Walk-In Shower Conversion
Removing the Shower Kerb & Bathroom Step (2026)

Why remove the shower kerb or bathroom step?

Many Malaysian bathrooms have a raised kerb around the shower, a step down into the bathroom, or both. They keep water in the wet area, but for an elderly parent, someone recovering from surgery, a wheelchair or walking-frame user, or a young child, that small step is where falls happen. Wet feet, a slippery tile and a raised edge are a bad combination. A step-free shower also looks cleaner and makes a small bathroom feel larger.

Removing the kerb is not a cosmetic job, though. The kerb or step is doing a job, and the new floor has to do that job instead.

What the kerb and step actually do

The kerb holds water inside the shower; the step at the bathroom door stops water reaching the bedroom or corridor floor; and both often exist because the bathroom floor sits higher to fit the pipes and the fall to the floor trap. Take them away and three things must replace them:

• A proper fall in the screed so water runs to the drain, not towards the door.
• A drain that can take the water, usually a linear drain across the shower entry or along the wall.
• A continuous waterproofing membrane across the whole floor and up the walls, because the water now reaches more of the floor.

ClickBina's small bathroom layout guide explains how wet and dry zones are separated; a level shower floor is the most demanding version of that.

Condo or landed: how much depth you have

In a landed house the bathroom floor is often on a slab you can hack down into or build up around, and on the ground floor there may be room to lower the shower area. In a condo, the structural slab is common property and cannot be cut or lowered, and the pipes run through it to the unit below. The fall has to be built within the screed you already have, or the rest of the bathroom (and sometimes the corridor outside) raised slightly so the shower can sit lower.

That is why the first question on any step-free conversion is how much screed depth there is between the slab and the finished floor. A contractor can only tell by opening up a small area or measuring at the floor trap. Check the building's renovation rules before any hacking in a strata unit.

Linear drain or centre floor trap?

A linear drain lets the floor fall in one plane, which is easier to walk and roll across and allows larger tiles. Whatever you choose, the drain must be sized for the shower's flow and set at the right level before tiling.

Keeping the water in without a kerb

Without a kerb, the glass does more of the work. A fixed glass panel covering most of the shower, with an open entry beyond the drain, keeps splashes in while leaving a clear way in. Hinged doors on a step-free floor need a seal at the bottom and must not swing over the drain. ClickBina's shower screen guide compares the options. For a carer helping someone shower, a folding screen or a weighted curtain can be more practical than glass.

Waterproofing: the part that must not fail

Taking out the kerb removes a barrier, so the waterproofing has to be continuous across the whole bathroom floor, turned up the walls, detailed around the linear drain and carried under the door threshold. ClickBina's bathroom waterproofing cost guide describes the hack-and-redo sequence: hacking, re-screed with falls, a flexible two-part membrane, a ponding test to prove the membrane before tiling, then tiling.

Insist on the ponding test. It is the only point at which a leak can be found cheaply; once the tiles are down, finding it means hacking again, and in a condo the first sign is usually a stain on the neighbour's ceiling.

Tiles, grip and the door

• Choose floor tiles with real slip resistance; ClickBina's anti-slip tiles guide explains the R ratings.
• Smaller tiles or a textured finish give more grip on the fall than large polished slabs.
• Consider an outward-opening or sliding bathroom door, which can be opened even if someone has fallen against it.
• Leave room for grab bars and a shower seat; plan their fixing points before tiling.
• Keep the floor level at the door; a small bevelled threshold is easier than a step.

The conversion, step by step

1. Survey: check the screed depth, drain positions, pipe routes and building rules.
2. Remove fittings, then hack out the kerb, the step and the floor tiles and screed.
3. Adjust or relocate the drain, and fit the linear drain body where one is used.
4. Re-screed with falls towards the drain.
5. Apply the waterproofing membrane across the floor and up the walls, detailed at the drain and door.
6. Ponding test before tiling.
7. Tile, grout, fit the screen and reinstate the sanitaryware.

What a step-free conversion costs

A kerb removal is effectively a bathroom floor hack-and-redo. These indicative Klang Valley figures (2026) are from ClickBina's published guides:

A linear drain, relocating a drain, grab bars and a new door are priced on top, depending on what the bathroom needs.

How ClickBina can help

ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor for whole-house refurbishment and trade coordination, and a level shower floor brings together hacking, screeding, waterproofing, tiling and plumbing. WhatsApp us your job details for a quote: the bathroom size, whether it is a condo or landed house, and who the bathroom is for. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and a site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead.

Sources & methodology

• ClickBina bathroom waterproofing cost guide — hack-and-redo sequence, ponding test and cost breakdown.
• ClickBina small bathroom layout and shower screen guides — wet and dry zones, screens and prices.
• ClickBina anti-slip tiles guide — slip resistance ratings.

How we estimated prices: every RM figure on this page is quoted unchanged from the ClickBina guides named above; they are indicative Klang Valley ranges for 2026, not fixed rates. Whether a level floor is possible depends on the screed depth and the building's rules, checked on site.