What sized drain is roughed in? Showers need bigger drains and the minimum footprint is 32”x32”. You could do a wetroom. But a trench drain is significantly more expensive than a center drain. And a center drain in a wetroom is always a problem for things that need to be level. Like toilets. And you’d have to do s pedestsl sink in a wetroom.

It can be done, but, for me, 30" would be too narrow to have a fixed glass enclosure.

With only 30" available, I would stick with a tub/shower combo with an curved curtain rod.

My experience with a wet room, at hotels, is that everything is wet after the shower. Towels, toilet paper, floor, etc. Please put a shower door or curtain to hold in the steamy warmth of the shower while it is being used, too.

A 30" shower is narrow but doable. JMHO

The minimum centerline of a fixture to an obstruction is 15". That is for a vanity and a toilet. A shower needs more space than 30". NKBA recommendations are 36x36 as a minimum shower size, as well as for a toilet or vanity. 30" is pretty darn tight for adults.

Is there space that can be stolen from elsewhere to make this larger? Do the rough ins already exist? Where? What size?

your example photo is likely 12-30" bigger room.

plan for thicknesses of walls+tile+thinset+mortar bed or backer board. Subtract 1-1/4"+ for drywall.

Is this a better layout if we decide shower is the safer option? 36“ vanity, 3’x4’ shower 30” for toilet. Plumbing is in for the sketch above, but for tub/showe, not shower only.

3' x 4' shower will work. We've lived in our house 25 years with a shower stall that measures 27"x 41" and that is tight, but we have survived. 36" x 48" would feel cavernous to us. It's all in your perspective. And this year we will be remodeling to make that shower stall larger. :-)

If it's primarily grandparent use, you need a little more room and good locations for grab bars. Toilet looks tight...and can you make the door swing out? That might be important if someone falls inside.

I'll second North Texan's suggestion of grab bars.

Use cement board for the shower walls, whether tiled or using a shower wall system. Will the shower controls be located on the same wall as the toilet and sink? If so, consider tall sliding glass panels in a low double track for the shower enclosure so that the shower controls can be reached from outside, turned on and the temperature adjusted before anyone steps into the shower. Use small textured 1” mosaic tiles for the shower floor because the sanded grout will make the floor non-slip and safer for the grandparents. Install safety bars just inside the shower entry at the far end and another safety bar about 30” from the controls. Safety first!

Check your dimensions and your math. Because your drawings are good (excellent use of graph paper and toilet template,) I detect a problem. You haven’t accounted for wall thickness in your first example, and in your second, you’re showing some wall thickness, but that 36x48 shower is going to end up closer to 30x42 on the inside. I would not wedge a toilet into a 30” space for grandparents. That’s code minimum.

And are you sure you have 6’ and not 60”? Most tubs are 5’ long, so unless there’s some extra wall at one end of your existing tub, you may have less space than you think.

And good advice about grab bars and door swings above. Good luck :-)

You can buy 30” x 60” shower pans and then use a shower curtain. This allows the user more width when showering - not bumping elbows into glass panels.

Use a 24” wide vanity, and you will have at least 32” space for the toilet (16” O.C.).

Kohler makes a nice flat topped grab bar for shower walls, but needs blocking/tapcons for anchoring in wall.

A vanity needs 15” on center, as well as a toilet. That is code minimum for both. And a shower needs to be 32” as a minimum. The only way this can work is if additional space is added and the plumbing gets moved around. Even then, it will be tight to be usable by grandparents and a potential walker, etc.

My parents are not elderly or immobile, so it's only for them to use when they come in town to visit, but I may consider some ADA requirements - Thank you all for the information and advice - very helpful!

Scottie Mom - I'm showing my clear finished dimensions in the sketch - 7'-4" clear by 6'-0" clear (not 60"). I'm leaving about 4" for partial height partition at shower on toilet side, so I'll have about 2'-8" for toilet, and about 36" clear inside dimension in the shower in that direction, and 4'-0 clear inside shower in the opposite direction + partition and then 36" vanity = 7'-4".

Partition walls with finished tile surfaces will be more like 5”. Unless it’s a plumbing wall that needs 2x6 construction and that will more like 7”.

GD is correct. You're close, but inches do matter. I was more concerned about it with your first scheme, where you only allowed 1" for the shower wall. And remember that if the room is not currently tiled, you'll be losing some width. Good thing it's 6' in the short direction, but what you really need is another 8" in the long direction.

I see what you mean, Scottie Mom. It is tight and with the code outlined above, it looks like I can't use a 24" vanity against the wall with the door because it leaves only 12" clear from the center line of the vanity. What about moving the vanity between the toilet and tub - so tile (.5"), 30" tub with curtain, 27" vanity, toilet 30", tile (.5") = 88" (I'll have 90). Not ideal, but I do have 6' of depth so the toilet will be farther back away from the door than if the bathroom were only 5' wide. We may be able to gain about 4" by moving the wall with the door out toward the hallway. That would be ideal, but we already had electrical put in that wall - so weighing pros/cons. Want to make a decision we won't be sorry about later.

The Cook's Kitchen The rough-ins exist but they are off, so will have to be moved regardless, although I imagine it's more to actually swithc locations of fixtures vs. moving rough-in a few inches. How odd is it to have the vanity between tub / toilet?

Thank you for the advice / help - this has been very helpful in moving forward and making decisions.