I really like the looks of some of these wooden shower floors. The question is are they practical? Can I clean them?

Besides the look of it, it seems like having a wooden shower floor would feel nicer on my feet when showering. I'm also wondering whether I could get away with not having a shower bath mat. Those are a pain.

I have four major questions:

  • how easy are they to clean?
  • what is the best wood to use?
  • how often do they need to be refinished?
  • how much extra can I expect to pay?

How easy are they to clean?

Hunker has a good article entitled "The disadvantages of a teak shower floor". It mentions that teak, "even though teak is resistant to [mold and mildew], it can grow between and underneath teak planks or tiles". The article also mentions:

Teak requires periodic oil treatments to maintain it's luster. In order to apply the oil though, the teak must be dry, which can take a few days. During that time you'll be without a shower.

Maybe teak isn't the way to go. Maybe the wood used should be Ipe (pronounced “ee-pay”). Here is a response in this thread from someone who has actually installed Ipe in their shower:

I used ipe decking in my master bath shower, raised off the tile floor with rubber feet. I rinse the ipe off soap scum after every shower, this takes about 5-10 seconds. Every regular cleaning the wood is lifted out, tile cleaned normally. I have a hard brush to scrub off any residual soap scum on the ipe, there usually isn't any. Two adults use this shower daily, but the wood does dry out completely over the course of the day/night. It is not continuously wet.
I've had the ipe for more than two years without issue, no mold or other concerns. Ipe is heavy, however, and removing it every week or two to clean the tile may be difficult.

Here is a response in a different thread from a person who has Ipe shower walls:

I have a shower with ipe walls. This material was also reclaimed from a deck, so it is about 20 years old, run through a planer once to clean up the surface and it looks like new. I made shiplap on my shaper and installed with stainless trim screws onto 2×2 black locust battens that are over a membrane waterproofing. I caulked the few holes made by installing the locust battens through the membrane as they were installed. Caulked the old deck screw holes in the reclaimed planks with a clear non-toxic caulk called EcoBond.
Finish is a single coat of Penofin Verde penetrating oil. So far, I see absolutely no mold, mildew, scum, or dirt at all. It looks cleaner than tile walls as it hides any water spots.

Here is one with a few details on how they laid it:

This shower was done with Ipe (pronounced ee pay). The deck is made in 3 sections. The two outer decks have 4 legs each. The middle section is supported by the end sections. This was done for several reasons; 1- Ipe is very very heavy 2- the door to the shower is only 2 feet wide, 3- all the stainless steel fasteners are hidden.
Underneath the Ipe deck is a dropped section of the slab, with a typical kerdi shower, covered with 4x4 porcelain tiles that match the walls.
The shower glass is set to the porcelain floor tiles, on the edge of the tile, with a small gap to the decks to allow for drainage, air circulation, and deck removal for cleaning.

One of the keys it seems is to design the flooring where the planks can be removed easily so the surfaces under the wood flooring can be cleaned.

What is the best wood to use?

From the above comments, it sounds like the answer to question #2, which wood to use, is Ipe. The comments from homeowners who actually have installed wooden shower floors all use Ipe.

How often do they need to be refinished?

This is from an article on IPE decking:

If you’re letting your Ipe fade to silver, you’ll only need to seal the deck upon installation. However, to keep the original coloring, you’ll have to apply sealer annually.

I suspect with all the water that a shower floor will receive, a sealer might need to be applied more frequently.

Here is a comment from a wood seller who's customer installed an Ipe shower:

The durability of the wood has exceeded their expectations considering it is such a wet environment.

How much extra can I expect to pay?

Put actual figures here.