A Beginner's Guide to Redoing Your Shower

The shower is the place we start – and often end – our days. And modern bathroom showers have come a long way from being a way to wash off quickly to a place to unwind and relax. Redoing your shower is a quick way to upgrade this relaxing experience to a spa-like experience with new generation showerheads, thermostatic valves, body sprays set, steam shower setup, or frameless glass panels to invite natural light and show-off tiled walls and exposed shower risers.

Remodeled showers can quickly turn the bathroom into your favorite place in the house. But redoing bathroom showers needs significant cost, design, and aesthetic considerations. Here are some things you need to consider before redoing your shower:

How Much Does a Shower Remodel Cost?

Shower remodeling is a significant investment, not considering the water bill for the remodeled shower. Generally, a shower remodel is costlier – per square foot – than any other part of the house. This is because of the pricy plumbing fittings and the expertise required to make bathrooms waterproof, well-lit, and ventilated. An experienced contractor can help you estimate the cost of remodeling and recommend how to remodel your shower to save money.

How Big Should Your Shower Be?

One of the space-efficient solutions for a decent-sized shower is to take a bathtub alcove as a reference to create a 3 by 5 feet shower space. Even a 3 by 3 feet square works well for a shower, as going wider than 42 inches wastes space.

If you are planning to model a shower big enough for 2, you can put showerheads at both ends if you have at least 60 inches in length. But make sure the shower controls are easy to reach from inside and outside the shower for a relaxing shower experience, and turn the water on without getting soaked in the process.

Determine Your Drain Location

If you are remodeling the shower without changing its size and shape, you can keep the drain where it is, which will save you money. Additionally, for a standard size and shape footprint, you can use a prefab shower pan – pre-sloped towards the drain – to save time and money and achieve a high-end look. Moving the drain can cost you between $300 and $600; a new drain with a horizontal outlet and elevation mechanism can allow you to locate the replacement drain within 3 feet of your existing drain pipe.

Two Ways to Waterproof Your Shower

You must cover the shower walls and floor with waterproof materials before laying down tiles. You can waterproof your shower using two methods:

Mortar Bed + Membrane

This old-school method involves packing a custom-soldered copper pan with a thick bed of mortar, providing a stable substrate for the tiles. However, you must apply two coats of the two-part liquid waterproofing membrane on the mortar bed before tiling. And walls need a skim-coat of thin-set twice. This is a more time-consuming waterproofing method, needing three days, with wait times.

Prefab Foam Components

This waterproofing method uses lightweight foam wall and floor panels and curb assembly to waterproof the showers. These prefab foam components come covered with waterproof thin-set-compatible membrane, allowing contractors to prep a 3 by 3 feet stall in six hours and begin tiling.

Types of Shower Doors

Frameless glass doors are widely popular when remodeling modern showers. And you have an abundance of choices when it comes to door styles. Some popular shower door styles are:

Open and Shut

Creating an airy feel, hinges allow the glass door to swing open and shut. You can adjust the hinges to let the door swing into the shower enclosure to contain dripping water.

Spray Screen

Suitable for tight spaces, a hinged or stationary panel can suffice as a spray screen (or splash guard).

Space-Saving Bifold

Folding doors are a suitable solution where space restraints cannot accommodate door swings or fixed panels.

Barn-Door Style

This sliding door eliminates the door swings, allowing the door to move on wheel tracks to meet a fixed panel and save space.

Window Panel

These swinging or sliding doors mimic the aesthetic of factory windows with industrial black grids.

No Shower Door

With no curb or door to accommodate, this style makes efficient use of a small space; and the ceiling-high glass wall invites natural light in the remodeled shower.

But no matter what door style you choose, just remember clear glass is prone to water spotting and take necessary precautions.

Barrier-Free Shower Enclosures

Barrier-free shower enclosures not only accommodate small spaces but enhance the shower space as well. They give you a spa-like luxurious feel. Just keep in mind to:

1. Lower the framing under the shower pan or raise the floor outside the shower
2. Position the drain in the farthest corner of the door
3. Extend the pan’s waterproofing membrane on adjacent walls (at least 4 inches) and beyond the pan’s edge (at least 1 foot)
4. Aim the spray away from the door

Shower Fittings

Investing in quality shower fittings can give you the desired look with the best relaxing experience. Some things to consider when choosing shower fittings are:

Weight Matters

Solid cast-bronze or brass fittings last longer and have fewer problems than plastic lightweight parts. Additionally, valves with ceramic-disc cartridges stand up better to gritty minerals in water than older washer-less cartridges.

