Plan a bathroom remodel at least a season before you want to use the shower. The slow parts are the decisions, the permit and the cure times, not the demolition. This guide gives the order of work, why each step sits where it does, and where the videos on this site show it done.
At a glance
| Skill level | A tile shower is called a more advanced DIY project in one of the series we use; a vanity, toilet or floor swap is easier |
| Time | The 14-day remodel of two bathrooms in the pocket-door video was a challenge with a deadline, not a normal pace. Plan longer, and allow for cure times |
| Permit | Often needed when you move plumbing or wiring. Ask your local building office before you start |
| Pro work | Wiring, gas, and new plumbing runs between floors |
Safety first
- Electrical. Turn the breaker off and test the wires with a non-contact voltage tester before you touch a fan, light or outlet. Wiring beyond a like-for-like swap is a job for a licensed electrician, and the permit office decides whether you need a permit. See When to Call a Licensed Electrician, Plumber or Gas Fitter.
- Water. Know where your shutoff is before demolition. The emergency shut-off guide shows where.
- Plumbing. The presenter in the pocket-door video says moving existing lines is easy, but new plumbing from scratch or between floors calls for a professional.
- Old walls. The EPA says homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead-based paint. Health Canada says homes built before 1991 may have it, and lists drywall, spackling, putty and paint among the materials in pre-1990 homes that may contain asbestos. Have suspect material tested before you cut or sand it.
- Cutting and mixing. Wear safety glasses at the wet saw, and ear protection. One shower video advises a respirator, gloves and a shop vac when you pour powdered thinset, and a sharp knife rather than tugging at membrane.
Step 1: Decide the layout on paper
Everything downstream follows from this. Choices like a curbless entry, a traditional curb, frameless glass, a half wall, a bench or shampoo niches change the framing, so settle them before any tile goes on a wall (the Lowe’s series makes this point). The same series frames the walls 90 degrees to each other, so the floor has no odd grout lines or angled cuts, and centres the valves and drain lines.
If you are moving a window, look for rot. In the pocket-door remodel, rotten 2x4s showed up where a window had sat beside the shower, and the fix added insulation and a vapour barrier.
Step 2: Tear out, then check the bones
Strip to the studs and the floor. Then check three things before you build back:
- Floor level. One shower build wants the floor within 3/8 in., with no voids deeper than that, and a bumpy concrete slab was ground flat first.
- Walls plumb and square. That wall was almost an inch out of plumb at the top before it was corrected.
- Drain position. On a slab, the drain stub-out has to finish at the right height before you set the pan.
The basement video removes an old one-piece shower unit by cutting about two inches of drywall from the sides and top and unscrewing it from the studs.
Step 3: Rough in the plumbing and any wiring
Move or add water and drain lines now, while the walls are open. Lowe’s recommends charging the water lines and putting them under pressure, so any leak shows before the wall is closed in. The pocket-door video notes PEX crimp rings should sit about an eighth of an inch from the end of the pipe. Wiring changes happen at this stage too, by a licensed electrician where your local rules require one.
Step 4: Build the shower base and waterproof it
This is the step that decides whether the bathroom leaks. The presenter in the custom pan video says that in his professional experience, 99% of leaks happen in the corner or around the drain, so he builds the whole system around those spots.
- Level the floor under the pan. The foam pan in the Lowe’s series has about 1/8 in. of slope to the drain, which will not overcome a badly unlevel floor.
- Set the pan in thinset with full coverage and no voids, then check the curb with a level.
- Fasten the wall board to the studs. One system calls for a screw and washer about every 12 in.
- Seal every joint, corner and screw head. Follow the manufacturer’s overlap: part 2 of the Lowe’s series quotes 2 in. of coverage at every penetration.
- Test. The basement shower was filled 1 to 2 in. deep, the level marked, and left for 24 hours. Lowe’s says tiling can proceed without a water test, unless your municipality requires one.
