Waterproofing Tips For Your Huntington Beach, CA Shower Remodeling Project

Waterproofing Tips For DIY Shower Remodels In Huntington Beach, CA

Aspiring DIY-ers: Here Are Some Tips
To Avoid Total Bathroom Disaster

If you’re planning for DIY shower remodeling in Huntington Beach, CA , you’re probably furiously googling waterproofing tutorials for your new shower. You likely have an idea that a badly waterproofed shower can spell disaster for your project, your bathroom, and potentially your entire home.

Waterproofing is something that can be really hard to get just right. Of course, if you have access to the proper training, high-end materials developed for commercial use, made-to-order parts, and the knowledge needed to fix underlying issues, it’s pretty easy.

Of course, if your name isn’t Shugarman’s Bath, you probably don’t have all of that.

That doesn’t mean a DIY bathroom installation can’t go well, though. If you educate yourself well, keep these tips in mind, and don’t run into any underlying issues in your bathroom, you may find your shower remodel a smashing success.

Pick High-Quality Material For Your Shower Wall

The first step towards a waterproof shower is picking high-quality, waterproof materials. You won’t have access to high-quality materials like our BP-Cor2 at your local hardware store. But, if you carefully research the available brands, you will likely find that one or two of them hold up to frequent use.

If you’re lucky, the better materials at the hardware store will be attractive to look at, too.

Just don’t make the mistake of picking a material based on looks alone. You can get away with doing that when you’re working with a professional bathroom remodeling company because they’ve vetted the products in advance.

When you’re on your own, though, you’ll have to take both looks and durability into account, and we hope you’ll find something that looks decent and holds up for more than a few years.

Don’t Expect Tile To Be Easy To Clean Or Maintain

Be ready for lots of work if you’re doing your shower remodel in tile. It sure does look pretty, but it’s a task for experienced DIYers with plenty of time on their hands. Not just because of the installation, mind you.

The headaches with tile last far beyond the installation process. Even the most experienced installer can’t prevent the inherent drawbacks of grout. It’s just not a waterproof material, which makes waterproofing your shower basically impossible.

If you have tile, you’ll need to re-seal your grout every six months for it to stay waterproof, (or as waterproof as a porous material like grout can get) and inspect for cracks regularly.

The day you do find a crack or two in your weekly grout inspection, you’ll need to be ready to apply fresh grout to any affected areas, then re-seal the grout again. You’ll also want to dry off the tiles and grout after every shower.

And even if you keep on top of the grout sealing, the tiles themselves are often porous as well. That means they’re also likely to leak, crack, and harbor nasty bacteria.

If you want the look of tile without all of that work, you’ll have to go with a professional installation. Shugarman’s Bath doesn’t install tile because we don’t want to saddle homeowners with that kind of work, encourage bacterial growth in their showers, or risk water damage in their bathrooms.

Instead, we offer a high-quality, easy-to-maintain alternative that looks comparable and, with our expert installations, keeps your home nice and dry for years to come.

You don’t need to re-seal our reveal series tile or use abrasive chemicals. Our materials are so easy to maintain that they don't need them. We’ve even put together a short guide on how to keep your shower pristine.

Measure For Your Walk-In Shower PERFECTLY

One of the most vital steps of your shower remodel is actually measuring. Unlike a professional bathroom remodeling company, you likely won’t have a custom-fit, made-to-order shower pan.

If your shower pan doesn’t perfectly fit into your shower, you’ll be in a world of trouble. Making sure everything fits together perfectly is one of the most vital parts of waterproofing a shower.

You can’t settle for ill-fitting or flimsy shower pans, or your home’s structure could suffer the devastating effects of water damage.

Be Ready For Anything During Shower Remodeling

By the time a homeowner is looking to DIY a shower replacement instead of calling a professional, there’s often already an issue with their shower.

Unfortunately, this can be a sign or even a cause of underlying issues. A meticulous homeowner going down to the studs might find those studs are suffering from rot, water damage, or even termites.

These problems, if not addressed, can cause shower elements to move out of place, compromising the waterproofing and causing even more damage to your home.

When this happens – and it is very common – the project’s budget often requires a dramatic change. This is true even for many local bath remodelers, who will charge you extra for every issue they find.

This is one place where Shugarman’s differs from even other remodelers. We won’t charge you extra for underlying issues. After all, it’s actually a common cause for getting a remodel in the first place. Instead, we take everything in stride, methodically fixing problems and charging you exactly what you agreed to pay.

The only exception is for something like a live termite infestation. We’re experts in the bath remodeling business, but we won’t pretend to know the intricacies of pest control. In these cases, we’ll recommend that you call in the pros.

Call A Bathroom Remodeling Specialist

Our last tip for DIY shower remodeling is to find a professional you trust, just in case. When things go south, you want a bathroom remodeling company that does things right on your side.

Your project may go off without a hitch, but as you now know, there’s a lot that can go wrong. It pays to be ready for every eventuality. If you run into any problems, we’ll be happy to save the day.

If, considering the risks, you’d rather go with a professional installation, we don’t blame you. When you’re ready for Huntington Beach, CA shower remodeling, you can call us at [tel] to get your free quote.