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Going curbless gives bathroom showers a new sense of spaciousness and accessibility. If you’ve planned a bathroom remodel around curblessness, your designer/architect has undoubtedly explained the challenges of sloping the shower floor to keep water from spreading across the bathroom. The choice of bathroom tile also plays a part in the appearance and functionality of open showers. To achieve a result that’s both stylish and practical, here’s a brief guide to aid your thinking.

How to Go Curbless in the Shower

Tile Types

For its water-repelling properties, tile is often the preferred choice for bathroom floors and shower enclosures. Remodelers have an almost infinite range of choice in terms of color, pattern, glazing, and size, but the composition of tile flooring falls into one of three categories: ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone.

Natural stone bathroom tiles are the highest-priced option. They’re also less impervious to water than ceramic or porcelain. If you’re wedded to the look of natural stone but value economy, you can find ceramic and porcelain tiles that imitate the appearance of marble, slate, quartz, and other kinds of stone.

In general, porcelain is somewhat more expensive than ceramic. It’s also less porous and, consequently, better able to resist water. The glazing of bathroom tile has an impact on water and stain resistance, too, in addition to the color and texture of the finish.

bathroom tileThe Porcelain Enamel Institute rates the durability of tiles from 0 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest degree of strength and scratch resistance. A tile with a PEI rating under 1 isn’t suitable for flooring and should be used only on walls. Depending on the traffic, tiles with PEI ratings in the 2 to 5 range serve residential applications best.

Design Considerations

Because they can be slippery when wet, avoid selecting glossy tiles for shower floors. Also, the grout between tiles provides skid control. For reasons of safety, more grout lines inside a curbless shower are better than fewer. If you like the vintage look of small hexagonal-shaped tiles, they will give you more stability when standing. Large-format tiles, those 12 inches wide or wider, though stylishly popular, may be overlarge for small-scale bathrooms.

Getting rid of the curb in a walk-in shower makes it more accessible and easier to clean. To maintain the sleek elegance of a curbless shower, don’t enclose it with anything other than glass doors and partitions. If possible, build a box into a tiled wall for holding shampoos and bath gels, and recess the lighting and exhaust fan to preserve the seamless look.

 

For help in selecting the right bathroom tile for your remodeling project, contact Anderson Tile Sales. They’ve proudly served residents in Odessa, TX, for over 40 years. Specializing in flooring updates that add style, comfort, and value, they have a reputation for exceeding expectations, whether you’re dressing up a foyer or adding a bathroom. Visit them online to explore their services, or call (432) 337-0081 to speak with a member of their knowledgeable team.

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