Ninety percent of bathroom callbacks are water failures. Almost all of them trace back to one of three shortcuts in the substrate.
The pan is poured, not pre-formed
A mud-bed shower pan, sloped a quarter-inch per foot to the drain, with a sheet membrane lapped up the curb — that's the assembly. Pre-formed pans work in a hotel, not in a custom home.
Sheet membrane over the whole wet zone
We run a bonded waterproof membrane up every shower wall to the ceiling, lap it over the curb, and bond it to the pan membrane with the manufacturer's sealant. The tile setter never sees raw cement board.
Penetrations are detailed, not caulked
Mixing valves, shower heads, niche corners — each one gets a manufactured boot or a hand-cut patch and a flood test before tile goes on the wall. It adds a day. It saves a renovation.
