Have you talked to the Building Official to see what options there may be to the ordinance? Lots of home in Texas have properly designed showers without doors, but it's up to you to demonstrate how that applies to your home...:-)

Your contractor just doesn't want to build a door less shower. Perhaps a different contractor will.

I'd like to SEE the city ordinance. .......... floor preparation, , correct pitch and draining are all that is necessary for curbless and frameless shower glass. It's BS PER SOPHIE.

Just hang a shower curtain ($2.99 from Walmart) for the inspection. And yes, if there truly is such a micromanaging ordinance then I recommend breaking the law.

texas likes to put doors on stuff

the idea of texas regulating doors on showers is pretty amusing; i guess all the folks allowed to build in the flood plains can just go in their showers and close the door next hurricane. ; )

I'm in Texas and there's nothing in our city code about requiring a door to be on a shower. In fact we just built a doorless shower and it's awesome!

I, too, am in central Texas and I have never heard of such an ordinance. I agree with galore2112 about hanging a curtain rod during the inspection time.

Does your city allow you to use a shower curtain? This seems silly to me.

I am in Texas (DFW area) and also have a doorless shower. In my last house in Texas (DFW area), I had a shower with no door and with no glass/wall. This restriction sounds like complete BS to me.

I think in this case, to get a spotless shower, you need another contractor.

Bunk

Thanks everyone for your input. When I asked about the the secondary bathrooms not requiring a door, this was the quote I was sent:

"To pass inspection City code requires a door to be at the master bath, the secondary bathrooms have a tub whereas water cannot extend out into the bathroom. This option there is no tub but an oversized shower only”

We are building from out of state so we didn't have much time to research more about the door situation. The code is ridiculous sounding, but we ultimately went with a framed shower. After the house is built, it seemed like we could remove the framed shower panes and replace with a frameless single pane ourselves. I am determined to get my shower

After the house is built, it seemed like we could remove the framed shower panes and replace with a frameless single pane ourselves. I am determined to get my shower

Not necessarily. A frameless shower requires different pitch with the floor, etc. I'm sorry you may be stuck without tearing out your shower.

Your contractor sounds like he's full of BS.

I would have the shower in the master bathroom and the shower door in the garage. The shower would technically have a door, it would just be . . . a little remote.

Get the wording directly from the code, there may be a misinterpretation somewhere.

The quote you were sent is really agrammatical. I would want to see the code directly. I can't imagine you couldn't have a shower curtain. What if the shower was meant to be accessed by someone with disabilities? They do not have glass shower doors, generally.

Just tell the "inspector" the shower is designed for a person with a "disability". You do not have to "prove" anything or show any "paperwork", or explain the nature of the disability, all you have to do is say it. Tell them you will sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

So many useful comments other than chiflipper (strangely bogus).

Ask for code reference. Go from there.

Bogus? You are not up-to-date on the ADA. I suggest you do some reading.

I think someone is using incorrect terminology here. I think someone is saying door-less when they mean curb-less.

ADA covers public buildings only, not private residences.

The ADA regulations can cover private buildings when local codes specify. I built several wheelchair ramps and entrance landings for businesses and homes under the same local code requirements.

Never dealt with ADA compliant showers/bathrooms , but am pretty sure a doorless ADA shower would be legal, since prohibiting that would be subject to lawsuit.

ADA regulations often included in local codes

Although ADA regulates public accommodation, I doubt local code could prevent the construction of an accessible shower in a private residence.

But it would also need to be designed to meet actual plumbing code as well as the ADA guidelines . As in, you can't just eliminate a curb on a 32"x 32" shower and have that actually work and be approved. Not unless the whole room was created as a wet room. Trying to use ADA as an excuse to do what you want outside of code doesn't cut it. Water still runs downhill , is wet, and will damage the home if the shower is not preoperly built with those physical realities in mind. That's the equivalent of the Internet certificates for my ferret being an emotional support animal.

Oh yes, the old "But officer, I am legally blind and cannot see the speed limit sign, therefore I can drive as fast as I want." argument.

And then we get "The federal govt requires me to pay taxes, so it is OK to rob the state bank to get the money to pay the taxes" argument. Or more specifically, the "It is OK to break other laws if I claim that I am asserting my rights" delusions.

Why should a handicapped person be subject to, and have to contend with moldy and rotting subfloors just because they are handicapped? Building and designing a space for ADA does not give anyone the right to make excuses for substandard work or ignore building codes.

ADA does not afford a person the right to a roll-in shower by any stretch of the imagination, or any configuration that does not have a reasonable expectation of containing and draining all the water associated with a shower. The designer must choose an option that meets both ADA and building code requirements that fits in the available space, or provide more space to make the design choice work for both ADA and the building codes. In this case, waterproofing and sloping toward the drain more of the bathroom floor to outside of any possible spray zone may have appeased the building inspector, but we have absolutely no idea of what the specific design is. You also can not ride 1/2 of a horse. You can not claim an ADA exemption for the shower, and then put a 2'-4" door on the bathroom and no clear space in front of the shower as required by ADA... or a 24" doorway into an "ADA" shower...

ADA requirements only address those requirements that are specific to ADA. They do not, for example, address what size floor joist must be underneath the shower, or what type or extent of waterproofing needs to be done. If ADA was an excuse to not follow the building codes when inconvenient, people would be falling through the shower floors in short order. Both ADA and building code requirements must both be met.

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/guide-to-the-ada-standards/chapter-1-using-the-ada-standards

Why are we assuming it wouldn't be built to whatever specs it needed to be to meet the requirements for a doorless or a curbless shower or whatever it is we are talking about?

"The problem is, the city ordinance states that the shower must have a door."

Apparently, the building official did not think it was...