Building a higher shower recess - possible?

[makka619]

I don't know how to describe it but I'll try. Basically I want to build the shower so that it can be used as a bath.

I have a seperate room in the bathroom where the shower is. It has a door but I took it off during tiling and want to keep it off, it is too squishy (opens inwards).

The room is average shower width, but twice as long. The floor is all level, no lowered shower recess. Before renovating there was a row of tiled bricks that made the recess. You had to step over them to get into the shower.

Anyway I want to do the same thing, but extend the length of the shower, by placeing a row of bricks futher back. I also want to make the bricks higher, so that it could be used as a bath. I don't mind stepping over them to get into the shower.

Is this possible? I have searched the net to see if anyone had done it this way but I don't know what to search for. My search also came back with glass bricks... Would I be able to build the above ground recess with those?

I will be getting a shower screen, one that folds as you open it. So I don't know if that can above my extra high bricks.

[Tommy]

Yes this is possible ,I worked on a house once that had a bath that was simply bricked up about 600 high and it filled three sides of a small room.The tiler working there had done the job and he tiled all around the bath.It was huge and it looked great..Of coarse he waterproofed the whole room first..Check with a shower screen mob to see if they can make the type of screen you want in the height you want.I dont see that as beeing a problem , but it doesnt hurt to check..

[pawnhead]

If you're going to use it to hold water, then you need to be very confident in your membrane. perhaps apply an extra layer and test it by filling it and leaving it overnight, or better yet, have a copper shower tray soldered up by a plumber.

[makka619]

thanks for the replies.

I didn't know/consider if it would be strong enough to hold water. But now that I think about it makes sense and may not be feasible :(

We did waterproof the shower, but the tiler said that it wasn't done properly before proceeding to tile over it anyway :/

Knowing this, it would probably be silly to make it hold water........ I'll look into it some more and check out your suggestions.

[makka619]

I looked up shower membrane, and I am not sure how well structured mine is. Didn't get it exactly have to ask one of the guys today.

If a membrane is a "bed of cement mortar that sits inside a waterproof membrane", then I would have zero confidence in its reliability as it is an old granny flat and I have no idea about how it was built. Unless it refers to the waterproofing over the floor beneath the tiles? Then, according to our tiler, it is not done properly.

Will need to look into it, but currently sounds like a shower tray might be the safest bet. Have to check out the prices.

[Honorary Bloke]

What Pawnhead means is that it is not sufficient to have only tile and mortar in a bath, you will also need either a membrane (such as Schluter Kerdi) or a copper shower pan that can hold the water without leaking. As a "shower" this waterproofing was presumably done prior to tiling (although your tile man said it was done incorrectly). For a tub application, you would need additional waterproofing up the sides as well as the structural strength (e.g., glass brick or regular brick, or whatever) to contain the lateral pressure of the water in the tub. Clear as mud, right? :D

[makka619]

What Pawnhead means is that it is not sufficient to have only tile and mortar in a bath, you will also need either a membrane (such as Schluter Kerdi) or a copper shower pan that can hold the water without leaking. As a "shower" this waterproofing was presumably done prior to tiling (although your tile man said it was done incorrectly). For a tub application, you would need additional waterproofing up the sides as well as the structural strength (e.g., glass brick or regular brick, or whatever) to contain the lateral pressure of the water in the tub. Clear as mud, right? :D

hehe almost. I get the basics, but once I wake up properly I'll come back and read this to make some better sense of it. :rolleyes: