Maybe others have had good experiences but mine were not good. In Europe, several of the hotels we stayed in had curbless showers. I had to put towels down afterward to absorb the water. And in a recent rental house, we ended up using the guest bath rather than the en-suite shower because of the mess it made.

A curbless shower is not a DIY job. It is not for an inexperienced tile person. It is an expensive nice to have that needs to be installed by someone who is familiar with handicap access.

I have 2 friends who built one. They both love it. As typeandrun mentioned, it as to be done professionally. The floor need to slope towards the inside of the shower. Both of my friends said that they get just a few drops of water past the 42" mark.

I agree with Helen. Each scenario is different. There were too many complications to be able to have it done right.

I think they're a great idea, BUT they do require a relatively large space, and they require much more than average ability to get them "done right" -- we've read more than a few curbless-gone-wrong stories on this site. My personal opinion: you only NEED a 2" curb, and that's very little. Consider going with that minimum curb instead of curbless.

Would it be easier to keep clean? I don't think it would make any difference pro or con.

Yes a qualified Tile Setter is the first key. Next stick to a center drain not linear. Saves $$$ and accommodates more scenarios. Many systems available that do not require structural alterations.

@jeanarbuckle I have a curbless shower. I absolutely LOVE it. There's no need at all for any kind of curb. Indeed a curb of any height would create a potential tripping risk—the poster ^^^ notwithstanding—which is exactly why I chose curbless. Bathrooms are the most common areas of the home to have extremely injurious accidents, and I once tripped on a 2" lip. No thank you.

The water doesn't go out of the shower. I use a bathmat. That's it. Even the bathmat doesn't get more than maybe a little damp (I never even have to hang it to dry afterward).

My builder found me a white fiberglass 5x3 curbless shower for only marginally more than a fiberglass tub. Yep, plug and play. It even included grab bars and curtain rod. I rolled my eyes 'cos I wanted something fancy, but, hey, I couldn't be happier. I spent my few extra $$ on a nice rainshower head, a hand shower, and a senior-friendly control.

Being able to stroll right in? Except for the time the puppy I had just picked up walked right in while I was showering, with me screaming at him, 'cos he got drenched, I'm so relaxed that there's no tripping hazard, it makes the whole shower thing much less anxiety-provoking (I didn't realize getting into the shower was making me anxious until I could simply walk in).

Is it difficult to clean, you ask? LMAO big time. If I wait 'til it's dry, I can use my vacuum cleaner. Snort! Every once in a while, I get the mop out and use a lil' spic and span when I'm otherwise mopping the bathroom floor. I also use the mop on the walls when the fancy strikes. Then I stand in the shower to give my fixtures a nice spritz and shine. In a word, it's insanely easy.

Mine is meant for wheelchair access, so does not have glass, but has a curtain instead. I can goof up with the handheld shower and squirt water out of the shower. My shower is a solid surface pan that sits on the floor joists (subfloor is is stalled between the joists) in order to make it level with the bathroom floor. So the design has the shower slanted to the front edge of the pan. There is a big 4” central drain inside the front edge and a half-inch deep trough that feeds to that drain along the front edge. There is a grill for this trough, but I took it off in order to keep it clean easier. Nevertheless, I once flooded the bathroom because my hair was falling out (apparently this was a “thing” during lockdown) and I showered without cleaning the drain from the previous shower first. So, it can be easy to have a slow running drain and then you should feel the water sloshing at your feet. If you ignore it, you flood. I installed a floor drain a foot and a half to two feet in front of my shower and the room floor is waterproofed and sloped to that drain. So I have a “shower” in front of my shower as insurance. Those with a shower that tilts toward a drain not at the front edge will not have this happen as easily as mine does. Sloping the bathroom floor toward the shower would help, too.

I love my curbless shower. There is a little splash outside the shower but much less than the puddle my old shower door would deposit. And I had the guys paint hydro ban on the cement board outside the entrance to the shower as security. I think at the time of construction I was living and breathing the GW bathroom forum.

We also love our curbless shower, now our shower is large about 5x5. The water stays in ours we have a glass wall but no door. I hurt my foot couple of years ago and was glad I was able to just walk in as normal, without having to put extra pressure on the foot to get over a step up threshold.

"I had the guys paint hydro ban on the cement board outside the entrance to the shower as security."

Unless the entire bath floor is waterproofed and flashed up onto the walls as it should be any overflow will go under the baseboard into the adjoining rooms or ceiling below.

No ceiling below. We’re on slab. For the amount of splash - maybe a tablespoon at most - I’m just not going to worry. Our shower walls are tiled at the entrance so really no drywall is impacted. With regard to overflow vs splash, I assume you mean a blocked drain? That’s a different situation. I keep an eye on all my drains and we have clean outs everywhere around the house. Sure, we could get a blocked drain and we would have to deal with it.

many configurations and drains can work. As many have stated it comes down to the skillset and the prep work of the qualified installer.

Still to this day when we talk about capillary stops it falls on deaf ears even in the professional tile forums :)

hire wisely , its all in the design/ prep.

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