Remediate RenovationBay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth · 24/7, a person answers
(281) 671-7777
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Walk-in showers
Remediate Renovation builds walk-in showers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth, and you can reach a person 24/7 to start one. A shower you step into without climbing over a tub wall: curbless or with a low curb, open or behind glass, with a bench and grab bars if you want them. Built from the waterproofing up, so the water stays inside it.
- Insured
- Design, permits and plans handled by us
- Free consultation and quote
Why people want one
Why choose a walk-in shower?
Most people who call about a walk-in shower want one of three things: an easier way in, a room that feels bigger, or a bathroom they can keep using for many more years.
Nothing to climb over
No tub wall and no high step. You walk in at floor level or over a curb a few inches high, which matters on wet feet and with sore knees.
A room that looks larger
One floor running into the shower, clear glass or no glass at all: the eye sees the whole room instead of a box in the corner.
Staying in your home
A shower without a step, a place to sit and something solid to hold is what lets many people keep living in the house they love as they get older.
Easier to clean
Fewer edges, tracks and corners for soap and water to collect. Large tile means fewer grout lines to scrub.
The first choice
Curbless or a low curb: which entry fits your bathroom?
Both are walk-in showers. The difference is what stops the water at the edge, and how much of the floor has to change to get there.
Curbless (zero entry)
The bathroom floor runs straight into the shower with no lip. The shower floor still has to slope down to the drain, so the floor framing under it is usually lowered to make room for that slope. It suits a wheelchair, a walker or a shower chair, and it gives the cleanest look.
Low curb
A short, wide curb holds the water in. It needs less work under the floor, so it suits a bathroom where lowering the floor is hard, for example over a slab or a finished ceiling below. It is still a step you barely notice.
How we decide
We open nothing to decide it. At the consultation we look at what is under the floor, who will use the shower now and later, and the look you want, then recommend one and explain why.
What you never see
How a walk-in shower is built to stay dry
A walk-in shower has no tub to catch the water, so everything depends on the layers under the tile. Tile and grout let water through; the layer behind them is what keeps it out of the house.
A continuous waterproof layer
The shower floor and walls get one waterproof layer with no gaps, carried up the walls and lapped at every seam and corner.
Sealed where pipes come through
The drain, the valve and the shower head are where water finds its way in. Each one is sealed into the waterproof layer, not just caulked.
A floor that slopes to the drain
Water must run to the drain from every spot on the floor and never sit in a low corner. On a curbless shower the slope also keeps water from running out into the room.
The right drain for the floor
A center drain with a sloped floor around it, or a long linear drain along one side or at the entry, which lets the floor slope one way and suits large tile.
Tile set on a dry, solid base
Only once the layers below are finished does the tile go on, in the tile or stone you choose.
The opening
Glass door, a fixed panel or an open shower?
Full glass enclosure
A door and panels close the shower in. It keeps the warmth and the spray inside, which helps in a smaller bathroom.
One fixed panel
A single glass wall blocks the spray with no door to swing or track to clean. The shower needs enough length so the water stays behind the panel.
Open, no glass
Works in a larger room, where the shower head can point away from the opening and the floor can carry the water back to the drain.
Aging in place
Grab bars, a bench and a shower you can use for years
The time to plan for later is before the walls are tiled. Adding these afterwards often means opening finished tile.
Grab bars on solid backing
A grab bar holds a person's weight only if it is fixed to solid backing inside the wall. We plan where the bars go and put the backing in before the wall is closed, even for bars you may add later.
A bench or a seat
A built-in bench tiled with the shower, a corner seat, or a fold-down seat that stays out of the way.
A hand shower and controls within reach
A hand shower on a slide bar, with the valve placed where you can reach it from the seat and from outside the spray.
Tile with grip underfoot
Smaller floor tile with more grout lines, or a tile chosen for wet floors, gives your feet more grip.
Light and room to turn
Good light in the shower and clear space at the entry, if a walker or a wheelchair has to come in.
When it was built badly
What a leaking shower does to the house
A shower with a gap in its waterproofing or a floor that holds water can leak for months before anyone sees it. The water soaks the subfloor, the framing and the wall behind the tile, and mold can grow where it stays wet.
The signs
A soft floor beside the shower, loose tile, grout that stays dark, a musty smell, peeling paint on the far side of the wall, or a stain on the ceiling below.
First, find the water
Moisture readings show how far the water went. What is wet comes out, and the structure is dried until the readings say dry. See water damage mitigation.
If there is mold
Everything the mold touched is replaced with new material, never cleaned and reused. More on mold remediation.
Then the new shower
The walk-in shower is built on the dry structure. One call covers the drying and the rebuild, and we document the loss for the claim.
How it goes
From the first visit to the first shower
Consultation
We see the bathroom, look at the floor and the walls, and ask who uses the shower. If there are signs of a leak, the readings come first.
Design
Design is included: entry, size, drain, glass, bench, grab bars, tile and fixtures.
Permits and plans
We handle the permits and plans the job needs.
Construction
Tear-out, floor and framing work, waterproofing, then tile, glass and fixtures.
The first consultation and quote are free.
Finishes
Tile, stone and fixtures for the shower
You choose the materials; we build the shower around them.
Cost and planning
What changes the cost of a walk-in shower?
The floor under it
Curbless usually means lowering or reframing the floor; a low curb usually does not. A slab or a finished ceiling below changes the work.
Size, glass and drain
The shower's size, the glass or no glass, a linear or a center drain, a bench, a niche and the grab bar backing.
Tile and fixtures
The tile or stone and the valve, heads and hand shower you pick. The quote follows a visit, never a price list.
The first consultation and quote are free. Our work comes with a written warranty, its terms set in your contract, and financing is available through our lending partner.
Related services
- Bathroom remodelingWhen the shower is part of a whole new bathroom.
- Water damage mitigationWhen the old shower has already leaked.
- Mold remediationWhen the leak left mold behind the tile.
- Steam showersA sealed shower that doubles as a steam room.
- Whole-home remodelingWhen the house is changing around you.
Where we build walk-in showers
We build walk-in showers in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Dallas–Fort Worth. See the cities we serve.
Questions
Walk-in shower questions
Should my walk-in shower be curbless or have a low curb?
Curbless is the easiest to walk or roll into and makes the room read as one floor, but the floor under it usually has to be lowered so it can slope to the drain. A low curb keeps the water in with less floor work. We look at your floor and your plans before we recommend one.
What keeps a walk-in shower from leaking?
What sits under the tile. Grout and tile are not waterproof on their own, so the floor and walls need a continuous waterproof layer, sealed where it meets the drain, the valve and every corner, and a floor that slopes to the drain so water never sits.
Does a walk-in shower need a glass door?
No. A shower can be fully enclosed with a door, have one fixed glass panel, or be open with no glass at all. How far the water travels depends on the size of the shower, where the shower head points and the floor slope, so the choice is made together with the layout.
Can you add grab bars and a bench to a walk-in shower?
Yes. Grab bars need solid backing inside the wall, so they are planned before the wall is closed and tiled. A bench can be built in and tiled with the shower or be a fold-down seat. Tell us at the consultation who will use the shower and how.
What are the signs an old shower is leaking into the wall or floor?
A soft or springy floor next to the shower, loose or cracked tile, grout that stays dark long after a shower, a musty smell, peeling paint on the other side of the wall, or a stain on the ceiling below. Moisture readings show where the water went before anything is opened.
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Plan your walk-in shower with us
A tub you no longer use, a step that has become hard, or a shower that leaks. We come and look, then tell you what we would build.
Call (281) 671-7777