Curbless Showers: Why a No-Step Shower Belongs in Every Home You Plan to Stay In

TL;DR: A curbless shower has no curb or lip at the entrance. The floor runs straight from the bathroom into the shower, so you can walk, roll a walker or use a wheelchair or shower chair right in. In a new home on a slab, it's planned into the concrete pour and costs little extra. Added later, it often means cutting into the floor. If you plan to stay in your home, it's one of the best things you can build in from day one.

What is a curbless shower?

Most showers have a curb: a raised lip, usually 4 to 6 inches high, that keeps the water in. You step over it every time you shower.

A curbless shower (also called a zero-entry, zero-threshold or roll-in shower) has no curb at all. The bathroom floor and the shower floor meet at the same level. The shower floor slopes gently toward a drain so the water stays where it belongs.

Why the curb matters more than it looks

At 45, a 5-inch curb is nothing. Later, it's the thing you step over wet, barefoot and half-awake, on a hard tile floor.

A walker or wheelchair can't cross it. A curb turns the shower into a place you can't get into on your own.
It's a trip hazard on a wet floor. Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 and older, according to the CDC, and the bathroom is a common place for them.
It makes help harder. A caregiver helping someone shower has to lift them over the curb instead of rolling a shower chair in.

Take the curb away and the shower works the same at 50, 70 and 90.

How a curbless shower is built

The trick is getting the shower floor lower than the bathroom floor, so it can slope to the drain without a curb.

On a slab: the concrete is recessed (dropped a little) where the shower will go when the slab is poured. That's the easiest way to do it, and it's one reason every DreamStart design sits on a slab.
A linear drain: a long, narrow drain along the back wall or at the entrance lets the whole floor slope one way, which looks clean and is easy to walk on.
Waterproofing: a continuous waterproof membrane under the tile, turned up the walls, keeps water where it belongs.
Slip-resistant tile: smaller tiles with more grout lines, or a textured finish, give better footing when wet.

Your GC and tile setter handle the details. The key is that the recess has to be in the plan before the concrete is poured.

Plan the whole shower, not just the floor

A curbless entry is the start. While you're planning, add:

Size: room for a shower chair and a helper. About 5 feet wide is a comfortable target.
A built-in bench or a fold-down seat.
Blocking in the walls so grab bars can go up anywhere, now or later.
A handheld shower head on a slide bar that works sitting or standing.
Controls you can reach from the seat, near the entrance, so you aren't reaching through cold water.
A wide bathroom door, 36 inches, so a walker or wheelchair can get to the shower in the first place. More on door and hallway widths →
A 5-foot turning circle in the bathroom.

What does it cost?

In new construction, a curbless shower is mostly a planning decision. The slab recess, the drain and the waterproofing are planned in from the start, and the tile work is similar to any walk-in shower.

Adding one to an existing house is a different story. On a slab, the concrete has to be cut out and re-poured lower. Over a crawl space or basement, the floor framing often has to be cut down and reinforced. That's why it's so much better to plan it now.

Curbless showers in our designs

Every DreamStart design is one level on a slab with no stairs. Our Oak, Rose Mount and Jackson designs include a curbless shower in the primary bath:

Any design can be planned with one in your design package. See the full aging-in-place checklist on our aging-in-place homes page, and why one level matters in Single-Level vs. Two-Story.

Walk it before it's built

Every DreamStart design package includes a Walk Your Plans visit: your full-size floor plan laid out so you can walk from the bed to the bathroom and step (or roll) into the shower space before anything is ordered. Bring a walker or a shower chair if you want to test it. You make final changes right there.

How to start

Get your free estimate for a single-level home on your land.
Book a free 30-minute planning call.
Reserve your design. Your $9,000 design package includes Walk Your Plans, and the plans are yours to keep, no matter what.

We're only taking on 10 new design clients through December. Reserve your spot →

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Older Adult Fall Prevention (cdc.gov/falls).