Shower 'ceiling 'curb' Pros/Cons?

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Nick Evans

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Firstly, I don't know the technical name for the 'ceiling curb', but I'll try to explain.
We're remodeling a shower and going to use cultured marble. The shower originally had the ceiling 1 foot lower, than the rest of the bathroom (7' ceiling in shower, 8' bathroom ceiling). I raised the ceiling to match the rest of the bathroom, but I'm curious if I should have a small drop/curb on the ceiling to basically help keep steam/moisture from the shower in the shower, as opposed to having the ceiling be butted straight out to the drywall ceiling. The guys we had give an estimate gave some pro's and con's of both, but I honestly can't recall what they were, so I was hoping to get some thoughts on it here. Anyone have any thoughts on the matter? Also, if there's a technical name for what I'm describing, let me know and I will update the thread title accordingly. Thanks!
 

Jadnashua

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If you're going to trap steam in your shower, make sure to waterproof (tile is not waterproof!) the entire shower to include the ceiling. TO do this, I'd want to use a topical surface waterproofing, something like Kerdi or Hydroban, or maybe (not my preference) a paint-on waterproofing. Personally, I'd prefer to not do it, but it is a style statement, if you like it, fine. You need to manage vapor and dry things out afterwards with good ventilation, which, while you can put a fan above the shower, most people put them out in the room, and with that dropped area, won't get adequate air flow unless the fan is inside the shower which is harder to make look good (not all fans are rated for use there, so make your selection carefully). Running a fan while you're showering and it's in the shower means you will have to draw cooler, room air in there, so that may be somewhat uncomfortable. Installing it outside, you'd still get some air movement, but nowhere near as much, and it will work fine once you've opened the door to the shower once finished.
 

Nick Evans

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We'll be doing cultured marble. My understanding is that, that is waterproof? I like your point about having to have a way to dry the shower out, if we're trapping steam. That may be enough motivation to me to not put the curb up top. Is there any concern about steam rolling out of the shower onto the non-backerboard ceiling in the bathroom? I realize every shower I've ever used till now has been this way, but I figure if I'm going to do this, I might as well do it right.
 

Reach4

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I would not use drywall in the bathroom, but instead would use greenboard. It is more moisture resistant. It is not quite as easy to work with and costs a little more.

To help keep more steam in during the shower, how about getting a 7 ft tall shower curtain. Standard is 6 ft tall.
 

Jadnashua

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Unless you're really creating a steam shower, painted drywall outside of the shower is fine, even then, assuming you've built the steam shower properly, drywall outside of it is fine. If you get moisture resistant drywall wet enough to be an issue after painting, you have some other serious problems. Use it if you want, but it really doesn't provide much of any advantage.
 
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