Showers & Wet Areas
The 1990s fiberglass insert that has yellowed in the band where the showerhead runs every morning and is finally ready to come out. The down-to-the-studs master remodel where the new walk-in shower has to go in curbless because the homeowner is planning to age in place. The pinhole leak at the shower-pan-to-wall seam that has been bothering the bedroom ceiling below it for two winters and a leak detector pinned to the back-left corner. The recessed tile niche the previous owner cut into a wet wall without waterproofing, that has been weeping at the lower lip ever since. Showers and wet areas is the trade for the entire shower envelope — custom tile builds in five material categories, curbless walk-ins, full Schluter or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing on every install, recessed niches and benches that wrap into the membrane assembly, tub-surround tile, steam-shower-ready tile prep, and leak diagnosis and repair on existing assemblies. Handis self-performs every tile-trade step end to end — substrate prep, mortar or prefabricated pan, full sheet-membrane waterproofing, every tile, every seam, every grout joint. The few regulated handoffs (a new in-wall mixer on a custom build, a steam-shower generator) sub to a licensed Washington L&I plumber or electrician. From $500 for a small wet-zone caulk and waterproofing repair up to $18,000 for a custom natural-stone walk-in shower with a curbless pan and a frameless glass enclosure.
Services
What Showers & Wet Areas Covers
Showers and wet areas is the trade for the residential shower envelope — every surface inside the shower, every membrane behind the tile, every seam where the wet wall meets the pan, and every penetration through the waterproofing for a niche, a bench, a mixer, or a drain. Seven service families, each with its own scope, price floor, and prep sequence. Handis self-performs every tile-trade and membrane step on every project: substrate inspection, framing checks, full Schluter KERDI or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing assembly, mortar or prefabricated pan, every tile, every grout joint, and every seam-seal. The few regulated handoffs (a new in-wall mixer rough-in on a from-scratch shower build, a steam-shower generator and its 240-volt circuit) sub to a licensed Washington L&I plumber or electrician with the line item named on every quote.
Custom Tile Shower
From-scratch custom tile showers in five material categories — porcelain (versatile, low-maintenance, the most common choice), large-format (clean grout lines, fewer joints, modern look), natural stone and marble (premium, requires special thinset and seal), subway (timeless, budget-conscious, traditional 3x6 layout), and mosaic accent (cost-effective premium look as an accent strip or full wall). Full Schluter KERDI or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing on every build. Niches, benches, and curb integration. Five variants live on dedicated pages below. From $5,000 for a subway-tile build up to $18,000 for a natural-stone walk-in.
Custom Tile Shower — porcelain, large-format, stone, subway, mosaic
Curbless / Walk-In Shower
Curbless walk-in showers with a mortar-bed pan sloped to a linear drain, full Schluter or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing tied into the surrounding bathroom floor, large-format porcelain or natural-stone walls, and a frameless glass enclosure. The aging-in-place and accessibility-forward shower choice — no curb to step over, wheelchair-rollover access where the bathroom plan supports it, the same waterproofing rigor as a curbed shower (curbless is harder to waterproof, not easier). From $8,000 for a single-wall walk-in up to $16,000 for a three-wall curbless with bench and stone walls.
Curbless / Walk-In Shower — mortar pan, linear drain, full KERDI waterproofing, frameless glass
Shower Pan & Waterproofing (Schluter KERDI / Wedi)
Standalone shower pan and waterproofing assembly — the part of the shower that lives under the tile. Schluter KERDI orange polypropylene-fleece sheet bonded with unmodified thinset and KERDI-BAND sealed seams; Wedi closed-cell extruded-polystyrene panels with Wedi 320 sealant on every seam; equivalent sheet-membrane systems (Hydro Ban, Mapelastic AquaDefense for crack isolation). Mortar-bed pan or pre-formed Schluter KERDI tray. Pan-to-wall seam, curb wrap, niche wrap, bench wrap, valve flashing, drain assembly. From $1,500 for a small pan rebuild up to $6,500 for a curbless mortar pan and full three-wall membrane wrap.
