Hmmm....Might look at a Schluter "Kerdi" shower. Try their website at Schluter.com

The original post was 8 years ago. I'm hoping there are more people now who have steam showers. What's been your experience? We're thinking of putting one in and would appreciate any advice.

There are a few more things to consider when building a Steam-Shower, compared to regular shower.

The materials to build the walls and floors, the type of insulation and the way the steam-shower is built is important.

Also important, the type and size of the tiles and also the type of the adhesive (thin-bed-mortar).

Most important, however, is the type of water-proofing material, which must be also vapor-tight. Most regular waterproofing materials are not vapor-tight.

Most hard to find is probably an experienced and trustworthy installer who knows exactly what he is doing.

Again, a steam-shower is much different compared to a regular shower and requires higher grade materials, but also a higher degree of knowledge and experience.

Please feel free to contact me for a consultation.

Kinda regards,
Bertram Tasch

Thank you for your replies, Bertrand and June. What do you think of the prefab ones? This one - the Ariel platinum DZ972 steam shower unit features a 6KW steam generator, 20 acupressure body jets, dual rainfall shower heads and LED chromatherapy, aromatherapy and built in radios.

Thanks, I was afraid of that. My bathroom is on the ground floor, and I was planning on a curbless shower with polished concrete floors to match the rest of my flooring. Would polished concrete floors work for a steam shower?

Unfortunately June is right. There is no Plug-and-Play when it comes to tiling, and especially not when it comes to building a steam shower.

All components must be carefully selected and installed according to the particular situation.

Be aware: Most tile installer are not familiar with steam showers and don’t know its culprits!

Therefore, don’t buy anything before you have consulted several experts in that field. Also, don’t build anything or let build and thereafter look for a tile setter.

It should be a cooperation between all involved parties to avoid costly “surprises”.

To avoid that your steam shower will cost you an Arm and a Leg, get at least 3 quotes. Don’t do 15, that’s not cool at all.

Don’t take any installer seriously if he doesn’t take the time to come to your home to evaluate the situation before he gives provides with his quote.

Ask for an itemized quote. This is the only way to compare apples to apples and stay away from lump-sum quotes at all. If the contractor denies it to provide you with a detailed quote, you better stay away. Take your time to find a tile installer you can trust.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far.

I agree that many steam showers are not used/utilized very often, however, this is entirely up to the home owner. It’s definitely a health benefit when used on a regular basis, especially for the lungs.

Also, $100.000 is very high in my opinion. It can be definitely accomplished much more reasonable.

Also, to bring down the cost dramatically, the home owner can do a a lot by himself, pre-assumed he/she is “handy” and was provided with the proper knowledge. The benefit of this is also, that it’s will be done meticulously and properly, because the home owner cares about his/her investment.

Super Mom, could you please provide us with some “$$$ numbers” for the equipment?

Thank you both for your insights. The shower is 3'x7'x 6'. The equipment estimate is $4375 which includes a 7.5 kw generator with a lifetime warranty, controller, steam head, condensation pan and auto flush. My hubby has respiratory and joint ache issues, which is why we're considering this. Haven't gotten any installation estimates yet for our 3x7x6 shower, which we're building from scratch (adding the new shower to our powder room), but 100k for a bathroom would be excessive for me.

In my opinion, the actual tilework including waterproofing and all materials shouldn't costy more than $10.000 to $15,000 max. The plumbing work shouldn't exceed $5.000 to 10,000 max since you'll provide amost everything the plumber needs. I am not sure how much work it will be to build/frame the actual shower from scratch, however, I thing it shouldn't cost more than $10,000 to $15,000 including Material. So, all in all it shouldn't cost you not more than $30,000 to 45,000

Here is my suggestion for you:

When you have done your research to find the right contractor(s), request detailed estimates from them. The estimates should be AT LEAST devided in cost for labour and materials. Ask your contractor(s) how long it will take them to complete their work.

Depending on the overhead a contractor has and what "live style" he practice, he'll most likely carge you between $500 and $1000 per day, material not included. So, when he says he'll finish the job in 5 days and he charges you $10,000 just for labour, you will pay him $2,000 per day. Lets say he will worke all togehter 10 hours including travel time each day, he will charged you $200 per hour.

Compare these rates with other services in your region e.g. your Dentist or car dealership or roofer etc..., and you'll get a pretty good picture how much $$$ seems to be OK but also if someone tries to take advantage of you.

Thank you, your input is very, very helpful. I'm contacting the brand's licensed contractors today to get estimated.

Any thoughts about curbless and polished concrete floor for the shower? We were thinking curbless as we intend to "age in place" and polished concrete because that"s going to be the flooring for everything else in the ground floor. Also, ii was curious a transom window on the glass enclosure necessary?

I absolutely recommend doing a curbless shower, especially when you are planning to stay in your house and it is almost always in any case possible to build it. Have a look at my albums, there you’ll find pictures of a few curbless showers I buils and tiled for my customers. It’s adds about 1 day more of work to the entire project, but it’s definitely worth it.

Since this will be a steam shower, the glass enclosure must go all the way up to the ceiling. The problem with arises with this is, that there will be always moisture & condensation in the upper area above the door. A transom window allows for circulation and helps letting the moist air escape after you have used the steam shower.

Ask your steam shower equipment provider if he also offers a “ventilation solution” and if, how it works. Perhaps you can get away without a transom window? 🤔

Thank you again! I had a chance to look at one installation in your album and it's beautiful! I'll definitely peruse everything - thanks for the offer!

I've been reading up on polished concrete flooring too and understand they are porous so probably a no-go for the steam shower.. Would any pool tile work, or is there anything else I need to watch for? I think it's better to go with bigger tiles for the walls and ceiling but is it better to go with smaller tiles for the floor (for traction and slope)?

Indeed, polished concrete might call for trouble. You must seal the polished concrete to prevent moisture introducion. The problem hereby is, i havent seen a single sealer which last forever, which means, it must be re-applied on a regular basis. I have seen many showers where the sealer cracked over the time and water got underneath and stained the concrete permanently. Later on the sealer completely peeled back and it looked even worde.

Also, once the concrete is stained and "contaminatet" there is nothin you can do to reverse this and a new coat of sealer will most likely will not adhere to it anymore. Therefore, my advice is to stay away from anything which requires regular maintainance. That includes cementitious grout joints. I would only recommend epoxy grout.

In terms of the tiles: The big have the benefit of less joints and are therefore easier to keep clean, however, there is also a downside when using large format tiles. Tiles in steam showers heat up much more and, therefore, will expand much more compared to tiles in regular showers. This MUST be taken into account! Also, big tiles on a floor provide usually much less slip resistance than for eacmple mosaic tiles. Choosing tiles for a steam shower is not just about the appearance, its also about the functionality.