How can two houses on the same street, built by the same builder, have such radically different issues ten years later? The divergence point is often a single, small choice. House A kept the factory 2-inch chrome strainer and never snaked the line; House B swapped in a hair catcher and flushed the trap monthly … Read more
The concrete truck was idling, the crew had their trowels ready, and the homeowner was already picking tile for the walk-in shower. I crouched one last time over the Schluter Kerdi drain body and caught it—no P-trap seal on the isometric drawing. One missing squiggle on a PDF would have turned that $18,000 wet room … Read more
Statistics show that 40% of bathroom renovation projects go over budget. For our clients, that number is less than 5%, and here is the one thing we do differently—planning every detail of the shower drain trap system before demolition begins. A single oversight in trap selection or slope alignment can trigger costly callbacks, mold remediation, … Read more
A common misconception is that if a design looks good on social media, it will work in your specific home. Often, the opposite is true because the tiny details—like whether you can actually remove the shower drain for cleaning—never make it into the glossy Reel. I’ve seen $12,000 Schluter-Kerdi showers ruined in 20 minutes by … Read more
During renovations, when the walls are open, you have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to solve a problem permanently. Miss it, and it’s sealed away for years. I watched a client in Portland ignore a slow drain in their 1980s tile-in shower—just poured enzyme cleaner down it every month. Three years later, the waterproofing membrane beneath the … Read more
When I started working with historic homes, I quickly realized that modern solutions often create more problems than they solve. That’s when I began to specialize in preserving original plumbing while upgrading functionality—especially with shower drains. I once spent three weeks restoring a 1927 clawfoot tub setup, only to discover the contractor had sealed the … Read more
At 2 AM on a Tuesday, my phone rang. It was a panicked homeowner, and I could hear the water rushing in the background. We were their last hope. The couple had tried baking soda, vinegar, even a wire hanger—yet their Schluter-Kerdi linear drain was still backing up into the 48″ Ă— 36″ curbless shower … Read more
I once worked with a young couple who had just bought their first home. They were thrilled, but completely overwhelmed by the long inspection report. One line item stood out: “Master shower drains slowly—possible blockage.” They called me after the first week when standing water reached their ankles mid-shower. I showed up with a $29 … Read more
When I started working with historic homes, I quickly realized that modern solutions often create more problems than they solve. That’s when I began to specialize in apartment plumbing systems where landlords cut corners and tenants inherit the mess. Last Tuesday, a frantic renter called me at 7 PM—her shower drain was backing up black … Read more
During renovations, when the walls are open, you have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to solve a problem permanently. Miss it, and it’s sealed away for years. I remember tearing out a 1970s tile surround in a Chicago bungalow, only to find a corroded brass shower drain soldered directly to a 2-inch steel pipe. The subfloor was … Read more