I'm an American who travels to Europe often. Even though my trips are frequent, I'm almost always surprised by the looooong step down and out of the bathtub. I usually slip and slide on the floor that's soaked by water spraying out around the quarter-size door

Why are European (UK, German, French, perhaps more) bathtub floors so high above the bathroom floor?

Is there a different plumbing philosophy?

I don't think they are, as a rule. Certainly not in peoples homes. However hotels in Europe are more stylish than the US on average and stylish bathtubs are higher than normal utilitarian tubs.

What do you consider high? Pics might help.

Especially in older buildings, bathtubs are usually build onto a raised platform. Seems to be simpler to retrofit a bathtub that way. The places I lived in in Europe always had knee high bathtubs.

From the IC Bucharest last year, getting into and out of it did scare me a little:

@CMK10 - That looks normal (at most a fraction higher than usual, but only a fraction).

I know you had a wink at the end of that, but confused?
Water should not be coming out

That's what I'd expect in a domestic bath here, too. Perhaps we tend to have deeper baths? I don't know. There's still a generation that will have a bath in preference to a shower.

May sound patronising, but with the quarter panel, you really need to have the shower head raised and pointing straight down, rather than at an angle...

My biggest disappointment when I moved to the US many years ago was my (standardised) bathtub. When living in Switzerland, I used to spend about half an hour every evening in my old, huge bathtub, reading a book and sipping my scotch. Then, my ~one-year old son would join me and we'd spend another half hour playing together. It was like being in a swimming pool. Absolutely great! Different strokes for different folks...

I don't know...I've definitely had a few hotel rooms where it seems impossible to not get water on the bathroom floor. Some even seem to be designed that way, with a drain in the floor, not just the shower. Definitely had one like that in Lisbon.

It seems really impractical to me, unless the shower has its own room.

Is it really so much more expensive to put on a full shower door? But I agree with you, most are manageable if you pay attention.

I don't know if it's a matter of cost, or just one of practicality. If you're used to the quarter panel, getting in and out is much less of a faff than with a folding one, especially if space is at a premium.

The wet room approach is common in a number of countries - Scandinavia and Italy spring to mind.

That seems to be my experience with old Dutch townhouses. A number of the guys I spent the night with (don't judge ) just had an open area for the shower in the bathroom.

As for the high bathtub walls in Europe. Even my mom commented on it when I took her on vacation. (She was always worried about it when climbing out of the tub). Europeans seem to like taking baths more than Americans do. So maybe that helps explain it.

I understand the open shower in a small space. What I don't get is why, in a nice hotel, with a large bathroom, and even a large walk-in shower, a quarter panel is installed rather than a sliding door. Even a half-panel, if there is such a thing, would be better.

If not cost, and apparently not space in some cases, is it an aesthetic thing? I'm done guessing.

Same reason that you work to remove moving parts from everything else.
Moving parts break.
They are generally more complex/intricate - so far more awkward to keep clean and in order.

Absolutely hate moving shower doors. Never look perfectly clean, hard to avoid looking worn.


You do get longer panels, but some people find them claustrophobic and awkward when used as a bath. Also, may have access limitations if it is a small bath room.

Indeed, a deeper bath takes up less floor space but still allows people to get themselves submerged.

To those who take baths, those European deep tubs are lovely. In US hotels and homes with the tub/shower combination, the tub is almost always too shallow.

Having renovated houses and stayed in places that have bathrooms in spaces not originally intended/designed for such, I can think of several reasons.

Old bathtubs (say from the 50s to '60s) in North America are really shallow. Some just about knee height from floor. I think hotels still like this height so there's less chance of people tripping on them and less water is used for a bath. This smaller size may well have to do with floor strength and weight of a full bath tub. I've wanted to install bigger, deeper tubs at times but the install notes strongly suggest that they're built in certain areas and/or the floor joist/beams are doubled up to support the potential weight.

In some place, the baths are built on a platform so that the drainage plumbing can be accommodated. Bath designs/standard can vary so installing the plumbing can be a PITA. Bath tub drains don't go straight into a hole. They actually have to be connected. And then you need a U/P trap somewhere so you don't get sewer or drainage smells.

In North America, floors are hollow so you can, in a pinch, manage the plumbing issues from below. Not so easy with concrete floors.

If standing in a bathtub, note the difference in floor height between the bath tub and floor. That gives you an idea what the height difference is and how much space there is for plumbing.

As for wet floors in baths, they also seem to be popular in Asia and Australia. The common feature is that the floor are concrete. I wouldn't want them in a wooden (North American) house as it'll just invite dampness and wood rot.

As for the quarter panels in bath tubs, they are a nuisance for all reasons already mentioned by others. I can only think that showers were not there originally or if so, a hand-held unit at best. Or otherwise, aesthetics a.k.a. form over function. That said, shower curtain are not that easy to install in some of the baths I've seen.

Actually I think high bathtubs were an American invention when Kohler found that you could put legs on a horse trough and make it into a bath tub. Later in more industrial times America cheapened down to shallow tubs that cost less and only now wealthy Americans are moving towards fancy claw feet tubs. Europe made that move to cheaper tubs much later and that's what most modern bathrooms in European homes have now, just as in America. But older homes may still have the older deep tubs and some hotels do as well. But if you go to, for instance, a newly built Holiday Inn Express in Europe, you won't find expensive deep tubs there.

I'm in a huge suite at a fancy new hotel in France and indeed there is a four legged deep tub in the bathroom. Looks very nice.