Advice for an ADA shower that water goes out the door, not down drain?
#1
03-29-23, 01:25 PM
Advice for an ADA shower that water goes out the door, not down drain?
This is why I like doing things myself or they don't get done. Don't trust others for their quality.
My son at a big firm in NYC said the company had an area redone and they put in an ADA shower in the bathroom. There's no lip into the shower and it's 35" wide.
The contractor pitched the shower wrong or not at all. So that the water goes out the door opening rather than down the drain in the shower.
His company is getting in touch with the contractor, but he's like me - wants to come up with a fix... and he uses the shower after workouts in the gym they just built also, so he doesn't want to have to deal with cleaning up the rest of the bathroom. He tried a towel, but it soaks up all the water and then more gets past it : )
anyone have suggestions for a dam type of device to keep the water in the shower for the short term.
And short of tearing out the floor / repitching it (is that a big deal?) are there other ways to get the water into the drain?
Grooves that are sloped towards the shower's drain?
My son at a big firm in NYC said the company had an area redone and they put in an ADA shower in the bathroom. There's no lip into the shower and it's 35" wide.
The contractor pitched the shower wrong or not at all. So that the water goes out the door opening rather than down the drain in the shower.
His company is getting in touch with the contractor, but he's like me - wants to come up with a fix... and he uses the shower after workouts in the gym they just built also, so he doesn't want to have to deal with cleaning up the rest of the bathroom. He tried a towel, but it soaks up all the water and then more gets past it : )
anyone have suggestions for a dam type of device to keep the water in the shower for the short term.
And short of tearing out the floor / repitching it (is that a big deal?) are there other ways to get the water into the drain?
Grooves that are sloped towards the shower's drain?
Top Answer
03-29-23, 01:47 PM
Group Moderator
Look at garage door dams. It can be cut to length and glued to the bottom and sides of the shower with caulk. They come in different sizes but most are sloped on both sides and rubber so it would be easy on the feet and a wheelchair could go over it if needed.
#2
03-29-23, 01:35 PM
Group Moderator
Try sandbags... or big athletic socks or panty hose filled with sand. And no, there is no magic wand, it sounds like it will need to be completely redone.
An adjustable shower curtain could be installed temporarily across the shower opening to limit the area that gets wet and reduce how far the water can splatter.
An adjustable shower curtain could be installed temporarily across the shower opening to limit the area that gets wet and reduce how far the water can splatter.
EdShnatter
voted this post useful.
#3
03-29-23, 01:47 PM
Group Moderator
Look at garage door dams. It can be cut to length and glued to the bottom and sides of the shower with caulk. They come in different sizes but most are sloped on both sides and rubber so it would be easy on the feet and a wheelchair could go over it if needed.
EdShnatter,
Norm201
voted this post useful.
#4
03-29-23, 03:09 PM
Group Moderator
PD beat me to it, that's exactly what I was thinking. 
Only down side is water pooling and remaining there after the shower.
Only down side is water pooling and remaining there after the shower.
EdShnatter
voted this post useful.
#5
03-30-23, 08:47 AM
Member
The contractor pitched the shower wrong or not at all.
EdShnatter
voted this post useful.
#6
03-30-23, 10:37 AM
Hope he didn't make the final payment.
Maybe not in this situation, but in general.... am I overthinking it / am I wrong in thinking that sometimes the fix will invariably cause other issues?
I haven't seen the shower, but likely tiled. Taking up the floor / grind the slope correctly then retiling the floor with the walls done already - isn't normally the way you tile a shower, right? potentially different shade of grout or something else that makes the redo noticable cosmetically? And / or there's rubber / liners in there to catch water that gets through. And tearing up the tile / mortar risks causing a cut or damage they won't fess up to. It won't be maybe for years till it becomes an issue. Sure, this has to be dealt with. But am I wrong to think that sometimes, you have to leave things as is / get a price break and accept the issue?
We got a bath redo and the people putting in the shower glass cracked a tile.screwing something into the tile. our son noticed that. (they didn't fess up).
They said they could take things down, scrape off caulk they already applied, remove the cracked tile, put in a new tile, and reinstall / recaulk. Didn't interfere functionally. It's cosmetic. We left it as is? I am 90% functional minded. 10% cosmetics. So money they gave us instead of the fix made me feel good. Wife? she grudgingly accepted the cosmetic decline.
#7
03-30-23, 02:29 PM
Group Moderator
Shower pans have a waterproof membrane, and a drain that the membrane is sealed to... So it's not as simple as remove tile and grind because unless they did an old fashioned dry pack mud slope on top of their membrane... there is nothing to grind.
#8
03-31-23, 04:45 PM
Does someone using a wheelchair need maneuvering room extending out in front of the toilet or sink? (Thus needing the entire bathroom to himself?) If not then you can put the dam roughly outlining the "shower area" and hanging the curtain there. Otherwise the only attractive and neat place for the dam is at the bathroom door, so someone using the toilet or using the sink is not stumbling over the dam.
The dam will also define the area from which you will have to sweep accumulated water back over to there the floor drain is.
The dam will also define the area from which you will have to sweep accumulated water back over to there the floor drain is.
#9
04-02-23, 10:47 AM
I mentioned ADA, as I think all bathrooms / construction in at least business / office environments needs to comply with.
But didn't mention that no one there currently is disabled. So the (temporary) solution could be as high as needed without regard to ADA requrements. I mentioned ADA just to describe the no floor lip / ledge construction.
I saw this on istagram yesterday. Joked with my son that he should send it to the contractor.
It'd be funny for him to make a video like this showing this shower and the marbles rolling out the door ; )
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqfiO...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
But didn't mention that no one there currently is disabled. So the (temporary) solution could be as high as needed without regard to ADA requrements. I mentioned ADA just to describe the no floor lip / ledge construction.
I saw this on istagram yesterday. Joked with my son that he should send it to the contractor.
It'd be funny for him to make a video like this showing this shower and the marbles rolling out the door ; )
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqfiO...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
