Brett Field
A walk-in shower is a shower you step straight into, with no bath to climb over and often no door. It is easy to get into and easy to clean, but it needs more floor space and careful waterproofing, and the National Construction Code 2022 (NCC), which Queensland builds to, sets clear rules for how it is made.
This guide covers the three ways to build one, the pros and cons, how much room an open shower needs, and who can do each part of the job in Queensland. There are no prices here. For what a shower costs inside a full bathroom job, see our bathroom renovation cost guide. The rules below are a short summary, not legal advice.
What is a walk-in shower?
A walk-in shower is a shower on its own, not over a bath, that you walk into through an opening instead of a door. People also call it a step-in shower, a doorless shower or an open shower.
The building code sorts every shower into one of two kinds:
- Enclosed. Walls or screens, including hinged or sliding doors, keep the water inside the shower.
- Unenclosed. In normal use, water from the shower rose is not kept inside the shower area.
A walk-in shower can be either. A fixed glass panel that holds back the spray can make it an enclosed shower. With no screen at all, it is unenclosed, and the rules get stricter.
The code also says every shower needs a floor waste and one of three kinds of entry: a hob, a step-down or a level threshold. That choice changes how the shower looks and how the floor under it is built.
What is the difference between a hob, a step-down and a level shower?
A hob is a small raised lip you step over, a step-down drops the shower floor below the room floor, and a level shower has no lip or step at all. Here is what the NCC 2022 says about each one.
| Entry type | What it is | NCC 2022 rule |
|---|---|---|
| Hob | A raised lip at the shower entry | Made of masonry, concrete, aerated concrete or extruded polyurethane foam. Timber must not be used. The screen sits flush with the shower side of the hob, or overhangs into the shower. |
| Step-down | The shower floor sits lower than the room | The highest point of the shower floor must be at least 25 mm below the finished floor outside it. The screen sits flush with the face of the step. |
| Level threshold | No lip and no step | A waterstop marks the edge of the shower. Under a screen, it must finish at least 5 mm above the finished floor, and the screen sits on a channel over it. |
A waterstop is an upright strip at the edge of the waterproofing that stops water creeping across the floor. The table comes from the NCC 2022 Housing Provisions, clauses 10.2.14 to 10.2.17 and 10.2.32.
What are the pros of a walk-in shower?
The main pros are easy access, less to clean and a more open room.
- Easy to get in and out. There is no bath edge to climb over. A level shower has no step at all, which helps young kids, older people and anyone with sore knees or hips.
- Less to clean. With no door, there are no hinges, tracks or door seals to scrub.
- A more open room. One glass panel, or no screen, keeps the room open to the eye. In a small bathroom, that can make it feel bigger.
- One floor from wall to wall. With a level entry, the floor tiles can run from the doorway into the shower without a lip in the way.
What are the cons of a walk-in shower?
The main cons are splash, the space it takes, warmth and a more complex floor.
- Water spreads further. Without a door, spray can reach the rest of the room, so the code makes an open shower's wet zone bigger.
- It needs more room. An open shower needs a wet zone that reaches 1500 mm from the shower rose, or a fully waterproofed floor. A tight bathroom may not have the space.
- It can feel cooler. Steam and warm air drift out of an open shower, so it can feel cooler on a winter morning.
- The floor is more work. A step-down or level shower needs the shower floor lower than the rest of the room, or the room floor built up. On a concrete slab, that can mean cutting into the slab. On a timber floor, it means changing the framing under the shower. An engineer or certifier has the final word on any change to the structure.
- Less room for error. With no hob or step to hold water back, the floor falls and the waterstop do all the work. They have to be right.
Can you have a walk-in shower with no screen at all?
Yes, but the code then treats it as an unenclosed shower, so the waterproofing has to reach further. NCC 2022 clause 10.2.18 gives two ways to build it:
- put a waterstop in the floor at least 1500 mm from the shower rose, finishing flush with the top of the floor, with waterproof joins where it meets a wall or another piece; or
- waterproof the whole wet area floor and drain it to a floor waste, the same as the shower floor.
In plain terms, an open shower brings a zone about 1.5 metres out from the rose that is built like the shower itself. If the room is not big enough to fit a waterstop that far out, the whole-floor option is the one left.