Suss Out the Showerhead

Look for showerheads with an EPA WaterSense label, which dispenses 2 gallons of water per minute or less for maximum sense of drench. Showerheads that use a pressure compensating mechanism for a fuller spray – like air infusion, window-wiper-style motion, spiraling spray, or crisscrossing patterns – stimulate an experience of heavy rain. These showerheads, with easy-to-clean nozzles and spray controls, are easy to work and can give a luxurious experience.

Consider a Shower Head – Hand Shower Combo

Hand showers are handy for targeted sprays and can be very useful when cleaning walls. You can use the combo fittings to use existing valves for the hand shower and toggle between the shower head and hand shower or use the newer systems that allow simultaneous use.

Thermostatic Valves for Better Control

Although they add a few hundred dollars to your budget, thermostatic valves give you two controls for volume and temperature. They can automatically and quickly adjust the water temperature to your desired value (within a degree) for easy and foolproof temperature control.

Lighting and Shower Vents

UL-rated lights with sealed gaskets (like low-profile LED fixtures) can prevent moisture from entering the ceiling cavity, help you save energy, and operate for years. Separate GFCI-protected switches, with dimmer settings, outside the shower can give you optimum lighting throughout the day.

A vent fan – 1cfm airflow per square foot of shower footprint – will vent out the moisture that could otherwise damage the ceiling, walls, or bathroom mirror. Wet-rated, energy star-certified fans with GFCI protection are your best bet to have a well-ventilated shower and avoid mildew growth and peeling paint.

Meet the Wet-Area Room

Borrowing from the European idea, you can make the entire space waterproof when redoing the bathroom shower, with no shower enclosure, a completely tiled room, and a centered drain. Many modern shower remodels include a wet area, where a transparent divider separates the shower and bath area. But in addition to finishing the entire area as a shower enclosure and separate drains for the tub and shower, you may also need to incorporate a vent fan and a heating element to ensure warmth and moisture control.

Shower Wall Options

Modern shower walls are moving towards a monolithic look, with large porcelain tiles and stone slabs. These not only promote a dramatic uninterrupted look but also eliminate vulnerability to water penetration, mold and stains. Using natural stones for shower walls can be challenging, but using thinly sliced solid surfacing or engineered stones is easier to install and still give the benefits of stone slabs for a seamless look and a "grip" finish.

Slip-Proof Flooring

Slip-proof flooring is necessary for showers to prevent slips and falls, which can be dangerous and potentially result in injury. The bathroom floor can become wet and slippery when water is present, which increases the risk of slips and falls. Slip-proof flooring has a rough or textured surface that provides added traction, making it safer to walk on when the floor is wet.

No floor can be 100% slip-proof, but you can use small tiles (1 ½ - 2-inch diameters) with many grout lines or tiles with a grippy surface for higher skid resistance. Matt finish tiles that feel sandy, textured, or naturally rough can give you a higher coefficient of friction and better slip resistance.

Window Treatments

If a window is interrupting your exterior shower wall and you don't want to sacrifice the natural light by closing, you can install a waterproof fiberglass window unit and treat it the same as the house exterior. You need to:

1. Apply a waterproofing membrane to the exposed wood framing to protect the rough opening
2. Cover the window’s edges with cellular PVC trim
3. Use a mildew-resistant sealant along the trims, except the bottom edge, to allow any water to escape

And once you have treated the window, you can install a shower curtain on the window for privacy and protect the window from water.

Summary

Redoing your shower can upgrade your relaxing shower to a luxurious spa-like experience. But many struggle to understand how to remodel their shower within budget and space constraints while achieving the look they want. And the many things to consider while redoing your bathroom shower, like the size of the shower, waterproofing, shower fixtures, ventilation and lighting, slip-proofing, and window treatments, can be daunting.

RemodelYourHome is your one-stop solution for all your shower remodeling needs. With over 20 years of experience, we can help you simplify your home improvement goals and connect with the right construction experts to make the remodeling process easy and hassle-free. Get in touch with our team today to update your home and turn your dream home into a reality.

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