Shower Pan & Waterproofing (Schluter KERDI / Wedi) — mortar pan, KERDI, Wedi, pan-to-wall
Shower Niche & Bench
Recessed tile niches and built-in benches with full membrane wrap — the storage and seating that gets cut into the shower assembly without compromising the waterproofing. Pre-formed Schluter KERDI-BOARD niche and bench panels foamed in place and seam-sealed, or a framed-and-membraned niche built in stud bay with a full KERDI or Wedi wrap. Brushed-nickel, chrome, matte-black, or matched-tile bullnose trim at the edges. Sloped niche floor for water shedding. From $850 for a single small niche on an existing shower wall up to $3,500 for a multi-niche and bench combination on a new build.
Shower Niche & Bench — recessed niches, built-in benches, KERDI-BOARD pre-form, full membrane wrap
Tub-Surround Tile
Tile on the wall surfaces around an alcove tub or a drop-in tub — three-wall surrounds on alcove tubs, two- or three-wall configurations on drop-ins, custom heights from standard 60-inch surround through ceiling-height. Cement-board or KERDI-BOARD substrate, full Schluter or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing on every wet wall, accent strips and niches as scope allows. From $4,500 for a standard three-wall surround on an existing alcove up to $10,000 for a ceiling-height drop-in surround with niche and accent banding.
Tub-Surround Tile — alcove and drop-in tile, standard and ceiling-height, niche
Steam-Shower-Ready Tile
Tile assembly prepared for a steam-shower install — sloped ceiling for steam condensation runoff (1/2 inch per foot to the wall), full Schluter KERDI or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing on the ceiling as well as the walls and the pan, vapor-tight sealant on every penetration, and tile cut and laid for the higher humidity and condensation cycle of a steam environment. Handis does the tile, the membrane, the ceiling slope, and the seal-out. The steam generator itself and its 240-volt circuit sub to a licensed Washington L&I plumber and electrician on a paired adjacent-leaf service. From $7,500 for a standard steam-ready prep up to $14,000 for a custom large-format steam-ready build.
Steam-Shower-Ready Tile — sloped ceiling, full KERDI wrap, vapor-tight seal, steam-ready
Shower Leak Diagnosis & Repair
Active leak diagnosis on an existing shower assembly — moisture mapping with a calibrated pin-and-pinless meter, isolation by source (pan-to-wall seam, valve flashing, drain assembly, niche lower lip, grout failure, membrane puncture), and repair scoped to the failure rather than to a default re-tile. Targeted demo to the affected area only when the failure source allows, full pan rebuild when the pan or pan-to-wall membrane has failed end to end. From $750 for a small grout-line repair after diagnosis up to $5,500 for a pan rebuild with new KERDI wrap and re-tile of the lower 24 inches.
Shower Leak Diagnosis & Repair — moisture mapping, source isolation, scoped repair, pan rebuild
Showers & Wet Areas Pricing
Final pricing depends on the scope (repair, niche, pan, surround, full custom shower, curbless), the tile or stone material, the substrate condition, and whether the project includes a regulated handoff (in-wall mixer, steam generator). Each child page lists detailed pricing for that family. Licensed-sub fees on projects with a plumber or electrician pass through transparently with the line item named on every quote. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us the shower scope and the tile or stone you have in mind — we will quote the build with full Schluter or Wedi waterproofing included as standard.
Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Showers & Wet Areas
Most of the failed showers we are asked to repair started with one of two mistakes. Mistake one — cement board treated as waterproofing, no sheet membrane, water tracking into the wood framing for years before the bedroom-ceiling stain appears. Mistake two — a niche cut into a wet wall without wrapping the membrane around the recess, weeping at the lower lip ever since. Both mistakes are invisible behind a tile face that looks fine for the first ten years. Handis builds every shower with a real sheet membrane (Schluter KERDI bonded with unmodified thinset, Wedi panels seam-sealed with Wedi 320, or an equivalent) and wraps every niche, every bench, every penetration, and every pan-to-wall seam into the membrane assembly. You see the membrane assembly before any tile goes over it. That is what makes a shower last 30 years instead of 12.
Full Schluter KERDI or Wedi sheet-membrane waterproofing on every shower
Cement board is a substrate, not a membrane. Every Handis shower build gets a real sheet-membrane waterproofing system bonded to the substrate before any tile goes up — Schluter KERDI orange polypropylene-fleece sheet with KERDI-BAND on every seam and inside corner, Wedi closed-cell extruded-polystyrene panels with Wedi 320 sealant on every joint, or an equivalent. You see the membrane assembly before the tile install starts.
