I have that exact setup and it’s fine, but with any zero entry shower you have to waterproof the entire bathroom floor.

The open doorway would be approx 30" wide to allow a wheelchair if ever needed

Thoughts:

- If you're not in a wheelchair now and don't have a degenerative disease, your chances of being permanently wheelchair bound just due to aging are slim.

- Regardless, a 30" opening isn't really enough for a wheelchair.

- Plan instead for good, solid grab bars (which do cut into your space more than you expect) and plan a space that can hold a hospital shower chair.

The walls outside the shower are not tiled, but I'm wondering if the wall near the opening should be tiled, just in case.

Yes, because water will spill out of this set-up.

there is a handheld shower near what would be the open end, pointing toward the main showerhead. It would need to be aimed toward the side that has glass when in use.

You'll need that for cleaning the shower.

Does 4ft of fixed glass seem like enough to prevent a wet bathroom?

No.

Fyi, we were originally planning to do a barn-style sliding door with a 30" door. There are very few options in the size we need, apparently, and it looks to me like a door that size requires some kind of guide or track on the bottom, and in a zero entry shower that won't work.

Did you consider a shower curtain? They'll give you complete access to the shower, regardless of any walker, wheelchair or hospital shower chair you may need in the future. They're also easier to keep clean than glass, and they add color, pattern, texture to your bathroom. Go with a floor-to-ceiling curtain, and it'll look classy.

Other thoughts:

- You should have vertical grab bars just inside + just outside the shower. Then a horizontal grab bar running the width of the back wall. And a smaller vertical grab bar under each shower head.

- Consider where you'll hang towels near the shower.

- Since you're concerned with handicapped access, consider a Tornado Body Dryer. https://www.tornadobodydryer.com/ 

@HALLET & Co, I'm checking on the waterproofing, They were doing the shower floor last time I was there.

@Mrs. Pete, that body dryer is cool! I do have a lot of grab bars planned and space for a movable bench. The average wheelchair these days is 25" wide, so 30" should be enough for that. I'm not thinking it would be a permanent thing, but it could be a temporary need (or a walker/rollator). Unfortunately a curtain will not work with a zero entry shower; then the whole bathroom will get wet. I did opt for a shower curtain in the bathroom that has a tub-shower, even though the architects spec'd a sliding door. (I can't stand sliding tub doors--you can't sit on the edge of the tub, and the tracks are hard to clean.)

@LH CO/FL, that's a cool set-up. How long is your shower? It would be harder for me to do a hinged door because it either opens toward the toilet or toward a window, that's why I wanted to do a sliding door. But hinged might be the only thing that works.

For planning ahead/aging in place, you really need a 36" opening to accommodate a wheelchair.

Agree with the concern about 30 inches. I have never seen that dimension being enough for a wheelchair.

I have a zero entry and wood floors in my bathroom. You do not need a wet bathroom. I have lived here for 5 years and it is not an issue in our setup. There is somewhat of a vestibule/foyer that is tiled. The dimensions are a bit larger than described by not huge - probably 3.5x7 shower floor.

I like our solution for a lot of these problems. We have a 4.5 foot wall with glass on top. Much less to worry about getting clean and allows for shower controls on that wall. Also allows some semblance of privacy if you care. Glass is also wicked expensive. Good glass doors are also expensive. So our zero entry 1/2 wall setup is actually fairly cost effective. We did not tile the walls to our vestibule and it is fine but we should have used tile baseboards. Not terrible but at 5 years I see a bit of swelling - I think they are MDF - double bad. But I am the only one that can see at 5 years and it is just on the sides right next to the showe.

Figuring the entrance width and shower width requires including the easy turning radius for the wheelchair. The characteristics of water use and stream direction will determine how water travels.

The ADA guidelines spec 32" for a doorway for a shower, and 30x60 interior shower dimensions. My interior dimensions are 40.5x79.5. If doorway is 30", that should work for most situations, and I'm comfortable with it. Also, I should have mentioned, there is a second bathroom that has a larger shower and open area to be ADA compliant. Regarding the glass vs pony wall -- we did consider that, but the architect designed the bathroom to feel open, and putting a wall there would make the shower narrower and make the room darker and more closed off. The plumbing is already in, with the controls on the wall opposite the main shower. Looks like we might end up with a hinged door, if we can hinge it both ways.

A few years ago I designed a house for my wife's brother-in-law and his wife. I designed the guest bathroom (the one we will use when we visit) with a shower with a shower curtain. They changed the shower to have a glass wall and glass door. Now when I visit I have to squeegee off the damn shower glass every time I take a shower. It is a good thing I like them.

@Mark Bischak, Architect, DH has a glass door shower, and when I asked him how often he squeegees it he gave me the look like he has better things to do with his time. It looks pretty clean though?

"Fyi, we were originally planning to do a barn-style sliding door with a 30" door. There are very few options in the size we need, apparently, and it looks to me like a door that size requires some kind of guide or track on the bottom, and in a zero entry shower that won't work."

I believe this is incorrect. If you look at the installation instructions, you see that the part that you refer to as a "guide" or "track" is actually the Anti-Splash Threshold (part #9 on page 5). This part is installed on page 14. My sliding door has a similar part but it is there only to prevent water from going under the door, hence its name "Anti-Splash Threshold". The door is guided by the Bottom Guide (part #11 on page 5). The door does not rest on or even touch the Anti-Splash Threshold. In the case of a zero-entry shower, this part would simply be left out.

I would only want a fully-enclosed shower. Otherwise it's just too cold. I'd also want the controls on the same side as the shower head and hand shower. My shower is only 60" long. In a 79" shower, the controls would be much too far away. Don't you want to be able to adjust the temperature and quickly feel the change instead of running back and forth between the spray and the controls on the other end of the shower?

Have you lived with glass before. Always squeege but I am sure water type and owner tolerance are factors.

I have pretty soft water but not at all tolerant. Why have glass if it doesn't look good?