Top 3 Reasons We Love Curbless Showers in our Toronto Bathrooms

Curbless Shower Systems by Schluter

At Ashton Renovations, we have been installing Schluter Kerdi bathroom waterproofing systems for over 25 years. We are ALL certified installers, and experts at this type of system. Incorporating curbless showers has becoming pretty much a standard application in bathrooms as the benefits, along with the aesthetics, are pretty evident. Here are the Top 3 Reasons why it’s a good idea to incorporate a curbless shower in your next bathroom renovation.

1. Safety

Typically an approximately 6″ wide x 4 1/2″ high curb cladded with tile and top quartz jamb was installed along the outside of the shower tray. This method is often still used and an excellent way of doing the shower. However, should someone with accessibility issues have difficulty getting over the curb, it can present problems. With a curbless shower this barrier is eliminated.

2. Big Space Saver

Installing curbless showers in our older Toronto Renovated Bathrooms really helps us when there are space issues. It allows for more room in smaller bathrooms where a curb would sometimes not even allow for a shower. Adding 6″ can make a huge difference. And where space is not the biggest issue it can allow for a much bigger shower.

3. The Beauty of the Curbless Shower

To us, the biggest benefit is all visual. We love the way it creates a continues flow of the bathroom floor. When you pair the continuous floor tile with trackless glass, it creates a much more open feel as you can see in the bathroom below.

At Ashton Renovations, our go to product for building curbless showers is Schluter. It is available in a number of sizes including 38″ x 60″ and 48″ x 48″ The most typical method of installation is raising the bathroom floor to meet the prefabricated base. One drawback to this is a step at your bathroom door. This is almost always the case in older Toronto homes anyways because of build up of substrates to assist with typically weak floor joists.

It’s important to keep in mind that you will need to select a 2″ x 2″ tile inside the shower area to accommodate for the slope towards the drain. You can have the same floor throughout, but most of our clients prefer to have at least a 12″ x 24″ porcelain tile outside the shower. Also keep in mind that the floor tiles should be about the same thickness, or you will create difficulties for the tile setter.