Every penetration wrapped into the membrane
Recessed niche back walls and floors wrapped in KERDI or built from KERDI-BOARD pre-form. Built-in benches wrapped on every face. Curb wrapped on three sides (top, inside, outside). Pan-to-wall seam sealed with a continuous KERDI-BAND inside-corner. Mixer and showerhead penetrations sealed with KERDI-SEAL-PS flanges. Drain assembly fitted to the membrane with the manufacturer-spec bonding flange (Schluter KERDI-DRAIN, Wedi Fundo, Laticrete Hydro Ban Bonding Flange). Every penetration is a potential leak path; every penetration gets the right membrane detail.
Mortar-bed pan or KERDI-BOARD pre-formed tray, sloped 1/4 inch per foot
Curbed showers get a mortar-bed pan with a sloped pre-pan over a vapor-barrier layer, a PVC liner, and a deck-mud topping with the slope built in (the modern alternative is a Schluter KERDI-SHOWER-T pre-formed tray bonded to the subfloor and KERDI'd over the top). Curbless showers get a recessed mortar pan with the slope cut into the deck mud below the surrounding bathroom floor level. Either way the slope is 1/4 inch per foot to the drain — verified with a 4-foot level before the membrane wraps over.
Substrate inspection before any membrane goes up
Studs checked for plumb and rot. Subfloor checked for soft spots and slope. Existing wall panels demoed to bare stud on every full custom build to confirm the framing is sound before the cement-board or KERDI-BOARD goes up. Hidden rot from a previously leaking shower routes to framing repair before the new assembly bonds in — there is no way to waterproof over a soft sill plate or a delaminated subfloor and expect a 30-year install.
Honest licensed-trade handoff, named on the quote
The few regulated handoffs in a shower build — a new in-wall mixer or shower valve rough-in on a from-scratch custom shower, a steam-shower generator and its 240-volt circuit — sub to a licensed Washington L&I plumber or electrician. Their hours and their portion of the cost are named line by line on the quote. Permits are pulled by the appropriate licensed party. Handis runs the project and self-performs every tile-trade and membrane step.
Estimate
Tell us the shower or wet-area scope (active leak, niche add-on, pan rebuild, full custom shower, curbless walk-in, tub surround, steam-ready), the rough dimensions and the tile or stone material you have in mind (porcelain, large-format, natural stone, subway, mosaic), the substrate (existing tile, demo-to-stud, new framing), and any known issues (existing leak, soft floor, ceiling stain below). We send a clear estimate with full Schluter or Wedi waterproofing as standard scope.
Customer Reviews
Recent shower and wet-area reviews from verified Handis customers.
Custom porcelain walk-in shower in our 1985 split-level. Handis demoed the old fiberglass insert down to the studs, found rot in the bottom sill plate from a slow leak we did not know about, repaired the framing, set Schluter KERDI on the walls and the pan, and tiled in our 12x24 porcelain. The membrane assembly was in place for two weeks before the tile went up — they showed it to us, we asked questions, we walked the seams. Two years later, dead-tight install.
Pan-and-waterproofing rebuild after a pinhole leak at the pan-to-wall seam had been bothering our second-floor ceiling for a winter. Handis demoed the lower 24 inches of tile and the failed pan, found the original install had skipped the inside-corner sealing, rebuilt the pan with new KERDI-BAND on every corner, re-tiled the lower band. The ceiling below has been dry for fourteen months.
Curbless walk-in shower in our master remodel. Curbless mortar pan, linear drain, full KERDI waterproofing tied into the bathroom floor, large-format porcelain walls, and a frameless glass panel at the entry. The wheelchair-rollover access we needed for aging in place is in there too. Handis sequenced the plumber for the valve cleanly. The whole project finished on the calendar they gave us.
Recessed niche and bench added to an existing shower in our Bellevue condo. The tech cut into a wet wall, found the previous niche had no membrane wrap and was already weeping behind the tile, repaired the membrane and added the new niche with full KERDI-BOARD pre-form. Brushed-nickel Schluter edge profile at the niche rim. Looks like it was in the original design.
Steam-shower-ready prep in our master shower expansion. Sloped ceiling for steam runoff, full KERDI on the ceiling and walls, vapor-tight seal on every penetration. The licensed plumber and electrician for the generator came in for two half-days. Steam shower works exactly the way the manufacturer specs say it should — quiet, even, condensation runs to the drain, no drip from the ceiling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis shower and wet-area work — waterproofing, custom builds, curbless, niches, leak diagnosis, and pricing.