Waterproofed first. Tiled second.

Shoreline tile lands in the $14-to-$26 bracket per square foot installed — one number folding in tile, materials for setting, prep and labor — and at least $11 of every square foot is labor. Tub-shower surrounds tend to fall between $3,200 and $6,800; finish the whole bathroom — floor, shower, niche — and the total usually stops inside $6,500–$14,000. Format outweighs box price here: mosaics and large planks each stack real labor onto what plain 12×12 costs.

Shoreline's standard alcove showers price out from $3,200 to $6,800 — demolition, bonded waterproofing, pre-sloped pan, setting, niche, grout, all in. Steam, benches, curbless thresholds and floor-to-ceiling stone raise the figure. About a tenth of the total buys waterproofing — and that tenth is what stands off the five-figure repair.

Every shower, no exceptions. Spec is a bonded TCNA / ANSI A118.10 system: base with pre-slope, membrane (sheet or liquid) climbing the walls, corners, seams and penetrations closed up — then the drain gets plugged and the pan holds water for 24 photographed hours before tiling. To water, tile and grout are just decoration; the barrier is the membrane.

Expect four to six working days for a Shoreline bath: demolition with dust protection to start, substrate and waterproofing next with the flood test sitting overnight, one to two days of tile once it clears, then grout, silicone and trim to finish. Hold off using the shower for 24 hours of cure. A floor alone is typically done in one or two days.

Underfoot and in the wet, porcelain: below 0.5% water absorption, denser, and far more chip-resistant. On walls and backsplashes, ceramic performs fine for less money. Our Shoreline rule — porcelain for every floor and shower floor, ceramic or glass earning their spot on the vertical.

Yes — an electric radiant mat over uncoupling membrane comes to roughly $11 to $16 per square foot with thermostat and installation. Resistance gets tested twice — pre-set and post-set — and the mat runs on its own circuit. Small Shoreline bathrooms feel the effect most, and the affordable window for adding it closes the moment the floor is closed.

In most cases, yes. At around $3.50 per square foot with haul-away included, demolition is what lets us see the subfloor — rot, movement, level — and keep finished heights correct at doorways, which matters doubly in small rooms. Overlaying old tile is possible on a flat, sound, well-bonded base, but it raises the floor and buries what we would rather find early.

Standard backsplashes near 30 square feet cost Shoreline kitchens $1,100 to $2,200 — with outlet cutouts, trimmed edges and color-matched grout in the price. Bids climb when the layout does: think herringbone, sheet mosaic, a mitered frame detail at the cooktop, or ceiling-run slab-look porcelain — the hours sit in cutting and pattern work.

Often — starting near $8 per square foot. Good candidates: discolored or crumbling grout, a tile or two cracked by impact, shower corners ready for grout-out-silicone-in. Bad candidates: hollow-sounding floors, tiles releasing in a spreading pattern, walls that give when pressed — those mean the substrate is done, repairs only buy months, and we will name which case is yours before quoting.

All of Shoreline — Richmond Beach, Innis Arden, Richmond Highlands, Hillwood, Highland Terrace, Echo Lake, Meridian Park, Westminster Triangle, Parkwood, Ridgecrest, North City, Briarcrest, Ballinger and The Highlands — plus Lake Forest Park, Broadview and, beyond them, Seattle, Edmonds, Kenmore and the north end at large.

Every tile installation is backed by our 2-year workmanship warranty — set longer than our carpet term deliberately, because tile issues surface in year two, not week two. When we install a manufacturer's full waterproofing assembly, its system warranty applies as well, and our stored photos of the membrane and flood test preserve the evidence for as long as you own the house.