Talking to my plumber uncle made me see my bathroom reno differently

Honestly, I was about to start tiling my shower with the cheapest stuff from the big box store. My uncle, who's been a plumber for thirty years, stopped by and just said, 'You're putting a $2,000 shower valve behind a $1 tile. That's like putting a cheap roof on a new house.' Ngl, it hit different coming from him. I never really thought about how the finish work protects the expensive guts of a project. He told me about a job he fixed last month where the homeowner's DIY tile failed and ruined a $900 mixing valve. Now I'm rethinking my whole material list and maybe spending a bit more on the waterproofing and tile. Has anyone else had a pro point out a flaw in your plan that totally changed your approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_rodriguez1mo ago

My last DIY tile job is why my landlord hates me.

spencer_bell1mo ago

Ugh, tile is way harder than it looks. The prep work is everything, and if your floor isn't perfectly flat it'll crack in a year. That's probably what went wrong with your landlord's place.

kevin_adams1mo ago

Lol but how often does tile actually fail? Sounds like your uncle is upselling. @patricia_rodriguez probably just had bad luck.

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