I would not want a bedroom closet door right next to a shower, let alone 2 closet doors. Can you move that to the nedroom and enter from their? For a curbless shower you will need to sloope the floor joists system. How is the floor constructed and can you get to the joists to work? What is the the floor joist system and have you had anyone check if altering them is possible?

I have never been a fan of closet access from the bathroom myself, but adding a door from the bedroom isn’t possible. The house has wooden joists running perpendicular to the wall with window over the tub. i guess there would be cement under the shower area; there is no basement or crawlspace underneath, so it‘s not really accessible. i’m guessing that would make the curbless shower cost prohibitive, so we may have to settle for a low curb.

If you want to keep a tub, remember that in time it will be more of a hindrance, not just to use but by its very presence. If you are planning for mobility needs requiring a curbless or low-curb shower, you are probably planning for a mobility assistance device, such as a walker or rollator, or more. It is hard to maneuver around a tub. You might consider a tub with less deck behind it. I hope you plan to change the door swing to the other side, too.

I definitely want a soakining tub, but not freestanding and not bulky. Something more like this drop in one. Good point about the door swing! Forgot about that door on drawing.

If you're planning for reduced mobility, you need a larger toilet room. Pocket doors don't work well. Be sure doorways are adequately wide. (Edited to say, this is incorrect. See my later post.)

I've made the entrance to your walk in from the bedroom. You don't lose all that much functional hanging space, because the corners of a U shaped walk in closet are not easily accessible.

Your OP is at odds - there is a lot you'd like to do, but the cost keeps coming up. So that seems to be grounding the direction this project heads.

With that in mind, I would just keep it to improving accessiblity, this list may cost from $30K-$50K just in itself (the high end dependent on what you do with the shower):

• Remove the entire toilet room wall, except leave a portion of pony wall for the adjacent vanity.
• Replace the bathroom entry swing door with a pocket door.
• As you suggest, remove a closet door to expand the shower footprint, though unless you specifically need a dual head for simultaneous partner use, the existing location can remain. The wall can remain exactly as is, but the slab will need to be inset for a zero-entry. The window should remain as it is too, because the short height is trying to be above the direct line of water.

Thank you for the responses; you all certainly have given me a lot to consider, which is exactly what I am here for.

@Maksym Osovik I will try the layout tool you linked and play with some layouts.

@partim unfortunately the closet entry cannot be changed to be from the MBR. The toilet room is giving me a headache; I will need to have an acceptable footprint in place, or at least plan for easy conversion to an ADA toilet if it becomes necessary in the future. It's giving me a real headache!

@3onthetree your 1st sentence couldn't be more accurate. And if I really want to plan ahead, I think I will need to expand the width of of the toilet area into the adjancent vanity area. It's hard for me to imagine breaking the project into accessibility features without remodeling the entire bath. But you are right that I need to focus on priorities. I think the shower is my #1 priority. I really need to make a decision if I want to put the effort into making the entire toom ADA compliant at this time.

shower bench with accessible shower head

I'd consider, instead, a teak stool, which can be moved around as it suits your needs. My mom recently had shoulder surgery, and I had to help her wash her hair: What worked SO WELL was placing a small stool in the center of the shower. She'd get herself settled on the stool, and I'd step in behind her, allowing her to maintain privacy /dignity. This practical set-up would be impossible with a bench.

Except for the bench, you've drawn the shower exactly as I would have. A couple thoughts about the shower:

- Be sure you have a shower head that can reach the far corners of this large shower for cleaning.

- Place your shower controls on the side near the door. This will allow you to turn on the water without subjecting your body to the initial cold spray.

- A zero-degree entry shower is highly impractical in a remodel (at any cost) because you'll have to change the flooring /support. Do consider that a minimal shower curb is only 2" -- that is what you'll almost certainly end up using.

- If you're not spending $$$ on a curbless shower, consider using that money on a Body Dryer instead -- it'll blow you dry, elminating the need for a body towel (though you might still need one for your hair).

