Large format shower tile

[Spfrancis]

I am trying to find out a couple of things regarding curbless and large format tiles. I have had some folks tell me that you want small format tile (2x2, 4x4) since there is a slipping concern. Here is a link of what I want to be able to do.
http://www.hugotiles.com/portfolio/curbless-limestone-shower/
I see that this guy used limestone, which probably has a little more texture for griping. I was going to do the exact same design as this with an open entry way into the shower. I would prefer not to have a door to make for easy entry, and this is a very small room for a full bath. I think my shower area can be 58" by 30"

Any thoughts on the type of tile to use, if I go with larger format. I'm also curious on if I go with a linear drain and a 30" piece of glass like shown in the link, if I need to have a door to stop water getting out of shower area?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Sony

 

[ShowerDude]

Sony,

Maintanance and safety being the concern.

Is it your home? a clients home?

the smart way to go large format would be to pick a quality porcelain that has an inherant texture to it.

google Florida Tile progetto series.......

also crossville cross colors .

both of those lines are affordable quality thru body porcelain they both have a texture to them that acts as anti slip to some extent.

if you are dealing with a client situation and have older people to worry about or safety/future lawsuit concerns.....

choose tile accordingly. safety over design......

Hugo builds his showers with the schluter system is that how you intend to build your shower?

there are rules imparted with that system that may limit the size tile if you use a foam pan......

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Spfrancis]

Sony,

Maintanance and safety being the concern.

Is it your home? a clients home?

the smart way to go large format would be to pick a quality porcelain that has an inherant texture to it.

google Florida Tile progetto series.......

also crossville cross colors .

both of those lines are affordable quality thru body porcelain they both have a texture to them that acts as anti slip to some extent.

if you are dealing with a client situation and have older people to worry about or safety/future lawsuit concerns.....

choose tile accordingly. safety over design......

Hugo builds his showers with the schluter system is that how you intend to build your shower?

there are rules imparted with that system that may limit the size tile if you use a foam pan......

It is our second home/condo. I will check out those link you provided. I do plan on using a schulter/Kerdi system to waterproof the base. I will have to research the limitations you talk about. The room will only be about 90" by 60 inches, so a very small bathroom. I wanted to do curb-less so that I won't lose space for a curb, and still have maybe a 30" width to the shower area. I agree that safety over design is key. I really like the design of the room shown with the simple tile setup. I just don't want it to be a major safety issue. I guess I just don't know how much those grout lines help in the traction of the feet.

 

[ShowerDude]

it will not be a major safety issue if you build your grade properly & Pic the right tile and plan ahead.

your bigger concern should be how you intend to build it curbless...


that bathroom you like is not so Simple. maybe looks simple..... lots to ponder.

 

[Jadnashua]

When making a typical center drain shower pan, because of the angles, you need a smaller tile in order to keep lippage down except in certain special circumstances. A smaller tile also means more grout lines, and those can provide some major friction for safety. A linear drain would allow you to make your shower with essentially ONE tile, with no grout lines, but then, you'd be relying entirely on the COF (co-efficient of friction) of the tile when wet. Some are decent, as was already mentioned...tile selection is critical in this situation. You can buy (big bucks!) tile as large as 5'x10', but moving, cutting, setting takes some special tools and some skill, not generally something a DIY'er would want to consider, and many pros have not dealt with them either. The investment in tools is substantial, not counting the experience is hard to get (some of those tile can be over $1K EACH! - you don't want to break one installing it or cutting it, or have it fail afterwards because of some underlying issue). But, there are a bunch of big tile a DIY'er should be able to handle, but cutting them may require tools you don't want to buy or rent.

 

[Spfrancis]

Yeah Jim,
I would definitely not go with the very large format tile that you are talking about. I'm thinking 12"x24" as the largest. I have looked at the 5'x10' tile last year for another bathroom project. It is not worth the major pain it causes for transportation, and cutting..etc.

