Walk-In and Curbless Showers in Phoenix, AZ
Showers that are easy to step into now and later, with grab bars, a seat and a handheld shower built in.
Arizona ROC #366903 · Licensed, Bonded & Insured
A walk-in shower has a low curb or none at all, a wide opening and no tub to climb over. A curbless shower takes the curb away completely, so the shower floor is flush with the bathroom floor. Both are easier to use as you get older, and both are easiest to build during a remodel, while the walls and floor are open.
Low curb or no curb
A low curb is the simpler build. The curb holds the water in, the shower floor slopes to the drain, and the bathroom floor stays as it is.
A curbless shower needs the shower floor to sit lower than the rest of the room, so the slope starts at the bathroom floor. On a Phoenix slab, that means recessing the concrete under the shower. If the slab is post-tensioned, it gets scanned before anyone cuts. A long, narrow drain along one wall is often used with curbless showers. It lets the floor slope one way, toward a single line, instead of toward a drain in the middle.
Keeping the water in
People worry that water will run out of a curbless shower. The fix is in the design. The floor slopes away from the entry. The drain sits where the water goes. The shower is big enough, or has a glass panel in the right spot, that the spray doesn't reach the opening.
Built in for later
The features that matter most for aging in place are cheapest to add while the walls are open:
- Blocking for grab bars. Solid wood goes behind the tile wherever a grab bar might go, now or later.
- A handheld shower on a slide bar. It works sitting or standing.
- A seat. A built-in bench or a fold-down seat.
- A valve you can reach from outside the spray. You can turn the water on without getting soaked.
- A wider opening. It leaves room for a walker or someone helping.
Floors that aren't slippery
Wet tile gets slippery. Floor tile is rated for grip, and a tile meant for a shower floor should be rated for wet areas. Small tiles on the shower floor also help, because more grout lines give your feet more to grip.
Glass and hard water
A fixed glass panel with no door is common on walk-in showers. There are no hinges to wear out and less to clean. Phoenix water leaves white spots on glass, so a quick squeegee after each shower keeps them from building up. Shower glass has to be safety glass by code.
Permits
If the drain moves or the slab gets cut, the job needs a permit, and we pull it.
Problems we fix on this page
- Shower glass cracked or shattered
- Want new frameless shower glass
- Hard water spots etched into shower glass
How it starts
Send photos of the bathroom and tell us who will be using the shower. Levi comes out to look, checks the slab and the drain, and talks through what's possible. You get a written estimate before anything starts.
Questions
- Can grab bars be added without a remodel?
- Yes. A grab bar can be mounted into a stud, or onto an anchor made and rated for grab bars. It's a repair visit, not a remodel.
- Do grab bars have to look institutional?
- No. They come in the same finishes as faucets and towel bars, and some towel bars are rated to work as grab bars.
- Is a curbless shower worth it if no one needs it yet?
- It's easier to build during a remodel than to add later, because it means recessing the slab. If you plan to stay in the house, it's worth pricing both ways.
Related pages
Bathroom remodeling
Full bathroom remodels by a licensed Class B contractor. Levi runs the job from demo to the last fixture.
Tub-to-shower conversion
Swapping a tub nobody uses for a walk-in shower, and what it takes on a slab.
Home Maintenance & Repair
The whole list, one fixed price: caulking, hardware, detectors, hanging shelves and mirrors, and the small fixes that add up.
Thinking about a bathroom?
Send a few photos and tell us what's bothering you. We usually reply within minutes, and always within 24 hours.