Why will nobody give me a price over the phone?

Because the cost of a shower is decided by what is behind the existing one, whether plumbing moves, the tile format and whether the entry is curbless. A number given before any of that is known is either padded or about to change.

How long will my shower be out of use?

It depends on the scope, but plan for the wet area to be unavailable for the whole build, including the flood test hold and the grout cure. We give a dated schedule for your specific shower rather than a generic range.

Shower Experts Idaho

Planning a Project

Eight Questions Worth Asking Any Shower Contractor

Written by Meridian Bath editorial team (author name to be added)

Reviewed by Trade reviewer to be assigned

Updated 2026-08-16

Short answer

The useful questions are about the parts of a shower you will never see again. Ask which complete waterproofing system will be used and whether every component comes from that manufacturer, whether the shower will be flood tested before tile, whether the waterproofing will be photographed, where blocking will be installed, and what the written scope excludes as well as what it includes.

Key takeaways

Ask which system, not whether it will be waterproofed.
A flood test and photographs before tile are reasonable to require.
The exclusions in a scope tell you more than the inclusions.
Anyone quoting a firm price without seeing the shower is guessing.

The eight questions

1Which waterproofing system will you use, and does every component come from that manufacturer?
2Will the shower be flood tested before tile, and for how long?
3Will you photograph the waterproofing before covering it and give me the photographs?
4Where will you install blocking, and will it cover a future grab bar?
5How will the floor slope be formed and verified?
6Where will movement joints go at changes of plane?
7What does the written scope exclude?
8Who is doing the tile setting, and will the same person be here for the whole job?

The sequence that cannot be compressed

Demolition and rough-in, then substrate and slope, then waterproofing, then a flood test, then tile, then grout cure, then glass measured to the finished tile. The flood test and the grout cure are chemistry and physics, not scheduling preferences. A programme that skips them is not faster; it is just less certain.

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