- Do consider where your shower towels will hang. I hope you're considering a shower curtain, which is so much more practical than a door, but IF a door is in the works, be sure it won't be hinged in such a way as to block you from your towels.

- With the shower you're considering, I'd want to see a long ledge for toiletries /always allow yourself more space than you anticipate needing.

- If you don't frost the window, consider glass blocks. They've come a long way since the 70s /can be had in colors and patterns today. They're waterproof (no wood like most windows) and are reasonably priced and low-maintenance.

safety grab bars

Definitely put these in while you're building the shower. Adding them later will almost certainly ruin your waterproofing.

change toilet room door to pocket door

Solid no. If you're looking to make this bathroom elder-friendly, do away with the toilet-in-a-closet altogether. Keep it where it is, as moving a toilet is real money, but put it behind a pony wall. The pony wall can also provide storage, as most elderly people need storage AT the toilet -- and I mean medical items, not just toilet paper. Maybe add an extra foot or so to the side of the existing toilet -- for storage.

Before you consider a "comfort height" toilet, consider your own size. Speaking only for myself, I am very small, and I hate using one of those taller-toilets at someone's house -- they're uncomfortable for my size now, and I see that my mother has "shrunk" a couple inches, so how small will I be in the future?

We are extremely worried about what a remodel will cost for this kind of square footage

You're not wrong in your thinking. I mean, replacing my 4x3 shower was more than 10K, and it was nothing fancy. Ways to keep the cost low:

- Keep the toilet in its current location.

- Go with laminate flooring. It's warmer and softer underfoot than tile, and if you drop something or fall, you're less likely to experience a break. I much prefer the feel of laminate in my kitchen to the tile in my bathroom. Laminate is also more waterproof, as it has no grout lines.

- While we're talking floors, you mentioned radiant flooring. They're very nice -- I love my niece's kitchen floor. Do consider that the floors require 15-20 minutes to warm up; consider a switch by your bed that'll allow you to "turn on the floor" before leaving your bed. And if -- like my grandmother -- your throw rugs start throwing you to the floor, you'll appreciate that radiant flooring.

Yes, you can have radiant flooring under laminate.

- Stick with a single sink flanked by a nice set of drawers, one for each spouse. This isn't just a budget option -- a single sink is plenty, and it cuts down on cleaning and gives you ample space for countertop and a linen closet. This is a macabe thought, but consider that one day one of you will be widowed /alone in this house -- consider how that second sink would feel.

- Go with a simple linen closet rather than a cabinetry linen tower. My linen closet is only 2' wide, but it holds so much: Hamper on the lower part (and furnace filters hide behind it), one shelf for toiletries, one shelf for towels, one shelf for extra blankets. More would be nice, but this is adequate.

- Go with a DEEP tub with a small footprint. A deeper tub is wonderful, whereas a larger tub just takes longer to fill and cools off more quickly. I mentioned above that I am very small -- as such, I would much dislike a long tub, as I'd "slide down" -- you must consider your own size as you choose a tub. You have ample space for a tub, but you should keep it small, too, because of the walkway in front of it.

- Your shower isn't a standard size, so it'll need to be all tile, which is more expensive than a shower pan -- but do it right the first time. Be sure the waterproofing is done right. Don't get snooty about your tile -- it won't really show that much inside a shower at the far end of the bath; instead, go with a simple, inexpensive tile from a big-box store. I did that in my hall bath more than a decade ago, and it's still serving me well.

- Likewise, opt for simple lighting and hardware from a big box store. Things like vanity hardware can feel SO VERY IMPORTANT when you're choosing them, but -- when the whole thing is put together -- these things blend together. So stick with simple chrome, which will match everything and will be available in the future when something needs replacing, and call it a day.

I have never been a fan of closet access from the bathroom myself

I'm ambivalent about that topic.

An ADA compliant toilet is when the centerline is 16 to 18 inches away from the side wall, which it looks like you already have, since the room is 4 ft wide less the depth of the 2 walls. A grab bar is easy to install now or later. At a future time you may want to remove the door and/or part of the wall to make it easier to enter.

