Old shower out.
Tile to the ceiling.
Most of what we do is bathrooms, and most of those start the same way: a fibreglass surround that has gone yellow, grout nobody can get clean, and a room the family has quietly stopped using.
Same corner, same window. The tub stayed. Everything to the left of it came out and went back in tiled, with a frameless door and a niche set at a height you can actually reach.
A bathroom is eleven trades pretending to be one.
The order matters more than the tile does. Get the substrate and the waterproofing wrong and the prettiest tile in Mecklenburg County will still fail in three years.
- Protect and demoFloors covered, old surround and tile out, debris hauled the same day rather than left in your driveway.
- Rough inAny plumbing or electrical that has to move, moves now. Blocking goes in for grab bars and glass while the wall is open.
- Substrate and waterproofingBacker board, then a waterproofing layer over every surface that will see water. This is the part nobody sees and the only part that matters in five years.
- TileSet flat, spaced properly, with the layout worked out on the floor first so the cuts land where you want them.
- Grout, glass and fixturesGrouted once and left to cure, then glass measured to the finished opening rather than the framed one.
- Paint and punch listTrim, touch ups, and a walk through where you point at things and they get fixed before we leave.
Flat, then waterproof, then pretty.
Tile only stays put if what it is stuck to is flat and dry. So walls get straightened before anything is set, the pan gets sloped properly to the drain, and the waterproofing goes over corners and the curb rather than up to them.
It is slower. It is also the difference between a shower that looks good and a shower that is still good when you sell the house.
Rosie brings the samples to the room.
Tile is a different colour in a showroom than it is in your bathroom at seven in the morning. Grout changes it again. So the shortlist comes to the house and gets held up against your wall, in your light, next to the fixtures you already own.
It also keeps the decision small. Two or three real options beat a warehouse of them.
What actually moves the price.
We are not going to print a number here that turns out to be wrong at your house. Here is what the estimate is built from instead.
- Whether the layout movesLeaving the drain and the vanity where they are is the single biggest saving available.
- What is behind the wallRot, old galvanised pipe, or framing that is not where it should be. Found on day one, priced honestly, not sprung on you in week two.
- Tile size and patternLarge format needs a flatter wall. Herringbone and mosaic take longer to set. Both are fine, both cost more than a running bond.
- GlassA framed door and a frameless panel are different jobs and different money.
- FixturesYou buy them or we do. Either works, and it changes the number.
The review, in full.
From my very first phone call to this company I was very impressed. They were right on the ball. They called me back immediately, came the same day for an estimate which was very reasonable.
Rocco's who did my bathroom was amazing and the work he did was perfection which I have found these days is hard to find. Not only did he do great work, he was just a pleasant person to have around and now he feels like part of the family. Rosie was a sweetheart and made sure she connected with us on any updates as to his arrival and they were always punctual. If I had any questions she would get back to me immediately.
I will be using them again for my next project. I highly recommend them.
Asked on nearly every first call.
Can we still use the bathroom while you work?
Not that one. Rocco works one room at a time and it is out of action from demo until the glass goes in. If it is your only bathroom, say so on the first call, because that changes how the schedule is built.
Do I have to buy the tile and fixtures myself?
Only if you want to. Plenty of people enjoy that part. If you would rather not, Rosie will bring a shortlist and handle the ordering.
Can you keep the tub?
Often, yes. On the job in these photos the tub stayed and everything around it changed. Keeping a tub that is in good shape is usually money better spent on the shower.
What happens if you find something behind the wall?
You hear about it the day we find it, with a photo and what it costs to put right. Nothing gets quietly buried and nothing appears on the final invoice that you have not already agreed to.
Do you do small bathrooms and powder rooms?
Yes. A powder room is a short job and it still gets a real date rather than being squeezed in whenever there is a gap.
One number. Someone picks it up.
Tell Rosie what room you are looking at and roughly when you want it done. She will get you a date to come and see it.