This barrier free shower is in a Lindal Cedar Homes house on Whidbey Island, WA
Barrier-free, or curbless, showers that are designed to provide a safe and convenient shower experience are growing in popularity. A curbless shower floor is flush with the rest of the bathroom flooring and safe for people with disabilities as well as for healthy adults. It eliminates the risk of tripping on a curb getting into a shower, adhering to the concept of Universal Design, which specifies that design should be accessible to all people at every stage of changing lives. As such, the controls and storage niches should be reachable by a seated person and the shower should have an adjustable handheld spray. Walls should be reinforced to support grab bars and built-in seats.
Barrier-free showers must be constructed with the slope of the floor directing the water toward the drain, keeping the water in the shower area. Some curbless showers are created with prefabricated shower trays, which are flush with the rest of the bathroom floor. Other barrier showers are custom made with a sloped mortar bed. Wet rooms are also becoming more common. These are showers with no barriers that share the bathroom space without separating walls. The flooring needs to be sloped toward the floor drain.
This curbless shower is in the Longleaf house in St. Johns, Florida.
Years ago it was uncommon to see barrier-free showers in homes. When I built my own house over 20 years ago, it was difficult to find a contractor that was familiar with the process of constructing one. Today they are frequently being used not only in homes where safety is the main issue, but also for the esthetics of a more updated seamless look in the bathroom. They are being used in traditionally designed houses as well as those with more modern styles.
A house constructed by the students and faulty of Northwestern University for the 2017 U.S. Solar Decathlon was constructed to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements. The house was designed with a very utilitarian rimless shower with grab bars and a wide entry, as seen below.
This Universally Designed bathroom with a barrier free shower was in the Solar Decathlon house … [+]
However there are many very stylish examples that can be seen in recent homes in the United States and around the world. This is a growing trend and is being seen in many more houses than in the past. Millennials as well as boomers and beyond are trying to build forever homes and having barrier free showers is an excellent component of that concept.