I've gone both ways in both places, but my preference is for solid pieces, for a couple of reasons. First, it gives the glass guy a better surface to work with, and secondly, it's just that much more protection against water intrusion. You can also extend the piece past the surface of the wall (or inside of the curb) so as to provide for a drip edge, making it that much easier to keep under it clean, as well. In either case, though, you want to make sure the area is waterproofed before you install either the tile or the slab.

Keep in mind that on the floor, you're not going to be drilling and mounting anything through the tile.

Here's a picture of my shower with an eight inch piece of granite on top of the six inch wide curb.

{{gwi:1438513}}

While I was (am) doing constrution on our Master bath I consulted two different glass supplyers. I wanted to be sure that my construction was inline with there products. Mainly seemless glass 3/8 inch. Both said they perfered a soloid service as opposed to a tile one. For the above reasons stated. I would also suggest you put a slight slope to your top towards the shower...about 1/8 inch should do it. That way water will run off as opposed to hanging around where the glass meets the surface.

Oh crud ... one more surface to figure out and source.

Who installs these? The tilesetter? I suppose I'd probably get a quartz piece since that's what I'm doing for my countertop, but the people who install the countertop don't install these do they?

Also, does it matter if you're dealing with long (24-inch) tiles so there would be a minimal number of grout lines?

Sailorgirl,

The granite fabricator who made and installed my vanity top also did the top of the shower curb.

It could be either-- the fabricator or the tile guy.

Suellen's picture looks amazing. I wanna do the same thing. Anybody know of other good top surfaces for the curb other than granite or marble? It obviously has to be waterproof. Is there something maybe man-made or just a little less high-end that is cheaper but still looks good?

I used marble for my shower threshold. The tile guy purchased the threshold but counter installer could have templated for the curb too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Master Bath Photos

i have a similar cut wall and which also includes another vertical piece and then a top upside threshold piece becaue we didn't cut the whole wall out just a section.

doing marlble threshold pieces on all 5 so your lucky you just have the showerthreshold piece, one vertical and then the wall sill top.

I guess solid is sometimes more expensive but also less install/grouting work etc.

its definitely better for the glass to rest on and that seems to be the concensus here.

granite fabricator will do those.

BTW, I just saw the Holmes episode the original poster refers to. It was on Holmes Inspection. They didn't have glass on top to contend with (but excellent point about needing a solid substrate) but he made the point that grout is not 100% waterproof and you are at the mercy of the effectiveness of the sealer - all of that being not necessary to worry about with a solid slab that is water tight. He also made the point that having a lip that extends over further protects the tile underneath.

It really depends on your workflow on the bath, but on mine the tile guy is putting in some peices and some are the granite guy's install but really it can be either way.

my tile guy would have done it if I weren't doing a granite deck for my tub.

the actual cost can be very small really if you do it right. they're basically charging what they would charge for a door threshold that size, about $45.

the thing is, for them to give you that price, its either part of another project, or you measure, tell them the size and what edges are finished, and you pick up the piece from them. They're nto going to come to your house to measure and then later to install for $50.

when measuring make sure you're accounting for tile and thinset.

I eventually spent about $200 extra on little pieces in my bathroom, the bottom of my shower niche, door threshold, a piece going up the side of the pony wall, a cap for the pony wall all of the same material as my tub deck.

"when measuring make sure you're accounting for tile and thinset."

I want to make sure I understand you here. Can you describe more? Thanks.

When you're measuring how wide your threshold or wall cap is, make sure you aren't just measuring the width of the drywalled wall -- you have to add to the width the thickness of tile and the thinset which will adhere the tile on both sides. (Because of the lead time you may need to get your pieces cut, you typically will order the threshold or wall cap once the structure is built but before it's been tiled.) Your tile installer may want to have the finished pieces on-hand before tiling; there can be some wiggle-room adjustments made if everything is available before the tile or caps are installed.

In this picture, you can see some of the granite pieces (same granite used for the vanity top) we used in our shower. Our contractor suggested using the solid granite pieces for the top of the curb, the top of the two half walls, and the door jambs (the vertical walls) and it both looks and functions very well. (Sorry I don't have a picture handy which shows the whole thing -- just imagine the curb across the door opening in the same piece of granite.)

-- Eric

I saved this picture to my Ideabook on houzz.com because of the shower curb/surround treatment. I also love the chunky moulding.

[contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by toronto interior designer Jennifer Brouwer

Jacobse, looks awesome! If I plan on a 4" curb with a 6" marble cap, do you think the extra 1" on both sides will be enough to account for the extra thickness of "standard" ceramic tile and the thinset used to adhere it, while still having a defined lip extending over? I was planning on using 4 2X4's stacked on top of each other as the foundation for the curb. Does that sound reasonable?

Did you use a 45 degree cut or flush for your corners?

@Amanda - This thread is 10 years old.

Solid piece

Yeah I seen how old it was after I asked.

@amandaross all the best threads are 10 years old on Houzz. Never hurts to ask.