Toxchick Looks nice at the photo shoot. How does it look a year later?

mveasey What about the cleaning underneath the slats aspect? Must be gross if you don't do it regularly, but judging from the showers owners taste and therefore income, I guess the maid will be left with that chore...

andrewsreclaimed Whew, gorgeous! Wood has worked for surfaces like this for centuries, nice to see the comeback. I would imagine it feels very nice on the tootsies and wonderful smelling too. Warm wet wood=one of my favorite scents.

cyqi I really like the feeling of wood h under feet. Wondering how it is constructed, what type of treatment the wood will need? How to maintain it? What about hard water area?

dfeyhl I have made shower floors out of 3/4" CCA treated plywood by routing 3/4 inch dadoes in each surface, making them perpendicular to each other of course. This creates a porous lattice that, when sanded very smooth, looks very attractive and is surprisingly durable. I use these for floor mats outside of entry doors and in other wet areas of foot traffic also.

Joe Statwick We just put in a wood floor in our new bathroom project and love it. We used redwood, which is nearly as water resistant as a tropical wood, and a fraction of the cost. We coated it with a decking urethane, which we'll have to touch up annually. As for cleaning, ours isn't attached in any way, it just rests on little rubber spacers on top of a tile floor, so it's easy to lift out. We used an epoxy grout for the floor so that it doesn't stain, and cleans off easy with the spray hose on the shower. It's a heck of a lot easier to clean than our regular ol' bathtub, and we most definitely don't have a maid.

solichin Really very elegant design of this bathroom. I most liked the design of the bottom. Its decor is simple and white colors make these designs still look elegant and modern. Please visit http://inhomeinterior.com to get more info about bathroom design.

bubblyjock Reminds me of the communal showers at the school of my yoof: slippery and smelly, with naaasty things lurking underneath - no thanks (although the ones in these photos are very pretty indeed, I must admit)!

John Whipple - By Any Design ltd. How these showers are designed and what products are used underneath the wood is really the most important consideration. I would not want to build one for a client - I think personally they would be a nightmare to keep clean.

Water travels in strange ways. The bottom side of each board would continue to stay wet and collect hair, soap and scum. If all boards are not removable the shower will become next to impossible to clean.

ACO systems has a stainless steel tray and wooden inserts to create this look and keep things easy to clean. Make sure that the shower is designed so that this panel can be lifted and washed down. A link to the European option;
http://www.acobuildingdrainage.co.uk/media/40766/aco_showerdrain_technical_and_wetroom_systems.pdf

If you want to know when you can order them here in North America email Dinu from ACO. Dinu Filip - dfilip@aco-online.ca Last I heard they where going to be available last year but they did not make the November 2012 Price list.

There are many good looking wood look porclean tiles out there. As a back up plan! JW

Becky Shankle I absolutely LOVE that Thai micro bath, Joe! Very nice job. & thanks for the helpful cleaning hints, also.

peetsoo With two boys in the house the idea of the third photo (wood under the toilet) makes me wince. I love the wooden shower floor idea in tropical locals where it is open air but this would be a terrible idea in many other places...............

Heritage Tiles These ideas for wood looks in the bathroom are great. If you love the look but are a bit hesitant about the maintenance of natural wood, you could use porcelain tiles that look like natural wood. They come in plank sizes and like any porcelain tile, are easy to maintain and install. You can get many different types of wood so you're not limited to the water-resistant ones and these wood look tiles look so real when laid, it's hard to tell it's not real wood.

Below are some images of the Etic range that we stock which has 7 wood styles to choose from.

See www.tiles.co.nz/store-locations to find a store and speak to staff about wood look porcelain tiles.

collins design As much as I LOVE this and tried very hard to convince myself to do it in a recent bath reno, I don't think it's practical at all. I would strongly advise people to carefully consider the realities before going ahead with a wood floor.

I agree with John Whipple. Having lived on sailboats with similar wood (teak) gratings in the heads (bathrooms) and cockpits, I can attest that they get disgusting underneath really fast. Even using the most moisture-resistant wood, you're still setting up an environment where the underside and between slats stays moist and dark, perfect breeding ground for grossness. You could have a terrific state-of-the-art ventilation system and the driest bathroom in the world, but that area is still going to remain wet for a long time after each shower.

The nature of the construction -slats or grating- means there are hundreds of narrow spaces for shampoo, soap scum, etc to get caught in. That residue will grow mildew and that awful pink bathroom bacteria really fast, and will be a HUGE pain to clean. Varnishing the wood may help for a while, however the varnish must be VERY carefully applied -no "holidays"- and then inspected frequently for cracks/chips. When wood's temperature and moisture content change, and when it's stepped on and flexed, it'll move/expand and soon crack the varnish somewhere, then water will get inside and you'll have black marks. And then you have to strip ALL the varnish and sand everything and re-varnish.