Choose floor tiles with a good slippage rating, R11 or higher. Order an extra box or two of tiles so you have spares for future changes.

As far as pocket doors, in order for these to be ADA compliant there are specific requirements for increased door width, force reqired to open them, and handle height. That's because a pocket door needs to stick out, into the door opening, so the handle can be grabbed, so a regular door opening is too narrow..

Not that I don't believe you, but I am just curious as to why it is not possible to move the walk in closet entry to the master bedroom.

It is a large bathroom. The least expensive way to redux is to keep all plumging in the same place.

A free standing tub will free up some visual bulk.

Shower could extend accross the room but its not intexpensive.

Maybe eliminate the tub and expand the closet into the shower space moving everything together.

Talk to a local contractor for budget numbers.

@partim here's a drawing of the MBR layout adjacent to the bath and closet. There are only 2 walls that will fit a king bed. We previously had the bed on the window wall and it was terrible as the bed blocked the entry from the living room and one had to walk around the bed to get to the bath. Guess the house has some design issues that we didn't really pay enough attention to when we bought it. Love the house though, so no regrets on the purchase.

@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor I had briefly considered adding closet to shower end of space, but with your comment, I’m going to give it more consideration. It would reduce the footprint of the bathroom, and extra storage is always nice. i’m not ready to give up on a bathtub yet, so will need to see if i can still wok in tub and shower somehow.

In desperation, i finally resorted to AI to draw out 2 concepts. For now I will focus on the shower area, and keep the toilet room alone. The image with the white cabinets is the budget option, keeping everything in same locations, but extending shower out one foot to be 4’ x 5’. The other option removes a closet door and extends the shower the width of the room. The linen cabinet is relocated to be next to the toilet room, and the 2 vanities are replaced with a double vanity next to the shower. For both concepts we will add grab bars, and the flooring will be slip resistant with radiant heating.

I've read comments on Houzz where people have been unhappy with their new large shower, because they get cold. A smaller shower warms up quickly.

@partim that is an important concern! We like hot showers, and our existing shower does the job very well. It would be a shame to go to all of the expense to expand the shower across the room if I showers turned out to be cold.

I find AI looks good, but I would want to know the dimensions you are working with.

What is the finished size of tub with surround. What are the dimensions of the cabinets and vanity?

If you do the smaller shower, how much room for the walkway in front of the shower.

@Karenseb this is dimension check for the smaller shower:

With the 4-foot-deep shower, that changes the estimated clear walkway in front of the shower to:

81" − 48" = 33"

So you would have approximately 2 ft 9 in. (33 inches) of walkway clearance.

For the larger shower:

Here are the current working dimensions for the bathroom design:

AreaDimensionsRoom6'9" wide × approximately 20' longShower5' deep × 6'9" wide (60" × 81")Double vanity84" long × approximately 22" deepBathtub40" wide × 74" long

The 6'9" shower dimension spans the full width of the room at that end. It remains curbless with full-width frameless glass, the long niche, bench, and frosted window.

One important distinction: the shower, vanity, and tub dimensions are dimensions we've explicitly established in the design. The ~20' room length is an estimate from the layout/renderings, rather than a confirmed field measurement. Before cabinetry or construction is ordered, I would verify the actual room length and wall-to-wall dimensions on site.

You are right about AI dimension rendering. i changed the double vanity to be 84” long, which i know will fit. But AI initially made it 60” long. there is nothing in the generated images to indicate a 2’ difference in length.

2 questions:

1. how much walkway clearance should there be if we do the smaller shower?

2. i estimated 40” x 74” for new tub and deck assuming the new tub would be 32” x 66”. So the tub size is a bit of a guess.

Personally, I think either of your ideas work. (I am not an expert.) My daughter's shower is a curbless 45 X 60 inch shower and feels very spacious. She does not have water escaping.

I do like the double vanity next to the left of the tub with a cabinet to the right of the tub.

My brother's shower is 5 X 7 and no door near the end. He said so far he is not cold, but they live in a warm climate.