Cutting Floor Joists For Curbless Shower

Michael byrne veteran tile installer and consultant and moderator of jlc s ceramic tile online forum responds.

Cutting floor joists for curbless shower.

Installation video on rapid recess and and the most difficult part of building curbless showers. Traditional walk in showers have a curb or a barrier that divides them from the rest of the bathroom and prevent water from getting all over the floor. I m retrofitting a curbless shower with a linear drain in an existing home with an i joist floor. Curbless showers are very much on the path of modernistic architecture and design.

A curbless shower is essentially the same thing just without the curb hence the name. Cut into the top chord of a truss for a curbless shower and you re asking for trouble. The larger the shower the easier it is to gradually slope the shower floor to the drain and contain water. Retrofitting the slope for a tile shower is a common problem for builders.

The pre sloped structural bases comes with a complete waterproofing system to prepare the pan for tile. The only way to lower an i joist or floor truss system for a curbless shower is to replace the original joists in the shower area. What s the best way to drop the floor for the mortar bed. Overall shower unit size length and depth are critical for water control.

Carefully cut out the top three inches of floor joists within the shower perimeter. To install a curbless shower a carpenter typically would remove the subfloor and cut up to 3 in. This will weaken the floor joists a bit so scab on one treated pine 2 x8 brace just under each joist cut for reinforcement. A depth of 42 is a significant improvement and 48 is even better.

36 should be considered the minimum depth for any curbless shower. Curbless showers in an existing home. Off the top of the joists to accommodate a prefab tray such as in a schluter shower system that slopes backward.