Step 5: Tile the floor, let it cure, then do the walls
Tile the shower floor first and leave it overnight. In part 3 of the Lowe’s series the mosaic floor set overnight so the thinset could cure enough to support weight before wall work began.
For the main bathroom floor, this tile-on-concrete video starts the layout square to the door so there is a full tile at the entry. It checks thinset thickness with a finger drag test, and sets large tile with back buttering and leveling clips.
On the walls, dry fit the first course and cut it to a laser line. Leave an eighth of an inch between the floor tile and the wall tile for caulk.
Step 6: Grout, then caulk the corners
Grout a small area at a time so it does not dry to a haze before you wipe it. Part 4 of the Lowe’s series caulks every inside corner instead of grouting it, with colour-matched siliconised acrylic caulk. The floor video wipes with two half-full pails, each with its own sponge. Waterproofing behind the tile keeps the water out, not the grout or caulk.
Step 7: Fixtures, glass and trim
Set the toilet, vanity and glass last, so nothing gets scratched or tiled around. The tempered glass in the pocket-door remodel is handled carefully because the video notes it can shatter. If the toilet flange sits low after new floor tile, see Replace a toilet: flange height, wax ring and bolts.
Tools and materials
- Level, tape measure, utility knife
- Notched trowel (the series use 1/4 by 1/4, and 1/4 by 3/8 for the pan)
- Tile saw, safety glasses, ear protection
- Cordless drill and a mud mixer for thinset
- Thinset, waterproofing membrane or board with its own fasteners, tile, grout, caulk. Follow the system maker’s instructions for the whole assembly.
What it costs: only what the videos say
Prices vary by region and year. These are one creator’s numbers, in USD:
| Item (basement shower, Mr. Build It) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Shower faucet system | $90 |
| Schluter pan system | $522 |
| Drain gate | $50 |
| Pipe fittings in the concrete | $60 |
| Tile and grout | $250 |
| Tile levelers | $40 |
His original budget was $1,500, and he had spent about $1,012 on these items when the video ended. A closet kit in the pocket-door remodel cost about $500. For labour, ask local contractors for written quotes.
Mistakes to avoid
- Tiling before the base and walls are waterproofed and checked.
- Wall tile on a floor that is still curing.
- Ignoring a floor that is out of level. The pan will not fix it.
- Leaving thinset in the grout lines. It chips the tile when the leveling clips snap off.
- Skipping the permit question.
See it in the projects
- Tile a Walk-in Shower and Walk-in Shower Tiling, the four-part series
- Basement Shower Makeover
- Every video for Tile a shower, Tile a bathroom floor and Regrout tile
- The Bathroom room, the Tile and Plumbing systems, and the Cracked grout problem page for repairs after the job
- To change a toilet, see Replace a toilet
Put it on the calendar
- Look at the caulk in the inside corners and at the tub or shower base from time to time. The first sign of failure is a crack or gap, and Fix Cracked Grout at Wall Transitions With Matching Caulk shows the repair. We have no sourced interval, so go by what you see.
- Keep the box and instructions for the shower system. The manufacturer’s overlap and warranty terms are in them.
Sources
- Lowe’s Home Improvement on YouTube, shown on this site. Setting a Schluter Shower Pan and Curb for a 3×5 Walk-in Shower (video, Lowe’s Home Improvement) Source
- Home RenoVision DIY on YouTube, shown on this site. Building a Leak-Resistant Shower With a Custom Pan and Kerdi (video, Home RenoVision DIY) Source
- Mr. Build It on YouTube, shown on this site, source of the costs quoted below. Rebuilding a Tiny Basement Shower on a Concrete Slab With Tile (video, Mr. Build It) Source
- Video shown on this site, source of the 14-day schedule and the plumbing advice. Doubling a Small Bathroom: Pocket Door, Closet and Big Shower Source
- US Environmental Protection Agency. Protect your family from sources of lead Source
- Health Canada. Asbestos and your health Source