Have you seen a no-threshold shower? It’s a shower that has no curb or surrounding edge to it, making it flush with the bathroom floor. You may have also heard the terms barrier-free, curbless walk-in-shower or zero threshold, but they are all the same thing. I know what you may be thinking. Where is all the water going to go? Won’t I have a flood on my hands after every shower? No! The secret to containing the water is in the drainage system. This type of shower will have either a trench drain, which is a long and narrow drain placed where the shower door would be placed, or a center drain with the floor just slightly pitched towards it.
No-threshold shower with center drain.
No-threshold showers are becoming increasingly popular in bathroom remodeling designs for their great benefits. These are the top five.
- They are accessible for family members of all ages to use – from children to grandparents! A perfect example of universal design, as it does not require stepping in or out, making it very safe to navigate. Plus it can be made large enough to accommodate a wheelchair.
- Easy cleaning! Without a curb, a barrier-free shower feels less closed in, which makes it easier to move around while cleaning and there are fewer crevices to deal with.
- You can show off a great tile design. If you like, you can continue the same flooring right into the shower.
- The bathroom will feel larger. As mentioned above, without the visual break that a shower curb would create, the eye continues to move without interruption creating a sense of a larger, more open space.
- Leave it wide open or partially close it with a glass wall. Some folks like the option of having no walls at all, while others want to create a more defined shower area. You decide based on your preference.
Here are a few more photos of a no-threshold shower that was included in one of our recent bathroom remodeling projects. What do you think?
Topics: Bathrooms, barrier free shower, Bathroom Design, bathroom remodeling, universal design, Thompson Remodeling, thompson remodeling grand rapids mi, no-threshold shower