A fixed glass panel is the middle path. It cuts the splash, keeps most of the open look, and can let the shower count as enclosed. Whoever designs and certifies the job decides which rules apply.
How much does a walk-in shower floor need to slope?
Where there is a floor waste, the floor must fall to it at no less than 1:80 and no more than 1:50, under NCC 2022 clause 10.2.12. Over 1 metre, that is a drop of 12.5 mm to 20 mm.
The fall keeps water heading to the drain when there is no hob or step to stop it. Too flat, and water sits on the floor or runs toward the doorway.
The code is also exact about where the waterproofing stops. At a waterstop, the membrane must come up to the top of the finished floor. Under a framed shower screen, it must stop at least 5 mm above the finished tiles (clause 10.2.28).
The falls and any step-down set how deep the floor build-up is, so settle the entry type at the design stage, before tiles are ordered.
What waterproofing does a walk-in shower need in Queensland?
The whole shower floor, and the shower walls to at least 1800 mm high, must be waterproof. Queensland builds to the NCC 2022, and Business Queensland says it will keep doing so until the NCC 2025 starts here on 1 May 2027.
For a shower with a hob, step-down or level entry, the NCC 2022 Part 10.2 wet area rules say:
- the shower floor must be waterproof, including any hob or step-down
- the shower walls must be waterproof to at least 1800 mm above the floor substrate
- wall joins inside the shower must be waterproof for at least 40 mm either side
- joins between the walls and floor, and pipe holes, must be waterproof
Outside the shower, the floor type matters. A concrete or fibre-cement floor must be water resistant. A timber, plywood or particleboard floor must be waterproof across the whole room. So a walk-in shower in a bathroom with a timber floor means waterproofing all of it.
For what this costs and how long the membrane takes, see our guide to bathroom waterproofing cost in Queensland.
Who can build a walk-in shower in Queensland?
A walk-in shower takes several trades, and the QBCC sets out who can do each part. Building work over $3,300 needs a contractor with a QBCC licence, and plumbing and drainage need a licence at any value.
| Part of the job | QBCC licence class |
|---|---|
| Wall and floor framing | Carpentry |
| Plumbing and the floor waste | Plumbing and drainage (any value) |
| Waterproofing | Waterproofing. The wall and floor tiling class also covers waterproofing for tiling |
| Tiles | Wall and floor tiling |
| Shower screen | Glass, glazing and aluminium, which covers making and installing shower screens |
Before you sign, ask who will do each part and which licence they hold, then check each licence on the QBCC website. Our bathroom renovation checklist covers contracts, deposits and home warranty.
We renovate bathrooms across the Gold Coast, walk-in showers included. Brett does the carpentry, like the strip-out and framing, and books and runs the licensed trades for the plumbing, waterproofing, tiles, electrical work and shower screen. He gives you a timeline with the proposal. See our bathroom renovations page.
Is a walk-in shower right for my bathroom?
It comes down to your floor space, your floor type and who will use the shower. Check these five things before you decide:
- Space. With no screen, can the room fit a wet zone 1500 mm out from the rose, or will the whole floor need waterproofing?
- The floor. Is it a concrete slab or timber? A timber bathroom floor must be waterproof across the whole room.
- Who uses it. A level entry with no step suits kids, older people and anyone who finds a hob hard to step over.
- Screen or no screen. A fixed panel cuts the splash. No screen means a bigger wet zone.
- Where the shower goes. Moving it means moving the waste, and that is work for a licensed plumber.
If the room is tight, a walk-in shower with a fixed glass panel may give you most of the benefit without the bigger wet zone.
Where does this information come from?
Checked on 12 October 2026: the National Construction Code 2022 Housing Provisions, Part 10.2 (clauses 10.2.2, 10.2.3, 10.2.12, 10.2.14 to 10.2.18, 10.2.28 and 10.2.32) and its glossary, from the Australian Building Codes Board (no page date shown); Business Queensland, delayed adoption of the NCC 2025 (updated 14 September 2026); and the QBCC pages on when you need a licence (reviewed August 2021) and the scope of the carpentry, waterproofing, wall and floor tiling, and glass, glazing and aluminium licence classes (reviewed August 2021). We will check this information again every three months.
See our bathroom renovations work, or check what your job will cost.
