Floor Replacement, Start to Finish
Old floor out at the wall line. New floor sloped to drain.
The cut line is everything: we remove the failed floor while preserving sound wall tile above it, then rebuild the base properly — sloped bed, bonded waterproofing lapped up the walls, new tile with full coverage, epoxy grout, sealed transitions. Cromwell's small shower floors make this a one-to-two-day job, and the wall-to-floor joint — where every old floor failed — gets rebuilt as a movement joint, not a grout prayer.
- Surgical removal. Floor out to a clean wall line; sound walls and glass preserved.
- Substrate rebuilt. Sloped bed verified or re-poured — ponding is never 'normal.'
- Waterproofed assembly. Membrane lapped up walls and clamped at the drain.
- Full-coverage setting. No spot-bonding, no hollow tiles — ever.
- Epoxy grout standard. Stain-proof joints that stay clean under daily use.
- Tested handoff. Flow test to drain + walkthrough before final payment.
The Cromwell floor rebuild
Floor systems we set across Cromwell — grip, slope-fit and grout that lasts.
The workhorse — grippy, cheap, perfect.
Vintage grip, endless joints.
Spa texture, expert grout.
Modern lines that turn slope.
Cromwell notes
Builder-grade tub-shower combos from the 80s and 90s dominate: one-piece surrounds, plastic trim, grout-free but ugly. Homeowners keep the tub footprint and gain everything by tiling the walls properly. Most Cromwell replacements run day-one rebuild, day-two tile and grout: Cromwell's 80s subdivisions are all hitting surround age at once — the same yellowed unit in fifty houses on one street. Shower again 24 hours after grout — timed to the hour at walkthrough.
Common questions
Cut line at the wall base, surgical removal inward, walls sheeted and braced. It's the core skill of floor-only work — we do it daily.
Minimum 1/4 inch per foot to the drain — verified with water before tile, not eyeballed. Ponding anywhere means re-do, on us.
Shampoo, body oils and hard water destroy cement grout on floors within years. Epoxy is stain-proof and waterproof — roughly $100–$200 more per floor, worth every cent.
We inspect every drain; clamping drains get cleaned and re-sealed, tired drains get replaced ($200–$600) while the floor is open — never tiled around and hoped about.