Heated Curb-less Shower Installation

When you're searching for "tile setters near me" on Google, you are looking for quality, professionalism, reliability, and technical expertise. Recently, the team at Amazing Floors completed a comprehensive residential project: installing two custom showers, one laundry room floor, and a master ensuite featuring a curb-less heated shower floor using large-format tiles.

Here is a technical walkthrough of how we approached the construction and waterproofing stages of this high-end residential renovation.

1. Recessing the Subfloor (Curb-less Preparation)

A true curb-less shower requires a flat, barrier-free transition from the bathroom floor. To achieve this without raising the entire bathroom floor level, we opened up the subfloor and modified the structural joist framing, shaving the height down by approximately 2 inches in the shower zone.

Recessing the framing by 2 inches allowed us to install a sloped shower tray and mud bed that finishes perfectly flush with the adjacent bathroom plywood substrate. This step is critical: it facilitates gravity-fed water flow toward the drain while maintaining a zero-threshold barrier entry.

Subfloor preparation for curb-less entry

Shaving down and structural prep of the bathroom subfloor framing.

2. Custom Mud Bed & Schluter® KERDI-LINE Linear Drain

With the joists recessed, we installed a custom sloped mortar bed (mud bed) sloped at a 2% grade toward the drain. We chose the Schluter® KERDI-LINE linear drain system. Unlike traditional round point drains which require complex multi-slope envelope cuts, a linear drain runs along the wall edge. This layout allows us to use large 24" x 24" format porcelain tiles sloped in a single direction, creating a clean, modern look.

Schluter prefabricated shower tray and linear drain leveling stages.

"A custom sloped mud bed ensures there are no flat spots. Water is directed smoothly to the linear drain, keeping the shower sanitary and dry." — Andre Lavoie, Lead Setter

Floating the custom sloped mud bed around the Schluter drain assembly.

3. Radiant Floor Heating Cables

For ultimate luxury, the client chose to integrate a radiant floor warming system. We laid Schluter®-DITRA-HEAT uncoupling mats across the bathroom floor and throughout the curb-less shower pan, weaving the electric heating cables into the studs. Heating the shower floor tiles accelerates evaporation, helping the shower dry quickly and preventing standing moisture or mold.

4. Large Format Tiles in the Laundry & Powder Room

In addition to the master bathroom, we tiled the laundry room and adjacent powder room floor using large-format 24" x 48" porcelain slabs. Large format tiles have a contemporary appeal and make smaller spaces feel significantly larger by reducing the density of grout joints. We applied a double-bonding thinset coverage (applying mortar to both the substrate and the back of the tile) to eliminate any hollow spots under these large panels.

5. The Laundry Room Polystyrene Curb

For the secondary shower in the laundry room utility bathroom, we installed a prefabricated polystyrene curb rather than recessing the joists. Polystyrene curbs are lightweight, pre-sloped, highly resistant to moisture, and fully compatible with Kerdi waterproofing collars. This offered the client an efficient, durable, water-tight barrier for the utility shower at a lower construction cost.

Completed mud bed base and polystyrene curb setup

Mortar bed sloped to drain and polystyrene curb layout ready for tile setting.

Workmanship Matters

Custom shower construction is a structural engineering task as much as a finish trade. By choosing top-tier materials like Schluter waterproofing systems, Ditra uncoupling membranes, and applying precision leveling techniques, Amazing Floors guarantees beautiful, leak-free results that last a lifetime.