Brian's Master Bath Remodel

[Faseb1000]

Hello Everyone,

I discovered I had a leaking shower due to improper construction methods (failed to wrap curb, no pre-slope for the vinyl liner, nail holes near the top of the pan, etc.) with results similar to Jonny22's leaky shower thread. The home was built in 2005 and I am the second owner so no recourse to get this fixed other than myself. I have done a complete tear out of the shower and tub and now looking for some advice on my rebuild.

The house is a post tension slab with beams. I am looking at flipping the location of the tub and shower in order to expand the shower space. I am trying to not move the existing drains very far so I don't have to cut the slab near tension lines and keep the costs down. I am planing on using Schluter Kerdi board for all the shower walls and tub surround and a ditra membrane for the bathroom floor. I also plan on doing a mud shower pan with a linear drain. I have attached pictures of my new tub/shower design and would like some feedback on the following questions and welcome any other feedback on this project.

1. The new shower location will have a fairly large window in it (used to be over the tub). The window is a double pane aluminum frame. From what I read I will need to replace with with a vinyl window or glass block. Just checking if that is accurate or if there is a way to keep the current window.

2. For the two pony walls I have seen examples where two 2" sheets of Kerdi board are thinnest together to create a 4" wall (see attached Kerdi Example). I would like to do this versus building wood pony walls however I worry about the structural stability of a kerdi board only pony wall. Anyone have experience with this? I would plan on toping the pony walls with a slab of granite and then finish the rest with a glass pane up to 8'

3. I would prefer to make this shower so it doesn't require a glass door. That is you could just walk in and out. I still need a curb though. With my new design I have the linear drain near the shower entrance which is about 4' from the shower heads. Is this sufficient distance from the shower opening to the shower heads to keep the water in the shower without a door and avoid significant splashing out of the shower?

4. In order to get more shower depth I did not put the shower curb at a Neo angle (45 degrees). As long as I don't put a door on the shower is there anything wrong with having non symmetrical angles?

5. I am planning on using a kerdi linear offset drain with a tillable cover to limit the amount of slab cutting that is needed to connect the new shower. The back of the shower is the ideal placement however placing the drain along the shower bench would also work. Which do you think would be the better location? Also do I need to have the linear drain cover the entire stretch or it is ok/better to have the drain only cover 2/3rds of the length of the shower?

6. For the tub my wife wants a Bain Ultra 72" Amma Freestanding Airtub. Any experience with this tub or suggestions on something similar that hopefully costs less

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.
Brian

[ss3964spd]

Welcome to the site, Brian.

1) From your sketch up, given the size of the current window, that window, or any other is going to be subject to a lot of splashing and slinging of soaps and shampoos. I'd be very hesitant to use any operable window with such a low sill height, it's going to be a maintenance....um, challenge. At the very least I'd replace it with glass block, but that also creates a bit of a sealing challenge. If you can do it I'd replace it with another of the same width but much shorter - raising the sill height to over 5'.

2) You'd certainly be able to anchor the foam pony walls to the foam wall board - and that connection would be plenty strong. Anchoring it to the concrete floor with thinset, and then sealing it with Kerdi band to the mud shower pan covered with membrane, would also be pretty stout I think.

3) I think you can expect at least some splashing through the shower opening. I base this on showering in a standard 5' tub (while my own MBR renno is still in progress) and noting the far end is a little wet. I think you could mitigate it to some extent by reducing the pressure to the shower heads, or using rain shower heads (more volume/less pressure).

4) None that I can see.

5) To me it makes more sense to have the drain closer to the shower heads. Doing so might also help with the splashing since there just won't be as much water on the floor near the entrance. I don't have any experience with LD's, someone who does will be better placed to guide you.

6) Well, good luck with that.

[Faseb1000]

Thanks for the feedback.

1. When you say operable are you meaning that the window can open/close? If that is what you mean then the current window is not operable, it is a solid two pane window with a fake stain glass overlay. If I am replacing it then it would be with a one piece frosted glass two pane vinyl window or glass block. As far as moving the sill up I don't see that as a good option as the house is brick veneer and the costs to modify the opening will probably add up quickly. Also the window on the side of the house which faces out toward the street. I've attached a picture of the current window to better illustrate what I am dealing with.

3. Good point on the size of the shower. 4' seems like a lot of space until you have water splashing around. I am ok with a little splashing out of the shower since I am going to use ditra on the floor and sealing it to the kerdi board around the outside of the shower and tub surround. I don't really like rain shower heads so one way I thought I could decrease the chance of splashing out of the shower would be to mount the shower heads up about 7' high or maybe slightly higher so the angle of the shower head is pointing down more than angling out horizontally.

5. I agree that I would like the linear drain near the wall next to the shower head but I don't think it is feasible because I have to cut past a post tension cable and drill through a concert beam that goes down about 3 feet under the slab according to the foundation blueprints. The existing drain is just on the shower side of the pony wall dividing the tub and shower next to the shower bench. By doing a linear offset drain I can reduce how much slab that needs to be cut. I was thinking that with a linear drain spanning the entire back that there shouldn't be much pooling/standing water near the drain. However I don't have experience with linear drains either.

Thanks

[PC7060]

Brian,

This new product series by Schluter may be just the ticket to minimize slab cutting.

https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us.../KERDI_DRAIN-H

[ss3964spd]

1) Yea, the brick veneer does complicate things. While good that the current window isn't operable, much less concern with water/soaps/shampoos getting into the tracks and seams that big window facing the street at ground level, with direct line of sight into the shower, pretty much demands replacement for anyone not wanting to be on display. Given where it's located, an equally large all glass block or frosted glass pain still might not provide adequate privacy. I feel like with the lights on inside and when it's dark outside shadows and silhouettes might still be visible. A good brick layer would fix you right up, and the re-framing inside is straight forward.

3) Raising the heads will help, but reducing the pressure will help more. If you have a standard 5' tub/shower combo test it out.

5) Have to defer to others with experience.

[Faseb1000]

Thanks for the suggestion on the drain. I think that I do want to stick with a linear drain though so I can do large formate tiles for the floor.

[Faseb1000]

For the pony walls do you need to slope the top 5 degrees like you do for curbs? I am thinking yes but just wanted to check. Thanks

[Lou_MA]

Yes