Honestly? Messy...

Just my opinion, but I don't think freestanding tubs are meant for comfortable showering...

I hear that, Sweeby, and appreciate you weighing in. I am in a bit of a quandry, with this being a guest/main floor bath and no tub in the master. I want both a soaking tub (you know, deeper than 12 inches) and a reasonable shower for guests. So not much showering, but the room is too small for both. Free standing to help make the room look less cramped.. Open to ideas at this point, and, as always, respect your opinion.

You don't say how large your bathroom is, but I've always thought this was a very clever way to accomplish what you want in a tiny condo bath (from poster MiamiBeach over at ikeafans. If you search the blogs you can find details.)

{{gwi:1437014}}

Glad to see this post. My architect has suggested this arrangement, and I am unsure about it. We are creating an age in place bathroom, one that has a wheelchair accessible shower with grab bars and a walk in tub. So that as we age, these fixtures will be there before we need them. Apparently when you open the doors of walk in tubs they drip water on the floor, so being in a "wet room" solves the water issues. While I can understand the practicality of this arrangement, I was concerned it would look strange. Nice to hear your thoughts on the arrangement.

I am aware of the drawbacks of a walk of tub. Unfortunately limited mobility makes it increasingly necessary. We are buying a model that has one of the fastest, fill and drain rates and we are installing a Turbo Body Dryer (like a wall mounted hair dryer for the body) I have learned that walk in tubs are not something you want to cut costs on, the cheaper models have a lot of issues. Our tub is costing a ridiculous $10,000+. I anyone had told me I would spend 10,000 dollars on tub I would have thought they were crazy.

I think it would be cool. I rented a place with a clawfoot tub shower and I know what you mean about the curtain sticking. I'd do it in a heartbeat - and the curtain could become a wonderful decorative element placed that way - it frames the tub at that point. The only annoying part is getting in and out of the tub for a shower - but if you got a low-slung freestanding (not a raised clawfoot) it might fare you better.

A blueprint might be helpful?

Ooohhh, it's exciting to see all the action here. I had a tile guy come out today and we discussed the logistics of a wet room, including the effect it will have on the tub plumbing (out of the wall instead of up through the floor to minimize leaks). But here are some details:

The room is long and narrow, 7 feet wide by almost eleven feet long. Single door at the narrow end, no windows, and it must also house the stackable washer and dryer. I will try to get a plan posted if there is any interest, but it is a pretty basic rectangle.

Because the room is small I like the visual of a free standing tub, with placement planned across the far end of the room. Sink and toilet will be on opposite walls in the next section, and the washer and dryer snug in the corner next to the door.

Cloudbase, the real reason for the tub is that there is no tub in the master or anywhere on the main floor, and I want a tub I can soak in. Its use as a shower will be limited to house guests. So they will still have a bit of a struggle getting in and out...or I can share my shower, if the guests are old enough or decrepit enough :)

Writersblock, I have seen a similar arrangement to that and agree, it is a nice way to combine the two. Unfortunately there just isn't room in this room.

If I have to, I can bite the bullet and put a more shower-friendly arrangement across that end of the bathroom. But I have no reason (no real time pressure, and other than the counter top that impales every person who walks in the room there are no immediate structural issues) to not think about all the possible ways to solve the problems of the tiny bathroom. So while the wet room may ultimately not be the way we go I thought I would toss it out there to see what people had done/not done.

Current Update: As Sweeby stated so eloquently, just too messy... I was leaning away from the wet room since it would limit my plumbing choices among other things. Then I brought my cousin (who built her own house, is an engineer, and chews each bite of food 18 times. She is careful, thoughtful, and has a good eye for aesthetics) over to look at the various issues surrounding the new design. Not sure why this hadn't occurred to me, but there will be "tiff" in the water that is on the floor and since this is the guest bath it wouldn't just be my tiff on the floor. So, as usual, Sweeby had it right from the beginning: Too Messy.

So now I am back to looking for a deep enough, wide enough tub...Thank you all.

The plumbing for what you propose is fairly straight forward, I don't see any worry over plumbing coming up through the floor in a wet room. It's done often.

While there are other materials available, using Ditra on the floor and then using something along the lines of a Kerdi pipe collar (Kerdi-M) or equivalent where the plumbing stub outs exit the floor makes everything watertight.

I have a tub, a shower, and a floor drain that is invisible. The drain is hidden but it is there. The floor is sloped but doesn't look sloped. This was built before channel / linear drains became a new thing that apparently one can do.... I remember all the naysayers over at the world's friendliest tile forum who "advised" me not to build it all this way... In the end i got what i wanted, and everyone was happy.

post a floor plan.

You guys are KILLIN me! And yet, I am sort of happy about that...

Mongo, I have had a couple of leaks into my basement for other reasons and am not wanting to increase the risk down the road. Would plumbing in the floor be good for the long haul?

Davidro, do you have pictures somewhere? I like the idea of the floor drain and a channel might be good for a couple of reasons.

Still need to confine the mess, maybe with a short dam...

Would plumbing in the floor be good for the long haul?

Well, plumbing is plumbing. It's often brought up through non-wetroom floors "out in the open" for freestanding tubs. Bringing it up through a membraned wetroom floor is really no challenge whatsoever with regards to proper waterproofing, especially with the materials available today.

As far as it being good for the long haul, in my opinion that's more of a design consideration in terms of the room design changing or the tub fixture itself begin swapped for something else, and then the floor plumbing being in the "wrong place", versus a leak consideration.

But that'd be a consideration for any plumbing installation; wall plumbing, floor plumbing, ceiling plumbing, etc.

kacihoward, you wrote about the open door of a walk-in tub dripping water on the floor. If you're not aware, you can get a tub with an in-swing door too. There are advantages to both, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Mongoct--Thanks for the info. I was aware there are inward opening doors on walk in tubs; however, its my understanding that they cannot be opened when full. Since my husband has already had one stroke it is essential to be able to open the door in a medical emergency. Which is why we are considering an institutional model. while more expensive, they can be opened in a medical emergency, and they fill and drain faster. Having the tub in the shower would reduce the water damage done if we did have to open the door and dump 30 gallons of water on the floor.

Thanks, Mongo. Still mulling.