Curbless showers are also called zero-entry showers. They are commonly used for handicap access but also can be a great design detail allowing the floor tile to flow directly into the shower area.
Curbless showers require the substrate to be recessed in the wet area to achieve proper slope to the drain.
For concrete slabs, a 3 1/2-inch recess is commonly formed when the slab is poured. If your slab doesn’t have a recessed area, or it’s not the right size, you’ll need to cut into your slab to achieve the proper depth. The cost for cutting, recessing, and repairing a slab for a recessed shower commonly costs $1000 or more.
For wood framed installations there are 2 normal scenarios:
- Your house was built with a recessed area for your shower. While you may see this in new construction, its quite rare for older homes.
- Your house has plywood on top of the joists, which is by far the most typical case. In this case you would need to remove the plywood in the wet area then recess the plywood so the top of the plywood is flush with the top of the joists.
Recessing the plywood can be accomplished with traditional framing practices or by using a Rapid Recess kit.
When creating a recessed area for a shower it is very important to consider the slope of the shower floor must meet industry standards. This video gives a detailed explanation of required slope and how to achieve it.
When the framing and plywood thickness is too thin for typical drypack, a custom foam shower base can be an excellent solution. Custom Styrofoam shower bases have no thickness requirements and allow for the thinnest assembly possible.