What the owner asked for
A dated tub and shower: small white wall tile, grout that had gone dark at every joint no matter how often it was cleaned, and a shower curtain. They wanted a walk-in shower and asked whether the tile could simply be replaced.
What we found once it was open
It could not. With the surround off, the wall behind the old shower had been wet long enough to damage the framing, and the original plumbing was still in place. That is the moment a bathroom job either gets done properly or gets covered back up.
It is also why we do not quote a bathroom without seeing it. Anyone can price tile per square foot. Nobody can price what is behind the wall from a photograph, which is why a number given over the phone is a number that will change.
What we did
- Stripped it back to the studs. The only way to see the full extent of the damage, and to be sure nothing was left wet behind new work.
- Repaired the framing and re-plumbed. New supply and a new drain, set for a walk-in pan rather than a tub.
- Waterproofed properly. Membrane and a sloped pan, inspected before a single tile went on. This is the step that decides whether the room still looks like this in ten years.
- Tiled and finished. Large-format porcelain on the walls, hexagonal mosaic on the floor for grip, a recessed niche with a herringbone back, a bench, brushed-nickel rainfall and handheld, and frameless glass.
What it means for your bathroom
Most bathrooms of this age have something behind the wall. Sometimes it is nothing; sometimes it is this. A written fixed price after a site visit exists precisely so that finding it is our problem and not a change order handed to you mid-job.
If your bathroom is the same vintage — small wall tile, a tub you never use, grout you cannot get clean — the visit is free and a licensed contractor does it, not a salesperson.