Custom Showers in Lake Stevens, WA

Almost every shower leak we open up in Lake Stevens traces back to the same cause: a shower built with a painted-on liquid membrane, or no waterproofing behind the tile at all. Water gets through the grout (grout is not waterproof), soaks the substrate, and rots the wall and subfloor from the inside. By the time it shows on the ceiling below, the damage is extensive.

We build every custom shower on a bonded sheet membrane system—Schluter KERDI or Wedi—that creates a continuous, waterproof layer from the drain up the walls. The drain ties into the membrane, so any water that penetrates the tile still flows out the drain, not into your framing. It costs more than a painted membrane and it's the single best investment in a shower build.

Curbless walk-in showers are popular in Lake Stevens remodels for good reason—they look clean, they're accessible, and they make a smaller bathroom feel larger. But a curbless shower needs a sloped floor and a linear trench drain, which requires enough subfloor depth to recess the pan. In older homes with shallow floor framing, that can mean raising the floor or re-engineering the joists.

A curbed shower is simpler, less expensive, and contains water more reliably on an uneven floor. We help you choose based on your space, your subfloor, and whether aging-in-place or accessibility is a priority. Either way, the waterproofing underneath is identical—because that's the part that decides whether the shower lasts.

The details make a custom shower. We plan the tile layout so grout lines land cleanly at corners and the drain, miter the outside corners instead of using plastic trim, and build recessed shampoo niches and benches into the waterproofing rather than bolting them on after. Epoxy grout in the wet zones means a shower that resists staining and mildew for the life of the install.

Frameless glass is measured and fabricated after the tile is in, so it fits the actual opening—not a theoretical one. We coordinate the glass, the showerhead and controls, and a final leak test so the shower is truly finished when we hand it over, not waiting on a missing part. A custom shower built this way is the most reliable, lowest-maintenance part of your bathroom.