Building a custom, all tile steam room is an expensive but rewarding proposition.  Steam offers real health benefits, especially for those with specific health issues.  Additionally, it is a proven source of relaxation and pleasure.  So you’ve decided to build a steam room.  Lets get started.

 1)  Choosing a steam generator
There are plenty of brands of steam generators out there.  What they do is simple: produce steam.  How do you pick one over another?  Well, I am wary to name specific brands because I want to stay as non-commercial as possible.  Things you want to look for.  1)  Brand Name  2)  KWs.  You probably want about 3 KWs for every 150 cubic feet of space.  If you have less, the room will take longer to fill up with steam.  For anything over 150 cubic feet you should use 220V power with at least 10 amps.

 2) Tiling in the room.
Most tile is waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about that.  What you want to look for is tile that is not slippery when wet.  Make sure you actually test this out before buying it.  Then you need to get grout and make sure the grout is sealed.  Bathroom tile runs $1 to $5 per square foot, along with another $3-$5/square foot for installation, grouting, and seailng.  Remember, you need tile for the walls and for the floor, so a 6 x 6 shower is going to require 180 square feet of tile.  At $10/square foot for tile, installation, and grouting, you are talking about $1800, which isn’t that expensive.

 3) Shower faucets:
Shower faucets are a pretty personal decision.  They all do the same thing, but some of them cost $10 and some of them cost $2000.  Again, I don’t want to recommend a brand.  Just know that even the highest end showerheads are made in China, so don’t worry about that.  The function of a showerhead is so simple that there is no real cost in building them.  Just marketing, hype, branding, etc.  My advice is to buy a showerhead you like for cheap.  If it ends up being a problem, replace it with a more expensive one.

 4) Framing Walls:  This is simple.  Have someone frame a wall for you, or do it yourself.  There is plenty of information all over the Internet on framing walls, so I don’t have much to say here.  Estimated cost: $1000 for 3 walls

5) Picking a door: My favorite showers are walk-in, wrap around showers with no doors.