Meyer Home Build: Steam Shower
Hello, everyone! And a thank you to Isaac for your content and this platform. I appreciate your striving to always find better solutions and helping others to learn as well.
To introduce myself, my name is Aaron, and my wife and I are building what we call our 'Body Bag House'. I am a long time DIYer (old enough to have been doing so long before it was a cable TV channel) and have done everything from irrigation, house electrical, engine rebuild and other car work, cabinetry, drywall (hate it), and tile (haven't built a shower pan before). Whether strength or weakness I'm not afraid of pushing into something new, I'm critical of the details, and tend to overbuild...
For our home build I've taken it on myself to do some of the finishing work which includes building out the master steam shower and bathtub surround. I am unfortunately a bit behind the clock having only recently found this channel and forum and need to get my supplies ordered in the next couple days.
I'll break these two projects into different posts to simplify things, starting with the master since I need the most help here.
Master Steam Shower Project:
Space: ~ 5'W x' 7'D x 8.5'H, curb-less, one 5' wall is open, slab is inset for shower pan, adjacent flooring is polished cement slab. A framed out 30"x30" inset in the wall for 2, 14"x30" stainless shampoo shelves. 240VAC 80A steam generator located in loft space above shower.
Penetrations: 2 shower valves, 1 steam control valve, 1 shower head, 1 shower hand wand, the steam emitter, and 8" cutout for light fixture.
Waterproofing/Steam-proofing Plan: (In order of execution)
Sentinel 4'x8' foam cement board on walls and ceiling using screws + washers.
Frame out separator between shampoo shelves in inset with Sentinel, MS adhesive/sealant.
Dry pack pan with square FloFX drain, thinset slurry on slab.
HydroBan membrane on pan.
HydroBan tape, corners, pipe/valve collars for all board / pan seams, screws, penetrations, shampoo shelf inset; affixed w/ ALL SET.
Bench hand built using Schluter 2" foam panel affixed w/ foam compatible MS adhesive/sealant,
Bench sealed to walls and floor with tape, corners; affixed w/ ALL SET.
HydroBan FX liquid, 2+ coats on all surfaces. (or would regular HydroBan suffice in this steam application?)
All flat surfaces (bench top, shampoo shelf inset) to be sloped for runoff.
Finishing Plan: (In order of execution)
Pebble tile on the floor w/ ALL SET
Metal tile edging around door opening.
Wood look tile 4"x36" horizontal on walls, front to back on ceiling. w/ ALL SET (good for wall and ceiling?)
Polyblend PLUS grout (Not set on this product yet)
Stainless shampoo shelves mounted with MS adhesive/sealant
Will later source glass wall/door solution from local glass supplier.
8" wet rated LED hocky puck 'can' light - installed with added sealant.
I would greatly appreciate any comments on anything I have wrong, could do better, or better product choices.
One item I would specifically like to call out for input is the steam emitter, any recommendations on how to handle this? Was contemplating cutting out a 6+" square of the Sentinel foam board and patching in some hardy board for this hot spot. MS sealant on the but joint with foam panel, HydroBan tape, and HydroBan liquid. Is this overkill to keep the heat away from the foam?
Also any tips on working such a large dry pack pan? If I put the pan in before the foam board I could temporarily install 2x4s across the space as a catwalk I could lay on... May run into issues with working life of the mud - would be curious how to deal with a dry joint if that happens (assuming thinset slurry to bond each step?)
When tiling, do I need a transition trim between the wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall plane changes?
Other than that any recommendations if I should get different thinsets for the taping and wall vs ceiling tile applications; and looking for a good grout, etc.
Thank you all!
Aaron Meyer
