Service
Shower Installation
Installing showers, including the valve, the waste, the pan and the waterproofing behind the tile, which is what decides whether it leaks later.
- Licensed and insured
- Price agreed before work
- A plumber who works your area
Tile is not the waterproofing
If one thing decides whether a shower leaks in five years, it is this, and it is invisible in the finished job.
Grout is porous. Water passes through it during ordinary use and reaches whatever is behind. That is expected and it is not a defect.
What stops it entering the structure is a waterproofing layer behind the tile: a membrane or an applied system covering the walls and floor of the enclosure, sealed at the corners, the joints and around the waste.
A shower tiled onto plain board with none of that will look identical on the day it is finished. The difference shows up as a damp ceiling below, and by then the repair means removing the shower.
Get it wrong before the tile goes on, not after
Two things are effectively permanent once the wall is closed.
Valve depth. The valve body has to sit at a specific distance behind the finished tile face so the trim seats flat and the cartridge stays reachable. Too deep and the handle will not reach; too proud and the trim stands off the wall. Neither can be corrected without removing tile.
Testing. The valve, the supply connections and the waste all get pressure tested, and the pan flood tested, while everything is still accessible.
Both take a short time at the right moment and are expensive at any other.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- Fitting a shower in a new or renovated bathroom
- Replacing a shower that has been leaking into the structure
- Adding a second shower to a property
- Upgrading to a thermostatic or pressure-balancing valve
- A shower with no waterproofing behind the tile
Signs you need shower installation
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- The bathroom is being renovated
- The existing shower has been leaking into the floor or ceiling
- Temperature control has never worked properly
- The existing installation predates modern waterproofing practice
What to expect
How the visit works
Check supply and drainage
Pipe size, available pressure and where the waste can run determine what is possible before any product is chosen.
Set the valve
The valve body is positioned and secured at the right depth for the finished wall, since a valve set too deep or too proud cannot be trimmed out properly afterwards.
Waterproof the enclosure
The membrane or waterproofing system behind the tile is what actually keeps water out. Tile and grout are a surface, not a barrier.
Test before closing up
The valve and waste are pressure tested and the pan flood tested before tiling, because after tiling a fault is expensive to reach.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- Supply and drainage confirmed before products are chosen
- Valve depth set for the finished wall thickness
- A proper waterproofing system, not tile alone
- Flood tested before anything is tiled over
Questions
Shower Installation questions
Is tile and grout waterproof?
No, and this is the most consequential misunderstanding in bathroom work. Grout is porous, and water passes through it steadily during normal use. What keeps water out of the structure is the waterproofing layer behind the tile: a membrane or applied system covering the walls and floor of the enclosure. A shower tiled onto plain board with no waterproofing will get water into the structure, and the timeline is years rather than decades.
Why does the valve have to be set before tiling?
Because its depth is fixed relative to the finished wall surface, and the finished surface does not exist yet. The valve body has to sit at the right distance behind where the tile will end up, so the trim plate seats flat and the cartridge can be reached. Set too deep and the handle will not reach; too proud and the trim will not sit against the wall. Correcting it afterwards means removing tile.
Should I fit a thermostatic valve?
It is worth it in most households. A thermostatic valve holds the outlet temperature even when supply pressures change, so flushing a toilet or starting a washing machine does not turn a shower cold or scalding. A pressure-balancing valve is the simpler version and covers the safety issue. On an old installation with neither, the upgrade is generally the most noticeable improvement from a shower renovation.
Related services
Shower Repair
Repairing showers that drip, run cold, lose pressure or leak into the structure, which are four faults with four different causes.
See what this coversTub to Shower Conversion
Replacing a bath with a walk-in shower, which changes the waste position, the valve height and the waterproofing, not just the fixture.
See what this coversShower Valve Repair
Repairing shower mixing valves that drip, stick, will not hold temperature or have scaled up internally, usually without disturbing any tiling.
See what this coversWater Heater Repair
Diagnosis and repair of gas, electric and tankless water heaters, including no-hot-water calls, leaks, pilot problems and sediment flushing.
See what this covers
Get it fixed
Shower Installation, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does shower installation every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work