Floor and Shower Surround, Emeryville, CA, August, 2026

This floor and shower surround in Emeryville took more than it should have. The work included a tile floor, a tile tub surround, tile in a washroom, and a tile baseboard. I also installed a stud over the tub edge so the shower door would have solid framing to mount to.

The client chose the materials, and many weren’t what I’d have picked. He had strong views on the details, including the construction adhesive for the tile baseboard (Loctite rather than the Liquid Nails I prefer) and caulking the joint where the tile meets the ceiling rather than grouting it.

The biggest discussion was about mortar and epoxy grout. The mortar we ended up with didn’t mix well and kept sliding off the trowel, which makes it very hard to get full coverage and a flat setting bed. The grout gave us similar trouble. More than once, I brought the client in to show him what the materials were doing on the wall. But we were already committed, and I didn’t want to create more friction mid-project.

The way I explained it to him: I’m the astronaut and he’s the astronomer. We’re both talking about the surface of the moon, but things don’t always work out on site the way the research or the theory says they will. He was a kind and intelligent person. Hands-on experience just tells you things a spec sheet can’t.

I also wouldn’t have chosen the tile baseboard. I understand the goal was durability, but it gives a room a somewhat institutional feel.

In the end, I declined to hang the shower door and left that to someone else. I believe the client was happy with the result and left a positive review, but it was a long project, and I lost money on it.

It taught me something about how we work. Our system is simple: clients buy the materials with our advice, we clear our schedule, and we stay on the job until it’s done. That’s what lets us work fast and keep costs down. It doesn’t handle decisions by committee well, or materials chosen on paper that don’t hold up in practice. The Alameda showers just before this job were similar: heavily engineered by people with little hands-on experience.

If I did this job again, I’d insist on a couple of things up front, starting with the setting materials. We’re glad to take suggestions, but the choice of mortar, grout, and adhesive has to be ours.