Walk-in & curbless showers
Walk-in showers in Miami, planned from the floor up
A walk-in shower looks simple: one sheet of glass, one continuous floor. Getting there is mostly about what happens under the tile, so the first question we answer is what your floor will allow.
Three kinds of walk-in shower
Low-profile curb
A short curb, often only a couple of inches, with a fixed panel or door. Works on almost any floor, including condo slabs where recessing isn't possible.
Curbless
The bathroom floor runs straight into the shower. Needs the shower area set lower than the room, a linear drain and careful slope. Best choice for accessible bathrooms.
Walk-around
A long shower with a single fixed panel and an open end. Needs length: the entry has to sit well away from the shower head.
What your floor decides
Wood-framed floors
In houses with a raised wood floor, the joists under the shower can often be lowered or notched within engineering limits, giving the depth a curbless floor needs.
Slab-on-grade houses
Most South Florida houses sit on a concrete slab. A curbless shower may mean cutting and recessing the slab in the shower area, or building up the rest of the bathroom floor slightly so the shower sits lower by comparison. Both are possible; both add work.
Condo towers
Cutting into a structural slab in a high-rise is often not allowed, and the drain position is tied to the stack below. That is why most condo walk-ins use a low curb or a very thin threshold with a linear drain. Our condo remodeling page covers the approvals side.
Details that make it work day to day
- Head position chosen so spray points away from the entry
- Handheld shower for rinsing the walls and for seated use
- Slip-resistant floor tile rated for wet areas
- A niche out of the direct spray
- An exhaust fan close to the shower, because a doorless shower lets more steam into the room
- Low-iron glass if you want the panel to disappear rather than tint green
Cost factors
The biggest variable is the floor: a low curb on an existing slab is simpler than recessing concrete for a curbless entry. After that, it's glass size and hardware, tile format, and whether the drain and valve move. We break down each of these in walk-in shower cost factors in Miami.
Replacing a tub? That's a tub-to-shower conversion, which is often the easiest route to a walk-in in an alcove bathroom.
Questions we hear about this
Can every bathroom have a curbless shower?
No. The shower floor has to sit lower than the bathroom floor so water runs to the drain. In a wood-framed house that is usually achievable by adjusting the framing. On a concrete slab, and especially in a condo tower, it may mean recessing the slab, which the structure or the association might not allow. A low-profile curb is the usual alternative.
Will water splash out of a doorless walk-in shower?
It depends on the length of the shower, where the shower head points and how the floor is sloped. As a rule of thumb, the entry needs to be well away from the spray. We plan head position and glass length together so the dry side of the room stays dry.
Is a linear drain better than a centre drain?
Not better, different. A linear drain lets the floor slope in one direction, which suits large-format tile and curbless entries. A centre drain needs the floor to slope from four sides, which usually means smaller tiles on the shower floor.
Related services
Related guides
Find out what your floor allows
We'll look at your bathroom, check the floor and drain, and show you which kind of walk-in shower fits.
(305) 712-5953 Total Bathroom Remodeling Miami10800 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33161
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