thumb with whatever device I use) to come over and do it - will try to do it somewhat soon.

That first pic you posted was one of my inspiration pics, I was determined to hide the track from the outside. My GC thought I was crazy, his worker (who were great!), put the molding up impeccably matching it to the crown that ran into the shower. Then the GC got it. Also, if it didn't work, the decorative molding can stay up, and will not interfere with the glass shower door, or require the ceiling be re-done!

The tiling on the ceiling is very cool, I love an all-blue bathroom, might be doing that in my second BR - picture saved to ideabook!

The drops on my chains are about 12 inches, including the hooks. I trimmed the standard lengths sent with the trax kit as they seemed too long to me, but I knew I was going for the longer shower curtain. Thankfully, my mother sews (sewing machines hate me, it's been proven), so she's going to be making a bunch of custom outside fabric layers up for me, and I will just keep getting the separate liners. Two curtains don't bother me, but I can understand how it could.

Sheesh - I don't believe in quick responses, do I?

I remember what the Trax hooks looked like, so they're wide enough for two curtains? I'm thinking of the metal grommets hogging the hook, which the vinyl curtains have.

Sewing hates me too. My 8th grade Home Ec partner was the teacher's daughter so she assumed her daughter was explaining it to me well enough. I never even figured out the bobbin.

We had a shower curtain for about one month, as did the previous owner when we first moved in, and there was always water on the floor. The first thing that we bought was glass bypass shower doors, which took care of the problem. Years later when we added a tile floor, our tile guy discovered some rot in our subfloor from the previous owner only having had a shower curtain for 7 yrs before we purchased the house.

DH is against moving the shower control to the outside wall, so we're thinking of installing a toe tester. While waiting for the shower to warm, he would adjust the shower curtain carefully. I think the two will work well in conjunction.

I am planning a bath remodel and grappling with the same issues. Love this discussion. What did you decide? Have you finished your remodel? Do you have any photos and experiences to share? Thanks :)

We haven't started the remodel. We had an early, glorious spring and I switched gears to working in my garden. I'd like to get it done this fall.

I will probably go with the Kohler cast iron pan. Too many tiling horror stories here on GW! Magnets will hold the curtain in place. After looking at photos, I think I can give it an upscale look by using a quality shower rod mounted into the tile at the ceiling to make up for the lack of glass doors. I won't have a fancy shower system--just don't see the need--but I'll use nice tile and install a niche.

Please post pictures when its all done :)

I keep revisiting this thread, hoping for a Sign. :)

Is it ever acceptable to use a shower pan and create a tile threshold over it, thereby making it higher?

As for cleaning the nonskid elements of a shower or tub. I have some wonderful nonskid strips in my otherwise very slippery acrylic tub where I take my showers. Yes, they pick up and hold grime a little too well and you can't just go gangbusters cleaning acrylic. The other day I used some Softscrub and a curved nail brush that fits around a couple of fingers. With very little elbow grease ALL the grime was removed and the shape of the nail brush is very ergonomic.

Your curb question is a good one, Linelle. I have no idea.

I have this saved as what-not-to-do. The tile is pretty but the tension rod and the low placement gives it an institutional look, like something in a locker room or a hospital.

Greensboro House · More Info

Mayflowers, that is a rather sad little curtain setup. I can't say I like much else about that bathroom either.

There is a lot of cool in that white bathroom

@ Anne CK - I know this is an old post, but I am in the same situation and trying to find the best solution. Are you happy with your ceiling track and curtain?

I saw the link to the liner but are you able to tell me where your track and the chains are from? Thank you!

So am I! I'm trying to find a solution to the water spill, with only a 2" lip on shower basin, and really don't want the sliding doors, 6'3" guy getting in, and I just don't like them, and also, not much room because of the toilet for a hinge door. So I am desperate to find a curtain solution!