Yeah, I am sure that curbless will be the toughest part of doing that solution. I will search around for pointers on how to do curbless in a condo that is going to be sitting on concrete floor. Our building is concrete between floors, so I'm sure that that this will create some challenges in doing the slope. Any pointers or links would be much appreciated.
Sony

 

[JohnfrWhipple]

...I will search around for pointers on how to do curbless in a condo that is going to be sitting on concrete floor. ....

Like this one.

Concrete Condo "Beach Avenue Vancouver"

Sixth Street Vancouver Condo

They are very hard to do! Especially in a multi family dwelling and with limited access from below. The first shower was easy. The concrete floor in the condo had sagged a good inch plus. The second not so easy and the entry to the bathroom needed a custom fir transition.


Pretty sure the more you research your curbless shower the more my name will keep coming up.

 

[ShowerDude]

Perfect!

Jim can walk you thru how to build curbless and navigate suspended concrete fire blocking and all your tile needs.

I smell a set up once again!

 

[Spfrancis]

John,
Yeah the first picture looks very good(Beach avenue Vancouver). I don't mind a small lip like that, as you can still get a feel that the transition is part of the shower area. The one thing that may work to my benefit is that I'm on the 2nd floor and the lower level is just an open parking lot. I know the guy next door did open up a small 2'x2' opening to do some work for his shower routing of plumbing. So in my mind the precedent has been set for making a small change like that.
So was the point of a small curb to keep the water contained, or did it serve another purpose?

 

[JohnfrWhipple]

That is not a curb but some Corian Slab. Look close at the design. I design it so it was tipped towards the shower. This provides an slope outside the shower door roughly 6".

After this installation and the others my design has been improved to include capillary breaks and mini dams.



See the little lip? It's like 3/16" high.

This is not required by any tile association here in North America. The design my own and inspired by the Aussies shower construction methods.

This is another barrier free shower. My first time ever using the mini dam feature.

BE careful selecting your crew - they should have five years experience

 

[Spfrancis]

So a couple of follow-ups as I get more into this project. My base is concrete, so cutting into it for a linear drain doesn't seem like a good idea. If I go with putting the linear drain on the concrete floor, then the slope of the tile would have to have the other end of the shower close to 2" off of the floor base. So I'm thinking that I would have to either have a small 1 inch transition getting into the shower, and an additional inch coming into the bathroom to make up that 2 inch difference. This is a very small bathroom as I think I stated before (shower area is 30"x55", and the rest of bathroom is 5x5' . I don't think I want to do a 2" transition into the bathroom to be able to go with the curb less affect to the shower. The second question has to do with putting in a Suntouch electric heated floor. I spoke to the guys at SunTouch about putting a product like this on top of a concrete slab which is above a open parking area. They were talking about R value to insulate the heated wiring. I'm wondering if anyone has done something like this to allow for the full affect of the heating. SunTouch guy seemed to indicate that it wouldn't break the system, but all the heat from the wires would go to the cold side, and it would just take a while for it to heat up. Any thoughts on what to do, or if there is a better solution for a condo like mine.
If someone thinks that I would get better visibility going with a new posting, rather thank using this old one, let me know.

 

[Jadnashua]

A slab is a huge thermal mass, and while you'll notice the heat the closer you are to the heating elements, that heat WILL be conducted throughout the slab. With no insulation to slow it down, you may never get the warming effect you desire, and your costs will go up as will the response of the system. When well embedded, the thermal gradient will keep the top surface from getting very warm until it warms the whole thing, and that is unlikely to happen when the bottom is an (unheated?) garage. There has been some similar discussion over at www.johnbridge.com about the fact that when installing any system directly on an uninsulated slab, it does not get anywhere near as warm as when used over an insulated one or over a wooden subfloor.

If you cannot recess things, one way to help contain the spray is to slope it into the shower, and use a ramp on the outside to gain the required height for the pitch into the shower verses making it all flat out there. You may need to then put a secondary drain at say the entry door to the room and make the entire room a wet room. TO do this, it makes it much easier if you use a wall-hung toilet and sink assembly; if those might fall into your design comfort zone, you may be able to do it without raising the floor much.