Guy wants to charge $4900 for "fixing" a shower with punctured liner, low curb, bad drywall installation (see my post "disaster in progress") He plans to glue stuff on top of the compromised liner, replace Durock walls and Laticrete them. He also plans to use scratchcoat and mesh... not sure if he plans that for the floor and curb.. or just the walls...


For that money, I want a complete shower rebuild... I really want Kerdi system but no one in Miami seems to know about it... I will accept a traditional liner, mud, and Laticreted walls. No niches or benches. One window. No shower doors included. I provide the tile and grout and all the fixtures and accessories. I want it painted (the bath is less than 40 sq. ft)... finished out with the door, molding, and threshold put back on. In other words, a real bathroom. There is one existing floor to ceiling niche in the bath that has to be made smaller (it overlaps curb now)... but cabinet is not included. I am ok with that... can drywall, paint it and add a few glass shelves on pins. The tile is 1x1 ceramic on mesh for the entire floor including shower.... marble sill on shower curb and window sill.. and 2 x 2 tile for shower walls to ceiling and one 5 ft wall behind sink/toilet... about 4' high. The plumbing is already done... new

I think I am being fair in what I want for the money. But please tell me if I am off base. By the way, I am a careful planner and do not make changes.

I am not sure if this will help you or not. We just performed a comlete shower tear out and re-do, not using the the " kerdie system" new tile pan, walls, tile over mortar at all areas, new sheetrock,new valves, why not replace with new, new shower drain and an 18x18 travertine walls with a pebble pan. the total cost was 8700.00....If you are going to fix, its worth your while to do it right.

the way I see this project, you are looking at 2 days to tear out and re-board the shower, alter niche, etc. 5 days to rebuild shower pan, water proof, and tile everything. 1 day of finishing carpentry and painting. Materials should work out to about $400 to 800 for tile backer, shluter drain, thinset, etc. So unless there are other complications, this project should take 8 days to complete. In my part of the world you can expect to pay around $500/day for a very good tile setter. So $ 5000 is a reasonable amount to pay for the work you have outlined.

I think you are right to insist on a full tear out of the shower. it sounds like it was not done right the first time. This probably means you should involve a professional plumber too.

If you're not sure about this guy, then get references and shop around some more. Good tradesmen usually have a significant wait list, so the guy who can start tomorrow may not be your best bet. .