I just don't see that it's a practical long-term solution for an indoor bathroom. That said, I'd sure love to be proven wrong.... if anyone has had a floor like this for more than 5-6 years and still loves it, I'd love to hear about it!

Denise Schemenauer We have a wood floor in our shower which is now 3 years old. We take it out annually, spray it off and put more Thompson's wood sealer on it. It looks great and it works very well. It does get some hair on the under slats that hold the floor together, but every month or so, when the shower dries out, I just sweep it with a broom. The bristles get between the slates and I can sweep it to one side and just pick it out. 5 minute job. No maid. Wood actually has properties that make it less likely to mold and breed bacteria...think cutting board.

sochi We used Ipe decking in our bathroom about a year ago. I too would love to hear from someone with 5-6 years experience, as I worried about the choice for the reasons presented above. We have tile underneath the wood, so if needed we're fine with removing and just living with the tile. It was a relatively affordable DIY project.

That said, one year in we have no issues. We have good sized gaps between the planks, I rinse soap scum off before leaving the shower. We lift the wood out every week or two to clean the tile underneath, and I quickly scrub the ipe with a heavy duty brush to remove any residual soap scum. This is in a master bedroom and is used nearly daily, but it does dry out regularly.

Aesthetically it is gorgeous. Comfort-wise - it is a dream. A million times nicer to stand on than tile. But I agree it isn't for everyone, primarily because it involves an extra cleaning step by lifting the wood out of the shower and cleaning it. No more than 10 minutes every week or two though, depending on use. And ipe is very heavy lifting out. One year in I have no regrets, it is fabulous.

I think if you click on the photo below you will see the flooring, sorry it is cut off in the regular view.

fitzwenger I can't speak for all wood flooring, but teak, particularly Burmese teak is excellent for shower floors and other floors around water. It has long been used for mats on boats. Teak is naturally slip resistant (excellent in showers for older folks) and pretty much moisture free.(I think it's the density of the wood.) It stands up to water extremely well and resists mold, mildew and rot. Check out www.teakworks4u.com They sell custom (and stock) flooring and other teak products. It is nearly maintenance free and will maintain its beauty for years.

sltydog21 I am so glad to see this post! I have been considering this option for a long time. I am going to petition my wife to put this in our downstairs bathroom. The worries about water and wood are valid, but have mostly been figured out by boat owners over the years. I own a very old sailboat and have personally gone through many iterations of types of varnish and tung oils.

I would strongly recommend teak wood with Epifanes spar varnish. The shower will break down normal varnish over time. Furthermore, changes in humidity cause the wood to expand and contract, and a standard varnish would simply crack and deteriorate under these conditions. Spar varnishes are typically designed to not only protect the wood, but also give it the flexibility and UV protection it needs to last for years. And the name “spar varnish” comes from the boating world, where the long wooden poles that support the sails are known as spars. So a spar varnish needs to be one that can withstand the rigorous conditions of seafaring life.

The first coat you mix with 50% thinner, second coat 30%, third fourth and fifth coats 10%. The thinner allows the spar varnish to spread evenly and the 50% first coat allows it to adhere to the teak.

Here is a great tutorial on spar varnishes: http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/difference-between-spar-varnish-and-regular-varnish/

There really is no competition regarding brand -- Epifanes is the best.

allyson815 Don't forget that they now make porcelain tiles that look like wood! They have so many finishes (rustic, contemporary, reclaimed, etc) and so many sizes: 6x24, 6x36, 8x48) that you can get the look of wood, without worrying about the "wear".

leslieg2013 John Whipple is correct, "The bottom side of each board would continue to stay wet and collect hair, soap and scum." I used to have a teak floor in my shower stall but got rid of it after about a year because the hair and soap scum were SO GROSS! I just couldn't keep up with it.

saycheese I love the look of wood, and have a shower that had one, I took it out when I lifted it up to clean, they attract hair and mold in a very short time. I'm sure with a large amount of refinishing, sanding and marine varnish, they could work, but as they come ready to use, not a good idea.

sochi Here is a shot of the underside of my ipe shower flooring. No sign of mold, hair, odour or soap residue. There is some change in colour, but it is still pretty solidly brown and walnut looking. You can see that it is still a little damp down at the bottom of one or two planks. I agree there is a little more maintenance with this choice, and only people able and willing to do the maintenance should consider a wooden shower floor. And I've only been using this bathroom for about 10 months.

