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ledmond

concrete shower floor? (or tile it)?

LE
11 years ago

We are planning to have hydronically heated concrete floors throughout the first floor. The shower is a walk-in, curbless. I'm trying to decide whether to tile the bathroom floor or keep it concrete for uniformity and cost savings.

If concrete, would we have it scored more for traction? (There will probably be some polishing done on the rest of the flooring, but could do less in this room. Scoring will be done to control cracking, but the pattern could vary.)

I also like the look of large format slate-looking porcelain tiles that go across the floor and then up the side of the tub (you walk through the shower to get to the tub.) It is not a large room, so I'm trying to keep from chopping it up visually. But I know people usually want more grout lines in the floor for traction. Would that still be true if the tile itself had some texture?

I hope some of this makes sense-- I may have been thinking about it too much lately!

Comments (8)

  • LE
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Mongo, you're a mindreader! Large-format charcoal with a trench drain is exactly what I was thinking of for the tile option. But I like that vanilla ice cream-colored option in your photos a lot as well.

    I had no idea that it would be tricky to make the concrete floor either level or waterproof. In the rest of the house, the concrete will be the finish floor, so I know we will have to make sure that everyone understands that up front. We have arranged to have a very meticulous contractor build our house, so will make sure this issue gets communicated to subs. We do have pretty strict building codes where we are.

    Thanks for the tips. I did see a thread a few weeks back about another manufacturer for trench drains so at least there is some competition there now,the ones I looked at last year were insanely expensive, but yes, a much better option than the trapezoidal thing.

    It is interesting how often it turns out that what seems simplest and thus less expensive actually turns out to be more labor-intensive. It is not always apparent to me going in, so it is good to hear from those "in the know."

    So it is OK to use large tiles on a shower floor?

    Thanks for taking the time!

  • MongoCT
    11 years ago

    Large tiles are fine in a shower. Try to have one with a little texture, or at least one that is not polished or slicky-smooth when wet.

    Laticrete is now marketing a trench drain if that is what you were thinking of.

  • LE
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    yes, I think that is the drain I read about here. I was looking at porcelain tiles with some slight ribs or a slate-like texture, so that should be enough. Thanks for the input.

  • phylliswallace1990
    4 years ago

    morning

    I'm just connecting to this thread

    I have a remodel that I am desperate for input

    I am wanting an infinity drain and curbless shower

    mthe area to become the shower used to be a vanity area - so it's flat m/level concrete

    how do I establish a slope on the flat concrete to get a curbless shower when I also want the bath and shower floor to b flush ?

    also i read these linear drains should extend the entire shower length and should be placed wall to wall either at the back or front of the shower ( meaning against one side - not down center of shiwer)

    xan anyone help me with this? Thank you - Phyllis

  • PRO
    Creative Tile Eastern CT
    4 years ago

    Phyllis. This thread is 7 years old. Start a new one and you will receive plenty of input.

  • phylliswallace1990
    4 years ago

    Ok how do I start one

    I nust came across this on the web

  • enduring
    4 years ago

    Phylliswallace, go to the main bathroom page:

    https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/bath

    OR

    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/bathrooms

    Both links take you to the same place. When this original thread was written, this site was called Garden Web. In 2015 Houzz bought it.

    There you will find a spot at the top that says "start you discussion". Click on that and a dialogue box will open for you to place your title of your thread where it says "enter your question". Below you will enter your statements/questions. At the bottom of the dialogue box are options to change formatting, link a picture, etc. When you submit, you will get options to link other House/GardenWeb forums that might also be applicable to your query.