- Tub surround tile work: $2,000 flat.
- Kitchen backsplash tile work: $1,000 flat, labor.
- Tile floors: $3 per square foot labor, or $2 per square foot labor on jobs of 2,000 square feet or more.
Shower walls in Travis County bungalows and condos
Austin sits at the far end of the run, south on I-35 in Travis County. Housing there runs from 1930s bungalows with pier and beam floors to new build condos, so the substrate question changes house to house. A bungalow shower often sits on framing that has shifted. Plaster, painted drywall, or old greenboard may be what we find when we open the wall. A new condo can have a fiberglass pan already in place and cement board that is close, or walls that are out of plumb. We do not guess. The same people who quote the job walk the room and measure the actual space.
Once we know what sits behind the wall, we decide what comes off. Shower walls take constant water. Paper faced board that has seen leaks comes out. Sound cement board or foam backer can stay if it is fastened right and the plane is true. Pier and beam houses in Austin can have floors that are not level. That shows up at the curb and the first course of wall tile. We shim so the tile sits on a flat plane. New condos often have tighter rooms, so the layout starts from the most visible wall.
Waterproofing behind Austin shower tile and the joint at the pan
Water that gets past grout has to stop behind the tile. In a 1930s bungalow in Austin we often take the wet walls back to the studs. Cement board or foam backer goes on, then a bonded waterproofing membrane covers the board, the inside corners, the curb, and the line where the wall meets the pan. That lap matters. Water running down a wall will find any gap at the pan flange and sit in the floor framing. Condo pans are often already set. We still run the wall membrane so it ties in without a gap and the shower stays dry on the other side of the board.
- Membrane laps the pan so water cannot run behind the flange
- Inside corners get fabric or preformed pieces so the fold does not split
- Niche backs, sides, and shelves get the same membrane as the field
- Curb faces and the top get covered before cap tile is set
Layout, ceiling course, corners, curbs, and niches
We set the layout so cuts land where nobody stares at them. On a shower that usually means full tiles on the back wall you face when you walk in. Cuts go into the inside corners and along the pan. The ceiling course is the row under the ceiling. Older bungalows in Travis County often have ceilings that are not level. We either cut that top row to follow the ceiling so the grout joint looks even, or we hold a level line and leave a small paint reveal. New condos can be closer to square, but we still check.
Corners need a finished edge. That can be a metal profile in brass or satin, a bullnose tile, or a miter if the stone will take it. The customer picks. Curbs get tiled on the face, the inside, and the top. The top pitches into the shower so standing water does not run out onto the bathroom floor. We set that pitch as a fraction of an inch, just enough to drain. Niches get framed in, waterproofed, and tiled on the back, sides, and shelf. The shelf gets a slight pitch to the shower. Grout lines from the field run through the niche when the width allows.
A straight quote for shower tile after we see the Austin room
This page has no published price for shower tile. Substrate, waterproofing, niches, ceiling height, and the tile you choose all change the work, so we quote after we look at the room. Call (512) 297-7493 or write info@merlanstile.com. Genaro Merlan runs Merlan's Tile out of Killeen. Austin is in the service area along with Georgetown, Round Rock, Temple, Belton, and the rest of the run. If you have a tub to tile instead of a shower, tub surround tile work is $2,000 flat.
Work starts with a look at the shower and a tape on the walls, the curb, and the ceiling. You pick the tile. We buy it out of the Temple supply house, so what you pick is what gets set. Zellige, marble, porcelain, ceramic, terrazzo, and mosaic all go on shower walls when they are suited to wet use. Brass and satin edge profiles finish the outside corners and the niche edges when you want them. Then we set, grout, seal, and clean up behind us. On a job like this it tends to run several days of on site work, not a single afternoon. Framing, membrane, and dry time sit in front of the tile. Scheduling is arranged on the phone.
What the labor warranty covers and what fails when walls are rushed
Every installation carries a written one-year limited labor warranty from the date of completion. It covers issues arising from the original installation. It does not cover materials. Those fall under the manufacturer's own warranty. It does not cover modifications made after the installation is complete. If a grout joint fails because we set it wrong, that is on us for that year. If someone drills a new hole for a grab bar later and cracks a tile, that is not. Marble and zellige need the right sealer and the right grout. Porcelain is more forgiving in a shower. We say that up front when you pick the tile.
Things go wrong when the work behind the tile is skipped. A shower in an Austin bungalow with no membrane will wet the studs. A curb with no pitch will hold a puddle that walks out onto the floor. A first course that is not level will telegraph to the ceiling. Grout that is not packed will pin hole and let water sit in the joint. Movement in pier and beam framing can open a joint later even when the set was sound. That is why we look at the floor and the walls before we quote. We cannot make an old house new. We can set tile on a plane that is true enough and waterproofed.