I Built a $25,000 Steam Sauna Shower + Everything Went Wrong

I'm building an expensive Double Steam Room Shower in our primary bathroom
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(Marlow is founded by the same founders of Brooklinen)

During this Home Renovation project I remodeled a Double Steam Shower in our bathroom, built a large floating bench inside of it and installed a shower glass enclosure.

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[pudzlhed]

39 year, still on the tools every day tile setter here. I always insulate and vapor barrier first. If you steam every day I would definitely hang copper dissipating rods vertically through the middle of each joist space. You can use 1/2" copper water supply pipe. Use copper wire to balance them in the joist space. This is like putting a spoon in a cup of very hot water. It will keep the space a lower temperature so it will lesson the cavity from expanding.
KERDI does a good job with water, steam and vapor but I would definitely grout with Epoxy.
I always tell people a steam shower is like building a shower in outer space. It is not just steam. The space becomes pressurized.The vapor is much much smaller than a water or steam droplet.
I also recommend a few tips for keeping your shower performing for years.
Squeegee.
Always leave the door open when you finish, when applicable.
Always leave your bathroom door open afterward.
Leave a timed fan on for 20 or 20 minutes.
Consider a hydrostat up high in your bathroom. It can be set to automatically turn your fan on.
Open a window if applicable.
I still swear by construction style sloped bases using 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 drypack. This I would definitely leave to a long time pro. Liner underneath. Waterproof with Hydro-Ban on top after at least 2 full days of drying. Put a fan or even better a humidifier in the room and run it as long as you can stand it.
I use WEDI board exclusively. More money but I have had zero failures ever since it came out.
I also recommend running in floor heat so it can be continued under the liner in the shower. This will also help dry the space.
I will also heat the bench top if length of wire allows.

Kudos to everyone who does it their own way. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
I haven't had to fix a shower in well over 30 years

Last tip for your existing shower. Every 3 or 4 weeks or when cleaning it check for any cracking or missing grout. I takes 5 minutes. Over time this will be disastrous. Also do the same with silicone. Because I use epoxy only I don't need silicone. Silicone ofter has a hard time in steam showers. I do nothing but high end custom work and they pay a premium. I book an appointment a week later with the customer and I personally go over the grout and joints. The customer accompanies me and I instruct them what to look for. If they see some cracked or missing grout I will touch it up for nothing. If they are nice people it will away free for about 3 years. But that is only if they catch it fairly quick.

I have never left a comment before in the tile space. This was just to provide potential ideas for any future steam showers you attempt.

[Mr.Davis]

Showing your mistakes makes it all the better! The way you showed the anger is relatable to what all of us go through lol Great build 🤙🏾

[andrewmacartney]

As a tile setter. I recommend priming the walls of your shower first. Stops the drywall from wicking the moisture out of your thinset, when installing membranes

[roknboker]

As someone just getting into DIY - it is really nice to see that even someone with your experience can make mistakes too. Thanks for leaving it in and not editing it out like many would.

[IppiopaidFEEDBACK]

I like the fact that he’s not that good at this stuff and he still shows the video because it’s very encouraging for everybody. Keep up the work, you just got a new subscriber.

[nathanheim]

Professional bath and kitchen guy here, thankd for your honesty and thourough process. I commend you on showing the failures and hard times, you're great at this. Also, those contractors were really on the premium side and should have done an immaculate jobe in a week for that price.

[nneverss]

A tip from an ex shower door installer. Add a dab of silicone in the holes you drilled on the sill before screwing in the mounting brackets!

[DaddyBear]

Here is some feedback from me, a tradesman, and what I would have done differently. In any wet areas I use a synthetic tile-backer board. You don't need to use a system over top of it so it saves hassle, time and money overall. Control valves at the side of the shower so you can turn the shower on without getting wet and less likely to get moisture behind it. That aside, outstanding finish! Love it.

[travisring]

Hey there, plumber here. When you do your shower arms and anything that is going into the 1/2” fip fittings through the tile and drywall, put a 6” brass nip and a cap inside of it temporality until you put your fixtures in it. That protects the water lines and won’t allow any sediment to get inside. Otherwise great work!🎉

[CybrJames]

Man, I love your channel. I love your mistakes and how you don't hide from them. Truly one of the best channels on youtube. Thank you, and I am always excited to see more.

[Simphome]

i like how you do it. It's natural to get angry or upset when you run into trouble. fun to watch.

[wttsy]

I remember seeing the promo for this video months ago on YouTube shorts and was wigging out that I’d missed the full upload, but seeing all the challenges you had with delivery and structural issues makes sense now.

As for that tile demo, takes me back to my last laundry demo and my most used tool on that project was a rotary hammer drill and a chisel bit. Certainly took the sweat component out of it, leaving me with 100% courage to do that project in a week!

[johngarcia]

man the honesty and humility you show is very humbling. I'm definitely a fan!

[michaelhafergut-fuchs]

Being from Austria where every house is made of brick and mortar or cement, I envy you for the flexibility that you get with the American way of building walls.You may have more issues with Sound proofing or insulation but changing the Layout of a room is so much easier.

[travisptasznyk]

Hey Dude, not sure if someone has commented this before - if you want to speed one process up - rather than using drywall for the ceiling, i've used kerdi-board for the shower ceiling, rather than fighting the drywall overhead, as well its already pre-waterproofed, just need to seal the corners. Cost difference vs time/material is minimal or if anything you'll save time which is money in your pocket if priced appropriately. Good Luck

[pancholifestyle]

As a drywaller id had to remove plenty of moldy greenboard and we use something called tilebacker which is fiberglass sheetrock which is water resistant and way better mold resitant than greenboard which is really just the paper on the board that helps the with the mold not the actual drywall plus all you need to do is just redguard or whatever the joints not the whole thing

[hopkinshome]

I’m a General Contractor and love the Kerdi system; installed a lot of showers with this system. I have now switched to Kerdi board vs using the membrane system…saves a lot on time but cost more in materials. For the DIY person the Kerdi board also takes out a few of the steps that can cause issues as shown in this video. Watch the official manufacturers videos for install methods and call their tech support if you have questions, they are very helpful.

[moniquetheG]

We all run into dilemmas in home improvement projects...thanks for not editing yours out!! We all feel your frustration. In the end, as always, you did an amazing job!!

[seanpetersen]

I’ve read through the comments and you get a hard time, looks great, looks appropriate build and will last. Thank you!!

[atrule]

*Things do differently Steam shower glass with vent.
*Use solid material like engineered stone or porcelain with no grout or only grout lines that promote draining off Curb and bench areas.
*Use epoxy grout
*Put same ceiling slope on underside of bench
*I would have sloped ceiling to the left away from bench instead of at the bench so all the cold water isn't running down that wall onto my bum lol and will better preserve the bench waterproofing and the lack of slope on underside of bench.
*Most women hate rainhead only shower heads since they don't want to have to wash hair every time they shower
*Caulk all change of planes not just along pan but all vertical corners, ceiling corners, bench, and niche area
Things Not sure if you did or didn't
*no ceramic tiles ever in steam shower only porcelain
Waterproof thinset in shower as added barrier (same as pools)
Exhaust fan just outside steam shower vent/door area