Shower Tile Installation in Metro Detroit
Waterproofed, precisely tiled showers for homeowners across Macomb, Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, and the rest of Metro Detroit — walk-in, curbless, and tub-to-shower conversions.
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This page covers the shower enclosure itself — the walls, floor, niches, and bench inside the shower. Tiling the rest of the bathroom floor or walls outside the shower is bathroom tile installation. A tub surround without converting to a walk-in shower is bathtub surround tiling. Redoing the whole bathroom at once is master bathroom tile.
What we build
Walk-in showers
No door, no curtain — clean tile lines and a floor that's level and properly sloped instead of a track or hinge.
Curbless showers
Flush with the bathroom floor, no step up. Takes more precise substrate work, since the drainage slope has to work without a curb to contain it.
Tub-to-shower conversions
Changes the plumbing, framing, and waterproofing — not just the tile. DGJ handles the full conversion so the finished shower is built for the space, not squeezed into a tub-shaped footprint.
Custom niches
Somewhere for soap that isn't a wire caddy hanging off the showerhead. Framed and waterproofed as part of the wall system, then tiled with the same attention as the rest of the shower.
Benches
Sloped, waterproofed, and tiled with the same care as the floor — it's still a horizontal surface holding water. Built into the framing, not bolted on as an add-on.
Linear drains
Runs along one edge instead of the middle, letting the floor slope in one direction instead of four — often what makes a curbless shower possible at all.
Waterproofing: the part you can't see and can't afford to skip
Every shower DGJ Tile & Marble builds gets waterproofed with {{PLACEHOLDER: waterproofing system used}} — a full membrane system behind and under the tile, not paint-on sealer or grout treated as the primary barrier. Grout is not waterproof; it's porous, it wears, and water gets behind even a perfectly set tile eventually. The membrane is what actually stops that water from reaching the framing behind your wall.
Why showers fail
Almost every failed shower has the same cause: water got behind the tile with nowhere to go and nothing to stop it. Without a membrane, that water sits against wood framing, and it doesn't announce itself right away — by the time you see a ceiling stain or soft flooring outside the shower, the damage has usually been happening for months. At that point the fix isn't a repair, it's a full tear-out.
What a proper pre-slope and pan look like
Before waterproofing goes on, the floor gets built to slope toward the drain — a pre-slope, typically about 1/4 inch of drop per foot. That slope has to exist whether you're working with a traditional mud-set pan or a pre-formed foam pan; the material changes, the physics don't. A floor that's flat instead of sloped is a defect no matter what sits on top of it, because water that gets past the tile has nowhere to go but sideways, into the wall.
What to ask any installer
- What waterproofing system do you use, and why that one for my shower?
- Is there a pre-slope under the pan, or does the floor just get tiled flat?
- Are the niche and bench waterproofed with the same membrane as the walls?
- Can I see the waterproofing before it gets covered by tile?
An installer doing this correctly can answer all four without hesitating. If you're not getting clear answers before you sign anything, that's worth paying attention to.
Tile options for showers
Large-format porcelain
Fewer grout lines means less for mildew to grow in — a real advantage in a shower. It needs a flat substrate and full mortar coverage, since a hollow spot behind large tile in a wet, weight-bearing area shows up fast.
Marble
Natural and porous, so it needs sealing — more of a factor here than almost anywhere else in the house, given the constant moisture. It's also more prone to etching from soap and acidic cleaners.
Mosaic floors
Shower floors are almost always mosaic rather than large-format tile, because the many small grout lines let the floor slope toward the drain from multiple directions — something one large tile can't do without cutting and tenting it.
Epoxy grout
Standard cementitious grout is porous, giving mildew a place to take hold in a wet, low-airflow space. Epoxy grout is non-porous, resists staining, and never needs sealing — it just costs more and is less forgiving to install.
Process and timeline
A shower is a bigger job than a backsplash, smaller than a full bathroom. Here's roughly how the week goes — your exact timeline comes with your estimate.
- Day 1 — Demo
The old tile, tub, or surround comes out, and DGJ checks what's underneath for rot or framing issues before anything gets covered back up.
- Day 2 — Rough-in and pre-slope
Plumbing gets adjusted for the new drain if needed, and the floor is built to slope toward it before waterproofing.
- Day 3 — Waterproofing
Membrane goes on the pan, walls, niches, and bench — using {{PLACEHOLDER: waterproofing system used}} — with time to cure before tile touches it.
- Days 4–5 — Tile setting
Walls go first, then the floor, working from layout lines instead of starting in a corner and hoping it works out.
- Day 6 — Grout and caulk
Grout fills the joints, and flexible caulk — not grout — goes at the movement joints: corners, the pan edge, and any transition.
- Day 7 — Walkthrough
You walk the finished shower with Dervin, and grout gets a short cure window before the shower sees regular water and steam.
What does a tile shower cost?
A tile shower is one of the more variable-cost jobs in the house — so much of the price depends on decisions along the way, not just square footage. {{PLACEHOLDER: price range}}. Here's what moves that number:
- Shower size — More square footage means more tile, more mortar, more labor hours.
- Tile size and material — Large-format porcelain costs less installed than marble or glass mosaic; small-format floor tile takes longer to set than a same-size wall in large format.
- Niches and benches — Each one adds framing, waterproofing, and tile work beyond the flat walls and floor.
- Demo of the old shower — Tearing out an old tub or surround and finding what's behind it — rot, old plumbing, subfloor damage — adds cost that's hard to quote sight unseen.
- Substrate condition — A wall or floor that's out of flat costs more to bring into tolerance, and you generally can't tell which one you have until demo is done.
The only way to get a real number is a free, in-person estimate — Dervin looks at the actual space and prices what's really there, not a phone-call guess.
Shower jobs: before & after
Real before-and-after photos from finished shower jobs go here as they're added — exactly the kind of proof you should ask to see before hiring anyone to waterproof and tile your shower.
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What homeowners say about their shower
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Shower tile questions homeowners ask
How much does a tile shower cost in Metro Detroit?
Cost depends on shower size, the tile you choose, niche and bench count, and what demo finds behind the old surround. {{PLACEHOLDER: price range}}. The only way to get an accurate number is a free, in-person estimate.
How long does a shower tile installation take?
A shower-only job typically runs about a week from demo to finished tile — waterproofing and grout both need time to cure. Your exact timeline depends on the scope and comes with your estimate.
Can you convert my bathtub to a walk-in shower?
Yes. A tub-to-shower conversion changes the plumbing, framing, and waterproofing, not just the tile, so DGJ handles the full conversion rather than tiling over what's there. Ask about it during your estimate.
What waterproofing do you use behind the tile?
Every shower gets waterproofed with {{PLACEHOLDER: waterproofing system used}} — a full membrane behind and under the tile, not grout or sealer treated as the primary barrier. That's what keeps water off the framing behind your wall.
Can my bathroom take a curbless shower?
It depends on the floor structure and where the drain can go — a curbless shower needs enough depth to slope without a curb, which isn't possible everywhere without extra framing work. DGJ can tell you during your estimate.
What grout do you use in showers?
DGJ can set showers in epoxy grout, which resists staining and mildew and never needs sealing — a real advantage over standard cementitious grout in a wet, low-airflow space. It costs more and takes more skill to install, which is why not every installer offers it.
How long before I can use the shower after installation?
Grout and caulk both need time to cure before regular water and steam — rushing that step is how a new shower ends up with cracked grout or a failed caulk line. DGJ will give you the exact cure window for your job.
Do you handle the plumbing and glass, or just the tile?
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Related tile work
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