Orchards Shower Remodeling

The part of the shower you never see

The part of a shower that decides whether it lasts is the part you never see: the pan and the waterproof membrane behind the tile. JDI Construction is a family-owned, Vancouver-based design-build remodeler, and we build a shower from the framing out — the membrane, the pan, and the slope first, then the tile and glass on top. In Orchards, an established stretch of east Vancouver with mid-century homes and newer subdivisions side by side, that hidden layer is what keeps a shower dry for decades instead of turning up as a stain on the ceiling below.

Our designers and installers work as a single team, so the shower you approve is the shower that gets built. We don't hand finished plans off to a separate contractor and hope the waterproofing gets detailed right. Here's how we approach a shower, what tends to come up in Orchards homes, and what to expect on cost and timeline.

Where a shower is won or lost

A shower has to look good, but the parts that keep it from failing are almost all hidden once the tile is set. These are the ones we don't compromise on:

A few decisions worth making early

The decisions that set a shower's cost and layout are easiest to make before demolition starts. Near the top is whether to convert a tub to a walk-in shower — often the right call when the tub goes unused, though it's worth keeping at least one tub in the house so it doesn't hurt you at resale. Next is curbed versus curbless: a zero-threshold shower looks seamless and is easier to walk into, but it relies on recessed framing and a precisely built slope, so it belongs on the plan, not the punch list.

After that come the built-ins that have to be framed in ahead of time rather than added later — a bench, recessed niches, a second showerhead, or grab-bar blocking for aging in place. We also lock in the glass and the drain early, since a frameless enclosure or a linear drain changes how the pan and the walls are built beneath the finish.

What Orchards showers tend to need

Orchards runs the range from mid-century houses to newer builds off SR-500, and the shower work tracks the age of the home. In the older houses, we usually find a tiled shower that has begun to leak or a tired fiberglass surround — and the honest fix is rebuilding the waterproofing behind it, not laying fresh tile over an old problem. Opening the wall is also the chance to correct a pan that never sloped correctly to the drain.

In the newer subdivisions, the shower is typically a sound but basic builder-grade unit — a shallow acrylic pan, a molded surround, and an entry-level door. There the work is upgrading to a tiled walk-in with better glass and the storage and slope details that make it feel intentional. Either way, in the wet Pacific Northwest the membrane and the ventilation are the two things we never shortcut, because they are what protect the rest of the work over the long run.

Showers we've built around Orchards

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

What does a shower remodel cost in Orchards?

What an Orchards shower costs depends on what you're building, not on the neighborhood. Replacing one prefab insert with another sits at the low end; a fully tiled, curbless walk-in with frameless glass and a linear drain sits at the other. In between, the levers are size, a tiled pan versus a prefab one, whether the drain moves, the glass, and the waterproofing system doing the hidden work. Curbless runs higher because the recessed framing and the slope take more skilled labor to build correctly. Because our design and our trades are both in-house, we can shape the plan around your priorities — and you get an itemized estimate after we've seen the space, so the figure reflects your shower instead of a rough average.

How long does a shower remodel take?

A shower-only remodel is usually quicker than a full bathroom, but it isn't a weekend project. Waterproofing and mortar have to cure before tile goes on, and the tile and grout then need their own set and cure time before anyone showers. Moving the drain, going curbless, or opening walls in an older Orchards home adds time to the schedule. We give you a realistic timeline before demolition, pull the permits the work requires, and sequence the job so you're not without a usable shower any longer than you have to be.

Why homeowners in Orchards choose JDI

Design-build means one team owns the whole shower — framing, waterproofing, pan, tile, and glass — so the part that matters most isn't quietly subcontracted to whoever came in cheapest. We handle the permitting, coordinate the trades in the right sequence, keep you posted through our client portal, and back the finished work with a five-year workmanship warranty. Orchards is a short drive from our Vancouver home base, which keeps us responsive while the work is underway and reachable long after it's done.

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