A 1968 block home gets a true zero-inch shower
Gulf Gate, Sarasota
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Forward-planned ensuite ยท Greenbrook, Lakewood Ranch
Built fifteen years before anyone needs it
A couple in their late sixties, both fit, both clear that they intend to die in this house. The brief was a beautiful bathroom that happens to be fully accessible.
- Turning circle
- 60 in
- Shower
- 36 x 72 in curbless
- Blocking
- Six wall surfaces
- Bars fitted now
- Two of seven positions
01Before and after
The room, either side of the work
- 2004 builder ensuite, 11 x 13 ft, with a corner garden tub nobody had used in nine years.
- Double vanity at 32 in with closed cabinets underneath.
- Framed shower with a 4 in curb and a swinging glass door.
- Adequate light, but all of it from a single central fixture.
- Garden tub removed, releasing a clean 60 in turning circle in the centre of the room.
- 36 x 72 in curbless shower, 36 in clear opening, single fixed glass panel and no door swing.
- One vanity bowl at 34 in with full 27 x 30 x 8 in knee clearance behind a removable centre panel.
- Blocking in all six wall surfaces, mapped and photographed for a future installer.
- Motion-sensed LED strip at 10 in AFF for the night path from the bedroom.
- Bevelled bedroom threshold at 3/16 in, under the 1/4 in a walker foot will catch on.
02Timeline
How the days ran
18 working days on site. Sample budget $41,800 (sample figure).
- Days 1 to 2Demolition, garden tub out, floor opened
- Days 3 to 5Slab recess, plumbing and electrical rough, inspections
- Days 6 to 8Blocking mapped and photographed, board, membrane, flood test
- Days 9 to 14Pan, tile, grout, glass template
- Days 15 to 17Vanity, fixtures, glass panel, night lighting
- Day 18After-dark walkthrough with the light meter
03The customer
In their words
Our friends think we just did a nice bathroom. Only we know that there is lumber in every wall waiting for the day we need it.
04More work
Other case studies
A concrete condo wall that could not take blocking
Crescent Beach, Siesta Key
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A roll-in shower built around a toilet that could not move
Jacaranda, Venice
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The last thing on this page
Ninety minutes, at your house, for nothing
Joaquin measures the room against every clearance, maps the studs so we know where blocking can go, and leaves a written report. If the honest answer is that your bathroom cannot do what you need, he will say so and the report is still yours.
- Call
- (941) 555-0213
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday: 7:30 am to 5:30 pmSaturday: 9:00 am to 2:00 pmSunday: Closed, messages answered Monday
- Workshop
- 2140 Cattlemen Road, Suite 4, Sarasota, FL 34232
We do bathrooms only. If you need a kitchen, an addition or whole-home work we will give you two names of people who do it properly.