Ada County · City
Custom Shower Design & Construction in Star, Idaho
Rapid growth on the valley's northwest edge, mixing new subdivision homes with older river-adjacent and acreage properties.
Short answer
Star has changed faster than almost anywhere in the valley, and its shower work reflects the split. New subdivision homes arrive with adequate but generic wet areas, and clients want them rebuilt in tile with a real curbless entry before they have lived with them long. Older homes near the river and on the surrounding acreage are the opposite: original or heavily patched showers, often on private wells, needing a full rebuild.
Housing stock in Star and the showers it produces
- Very recent subdivision construction across most of the city's growth area, largely 2015 onward.
- Older homes in and around the original town centre with small, dated bathrooms.
- River-adjacent and acreage properties, many on private wells and septic.
- Larger custom homes on the north side toward the foothills.
What we build in Star
- In new homes, the most requested change is a curbless entry with a linear drain — the detail the builder did not offer. Where the bathroom is on a wood floor over a crawlspace, this is straightforward to recess.
- Owners of very new homes often want to keep the existing plumbing locations to control cost. That is usually achievable and worth doing, because the footprint is rarely the limitation in this housing.
- On acreage properties, we confirm water hardness and iron before specifying grout, sealer and glass. Private wells in this area differ enough that a general assumption is not good enough.
- Larger north-side custom homes tend toward wide showers with dual heads, which changes the drainage design: two heads running need more fall and, usually, a linear drain rather than a centre point drain.
Permits and jurisdiction
Permit thresholds, inspection sequences and contractor-registration requirements are set locally and change over time. We confirm current requirements with the authority having jurisdiction before work starts, and you should expect any shower contractor to tell you which office that is. In Star that is the City of Star building department, with permits commonly administered through Ada County development services; addresses outside city limits are county jurisdiction.
Star's newer housing is predominantly wood-framed over crawlspaces, which is why curbless entries are unusually achievable here. Confirming joist direction and depth in the specific bay is still the first thing we do before promising a flush floor.
Municipal supply in Star is groundwater and hard; surrounding acreage is on private wells with more variation, including iron in some areas. Because much of the housing is new, clients are often surprised by scale marking on original glass — treated glass and a lower-sheen tile finish make a visible difference.
Our guide on what to ask a shower contractor covers the permit, scope and waterproofing questions worth asking before you sign anything.
Areas we cover in and around Star
- Downtown Star and the original town grid
- Subdivisions along State Street and Star Road
- River-adjacent properties south of town
- North Star acreage toward the foothills
Services available in Star
Preparing for the build
Before the first day, clear the bathroom and the route to it, take anything off the walls that shares framing with the shower, and tell us which bathroom stays in use and where the crew can park. We bring floor protection, door containment and dust control, isolate the water supply at a point we show you, and clean the work area at the end of each day.
- Selections — tile, grout, valve trim, drain and glass — are confirmed before demolition so a lead time cannot stall the build.
- In a single-bathroom home we sequence the work so the shower is out of service for the shortest possible stretch, and we say up front how long that is.
- Pets and children are kept clear of the work area; there are open drains, power tools and wet membrane in there for days.
Timeline and site conditions
Most single-shower projects in Star run roughly two to three weeks on site once materials are on hand: protection and demolition, framing corrections and blocking, plumbing and electrical rough-in, the complete waterproofing system with its cure and flood test, tile setting, grout, then glass. Glass is templated after tile is set, so the panel often arrives a week or two after the shower already looks finished. Your written scope carries the schedule for your specific shower rather than a stock number.
Conditions found after demolition change that schedule more often than anything else — rot at the base of a wall, a drain that is not where it should be, framing out of plane, or an older pan with no membrane behind it. We photograph what we find, price it, and get your agreement before we carry on.
What drives the price of a shower in star
Estimates are written after we have seen and measured the shower. We do not publish prices, because a shower quoted sight-unseen is a guess. These are the factors that move the number most, in roughly the order they matter:
- Size of the wet area and how high the tile runs — square footage of tile and membrane is the base of the estimate.
- Whether the drain and valve stay where they are. Moving either means opening the floor or the wall and coordinating a licensed plumber.
- Floor structure. A joisted floor lets a curbless pan be recessed; a slab often means either a ramped approach or cutting concrete.
- Tile choice. Large-format panels, mosaics, natural stone and any pattern that needs mitred or mapped joints all add setting time.
- Waterproofing system specified, and whether a linear drain, bench, niche or steam enclosure has to be integrated into it.
- Glass — a fixed panel, a door, low-iron glass or a custom radius each price differently.
- Conditions behind the old shower, which is why nothing is quoted before we have seen it.
Written scope, exclusions and change orders
Every project is built from a written scope that names the waterproofing system by manufacturer, the drain type, the tile and its layout, the glass, the schedule and the price. It also lists what is excluded, because that is where disputes come from.
Typically included
- Protection, containment, demolition and disposal
- Framing corrections and blocking for benches, niches and grab bars
- Plumbing and electrical rough-in for the valve, drain and any light or fan in the wet area
- The complete waterproofing system, flood test and pan slope verification
- Tile setting, grout, sealing where the material requires it
- Glass templating and installation, final clean and a punch-list walkthrough
Typically excluded and stated as such
- Work outside the shower: vanities, mirrors, bathroom flooring, paint beyond patching
- Hidden rot, mould remediation or structural repair discovered after demolition
- Moving walls, windows or the room's ventilation route
- Whole-house water treatment, though we will tell you when hard water is the real problem
- Owner-supplied materials, which we install but do not warrant
Anything that changes the scope becomes a written change order with its price and schedule effect, agreed before the work is done. Nothing is carried out on a verbal instruction.
Permits and inspections
A like-for-like tile shower replacement often needs no permit, while relocating a drain, altering supply plumbing, changing framing or adding electrical usually does. Jurisdiction follows your address, and the Treasure Valley has several — Boise, Meridian, Eagle and Star each issue their own permits, and county addresses go through the county. We identify permit-triggering work in the written scope and confirm the requirement with the authority for your address before work starts, rather than assuming.
Warranty and aftercare
Our craftsmanship is covered by a 1-year warranty, alongside the manufacturer warranties that come with the waterproofing system and materials specified in your scope.
Idaho contractor registration RCE-57919. Bonded and insured, with the current certificate of insurance provided in writing with every estimate. At handover you get the product documentation for the waterproofing system and tile, plus written cleaning guidance suited to the surfaces we installed and to Treasure Valley water. If something is not right, tell us and we will come back. Request an estimate or call (208) 891-1890.
Shower questions from Star homeowners
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Planning a shower project in Star?
Tell us about the shower and what is not working. We will follow up, arrange a visit and put a written scope and price in front of you.