Tile Showers

Clean Demolition

Tear-out is dirty work, and how it’s done determines what your house looks like when it’s over.

• Dust containment. Plastic zip walls between the bathroom and living space. HEPA vacuums on tile saws and grinders. Silica dust from old tile and mortar is a respiratory hazard — handled accordingly.
• Floor and fixture protection. Hardwood, vinyl, and adjacent tile get covered before any demo starts. Toilets, vanities, and trim that aren’t being replaced are wrapped or removed and stored.
• Down to studs and subfloor. Old tile, mortar bed, backer board, and any failed waterproofing all come out. Framing, blocking, and the subfloor get inspected for rot, mold, or movement before anything new goes back.
• Haul-off included. Debris leaves with us. No piles in the driveway.

Substrate & Framing

What we find under the old shower often dictates the next steps. Common fixes:

• Replacing rotted bottom plates or wall studs
• Adding  blocking for niches, benches, grab bars, and shower doors
• Sistering joists when the floor flexes — tile won’t tolerate movement
• Re-sheeting the subfloor when needed before any membrane goes down

Waterproofing

Every tile shower we build is fully waterproofed using proven systems that meet recognized industry standards.

Porcelain Tile Showers

We default to porcelain tiles for shower walls and floors — Porcelain is denser, harder, and far less absorbent than ceramic.

• Rectified porcelain for tight grout joints and a clean modern look
• Large-format and slab porcelain installed with medium-bed (LHT) mortar and proper coverage to meet TCNA’s 95% bond requirement on wet areas
• Mosaics for shower floors — small tiles conform to slope and provide footing
• Through-body porcelain options where chip resistance matters

Natural stone is available on request, with the additional sealing and maintenance schedule it requires.

Reinstallation

After demo, framing fixes, and waterproofing comes the build:

1. Cement backer board or foam board, fastened per manufacturer spec
2. Pre-slope and pan installation, drain set to finished tile height
3. Waterproof membrane — seams, corners, drain flange, and curb fully sealed
4. 48-hour flood test before tile to confirm the pan holds
5. Tile layout planned for symmetry, niche centerlines, and minimal cuts at sightlines
6. Setting in appropriate thin-set with full back-buttering on large format
7. Stain-resistant grout, color matched to the design
8. Silicone caulking at all change-of-plane joints

Niches, Benches & Curbs

• Pre-formed foam niches (Schluter, Wedi) sized to your bottles, sloped at the sill, fully wrapped in membrane
• Built-in benches with proper slope and waterproofing
• Curbs wrapped on three sides — top, inside, outside — and tied into the pan membrane

Service Area

Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend, Forks, and the rest of Clallam and Jefferson County.