Gresham Shower Remodeling

What's really behind a cracked or leaking shower

Most tile that cracks or leaks is not a tile problem — it is what is underneath: the slope, the pan, and the membrane. JDI Construction is a family-owned, Vancouver-based design-build remodeler, and we build a shower from the framing out — setting the slope, forming the pan, and laying the waterproofing before the first tile goes up. In Gresham, where you'll find older homes near the downtown core alongside large newer developments spreading east toward the foothills, that hidden work is what decides whether a shower holds up or starts telling on itself a few years in.

Our designers and installers work as one team, so the shower you approve is the shower that gets built — we don't hand finished plans to a separate contractor and hope the waterproofing gets done correctly. Here's how we think through a shower, what tends to turn up in Gresham homes, and what to expect on cost and timeline.

The parts that matter most

A shower has to look good, but first it has to keep water where it belongs. These are the details that decide whether it does — and most of them are invisible once the tile is on:

A few decisions worth making early

The choices that shape a shower's cost and layout are cheapest to settle before demolition. The one we discuss most is whether to convert a tub you no longer use into a walk-in shower — a good call when the tub only gathers dust, though we'd keep at least one tub somewhere in the house so resale stays simple. Then it's curbed versus curbless: a zero-threshold shower looks seamless and is genuinely barrier-free, but it depends on recessed framing and a precise slope, so it has to be planned in advance. Extras like a bench, recessed niches, a second showerhead, or grab-bar blocking for aging in place all get framed in from the start, and we choose the glass and drain early because both change how the pan and walls are built.

What Gresham showers tend to need

Gresham's older homes near the downtown and the established east-Multnomah neighborhoods usually come to us with a tired tiled shower or an aging surround that has begun to leak. Once we open it up, the culprit is almost always underneath — a pan that never drained right and framing that has taken on water — so the honest fix is a full waterproofing rebuild, not fresh grout over an old failure.

Out in the newer east-side subdivisions, the shower is typically sound but builder-basic: a shallow molded pan, a plastic surround, and a bargain door. There the work is an upgrade to a tiled walk-in with better glass, real storage, and slope details that make it feel custom. Either way, being on the Mt. Hood side of the metro means real weather and real moisture, so we treat the membrane and the ventilation as the two things we never shortcut — that's what protects the finished shower over the long haul.

Showers we've built around Gresham

A few recent bath and shower projects near Gresham — click through for the full before-and-after:

What does a shower remodel cost in Gresham?

What a Gresham shower costs comes down to what you're building, not the address. Swapping one prefab insert for another sits at the low end; a fully tiled, curbless walk-in with frameless glass and a linear drain sits at the top. The levers in between are size, tile versus a molded pan, whether the drain moves, the glass, and the waterproofing system behind it all. Curbless costs more because the recessed framing and exact slope take more labor — and in an older downtown-area home, correcting a bad old pan or moisture damage can add to it. Because our design and our trades are both in-house, we can steer the plan toward what matters to you, and you get an itemized estimate after we've seen the space rather than a number off an average.

How long does a shower remodel take?

A shower-only remodel usually moves faster than a full bathroom, but it isn't a weekend job — waterproofing and mortar need time to cure before tile goes on, and tile and grout need their own set and cure time before the shower can be used. Moving a drain, going curbless, or opening walls in an older Gresham home adds days, since aging framing rarely comes apart cleanly. We give you a realistic schedule before demolition, pull the permits the work requires, and sequence it so you're not without your only shower any longer than necessary.

Why homeowners in Gresham choose JDI

Design-build means one team is accountable for the whole shower — the framing, the waterproofing, the pan, the tile, and the glass — so the part that matters most isn't quietly subcontracted to whoever's cheapest. We handle the permitting, coordinate the trades, keep you updated through our client portal, and stand behind the work with a five-year workmanship warranty. Gresham is a short drive from our Vancouver shop, close enough for us to stay responsive during the project and reachable years after it wraps.

JDI Construction — "Built by family. Trusted by neighbors." Design-build remodeling based in downtown Vancouver, WA, serving Gresham and the greater Portland–Vancouver metro since 2007.