As for different types of wood, I did a fair amount of research before doing this bathroom last year. I think ipe may be best choice, better (and certainly cheaper) than teak. Ipe is dense like stone, but still wonderfully wood like under foot.

belleanna I WONDER ABOUT CLEANING THE SHOWER PAN...... NICE THAT YOU DO NOT SEE IT BUT....... IT WOULD SEEM TO GET QUITE NASTY UNDER THERE. AND WHAT ABOUT HAIR IN THE DRAIN.......... YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO GET IT OUT. I DO LOVE THE IDEA OF A WOOD FLOOR. PERHAPS IT COULD BE HINGED SO YOU COULD ON OCCASION CLEAN UNDER AND UNCLOG THAT HAIR IN THE DRAIN ???????

belleanna OPPS I GOT MY ANSWER AFTER I ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT IT BEING HINGED...... I LIKE THE IDEA BETTER NOW ...

mindserve33 besides real wood, does anyone think a wood composite ciuld be used. Something like they use for outdoor decking.

peterjh1964 I love the feel of wood under my feet in the shower. I have put wood tiles in mine. However, it's a pain in the "you-know-what" to clean it. There is mold and soap scum collecting on the floor of the shower under the wood. If you decide to install wooden floor in your shower you better be diligent cleaner and not be easily disgusted by what you'll see underneath at the end of the week.

Otter Banks Besides real wood, does anyone think a wood composite could be used. Something like they use for outdoor decking? Any ideas? How would I build one myself. I imagine I could build it on a frame that would have a door hinge ( non rusting type) so it could be easily cleaned. By using a composite material that's used for outdoor decks it would have the appearance of wood but not need the maintenance. If anyone has ever made one of these shower inserts, please let me know. Oh, home depot sells wood interlocking tiles for showers which can be cut. I think you get 8 ft for about $60 dollars. I think it's teak but it could be a composite.

saycheese I would say no to composit. We have a composite deck (high end brand) and it gets very slippery when wet. One other mention to any other flooring is weight. These floors can be heavy and not easy to get up to clean since they fit so snug. If I were to revise ours to use again, I would drill a finger hole to help pull the pieces up. But there are no plans to do this.

Otter Banks For the weight issue I would assemble it with a door style hinge so it could be lifted up and then cleaned underneath. It would also sit on rubber pegs to keep the wood off the floor. Does wood get slippery when wet? In my experience , yes. Especially if it's getting a bit of mold on it. So I guess I could be creative and create wider planks that allow drainage and put pebble tiles on those planks. Would have to use loctite to put them down and then grout. It would be very heavy though..maybe too heavy to lift for cleaning. Any other ideas that would make a composite less slippery?

sochi The Ipe that I have isn't slippery when wet. I considered composite but dismissed it due to how slippery it can be, plus it doesn't feel as nice underfoot. We dealt with weight issues by not hinging together more than 3 planks. We use rubber feet to keep it well above the tile.

Otter Banks Sochi, can you tell me what type of rubber you used, where to find the materials to build what you did. It looks easy even for a first time DIY.

sochi Otter Banks - the rubber feet we bought at Home Depot, same for the the aluminium rods that hold the planks together. We simply calculated how much ipe decking we needed based on the size of our shower. We sanded and cut the decking to size here at home, then applied the feet and rods/hinges. It is a very easy DIY. Based on research I did we opted to leave the ipe natural, no finish. Ten months in no problems. Just remember that ipe is very dense (it does a number on your saw, almost like cutting metal) and heavy, so ensure that the sections aren't too heavy to lift out for regular cleaning of the tile or tray beneath.

Jane Burgett Mold and mildew is all I see when looking at these, also hate none closed showers and all the splatters that you'd deal with. Not for me.

calikym I actually saw wood planks used in a posh hotel room shower floor in Switzerland! I was shocked to see that the floor was in good shape, but I have to admit, I wondered how clean it could be. Still, it was in good shape. Not sure how they kept it looking so good - probably oiled it.

mahrad ranjbarzadeh so easy

hollyklien This looks a lot like my brother decks at his place. Hes trying to sell the place and the previous owners didn't take care or build it the right way. So he has to fix it, it will be a great hopefully fun learning experience for me. Thanks again for sharing!

tiffanykoldingnes I'm wondering if anyone has tried Trex or a like version? You know the engineered plastic meant to look like wood for decks? It comes in a wide range of grey to brown to darkbrown, and it would be mildew and stain resistant. Any thoughts?

sochi I don't know of anyone who has. A friend has trex on her deck, it is very slippery when wet, so that may be a concern.

tiffanykoldingnes ya, we are also looking for decking ideas...my husband is wanting to use trex, but I've seen lots of very bad reviews on that product, for the price of it, I can put in 3 times the size of deck in pressure treated green.