I am in the process of remodeling my bathroom. I basically gutted everything, and am putting in a shower/whirlpool combo with the surround tiled.

One problem I ran into is that the apron in front of the whirlpool is 5" outand the whirlpool lip is about 4" out. So it takes quite a large stretch to get in there. The way it is set up now, I can't really move the apron back because it lines up with a stud for tiling.

Someone had recommended putting a built in step covered in ceramic tile. I haven't seen many of these, but the idea sounds good. is there a way to make the step safe (wet ceramic tile is probably pretty slippery)? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
ekaplan1020