Changed my mind about curbless showers after seeing my neighbor's bill

I was dead set on a curbless shower for my reno until my neighbor Mike showed me his $4,200 invoice just for the linear drain and extra waterproofing on his. That number stopped me cold. Now I'm going with a standard 4 inch curb and a $120 center drain instead. Anyone else have their budget get reset by seeing someone else's actual costs?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy_king2910d ago

That "$4,200 invoice" really caught my eye because my friend Jenny went through the exact same thing last year. She was so excited about her curbless shower design until her contractor quoted her $3,800 just for the linear drain and the extra waterproofing membrane. She said it was like getting punched in the gut after she had already picked out all her tile. She ended up going with a standard curb too and her final bill was about half of what that curbless one would have been. Honestly, sometimes seeing someone else's actual numbers is the only thing that makes you stop and think twice.

the_alex10d ago

Forget the cost for a second, the real hidden problem is water pooling on waterproofing membranes if the slope isn't perfect, which happens way more often than people admit on these complex builds. I've seen a few folks online end up with standing water in their curbless shower because the tile setter couldn't get that gradient right over that wide of a space. It's one of those things that looks amazing on Pinterest but is a total nightmare to fix once it's grouted and sealed.

sammartinez10d ago

Your friend made the right call honestly. When I did my bathroom last year I went with a standard curb setup and it saved me around $2,500 compared to what the curbless quotes were. I put that money into a really good tile floor with some nice heated mat underneath and honestly I enjoy that way more than I ever would have staring at a flat drain. The curb also gives you a nice place to sit when you shave your legs or whatever, which I never thought about before. Did your friend ever mention if she regretted the choice later on or was she happy she saved the cash?