Shower Tile Installation in Bristol, CT
Tiled showers in Bristol: replacing fiberglass units in the ranches and raised ranches of the 1960s to 1980s, and rebuilding tub alcoves in Federal Hill and Forestville's older homes.
Shower tile in Bristol
Bristol's water comes from six reservoir areas and five gravel packed wells, and where a shower is fitted the supply line usually gets a look.
The median year Bristol's housing went up is 1967, and a shower in one of those houses is usually opened onto the framing of that era.
The South End Historic District joined the National Register in 2001, and where a shower is opened in that row the walls are usually checked before the tile.
FEMA maps 169 zone AE polygons inside Bristol, and where the ground under a shower sits in that band the drain and the base are usually checked.
A Bristol shower permit is read in the building department office at 111 North Main Street, and where one is filed the fee follows the published schedule.
Where a Bristol shower is opened the pan and the framing are usually measured on the first visit, and the drive from our base is about 16 minutes.
Recent Work
Shower Tile photos from our jobs
All photos are from Dmtilellc installations. See the full gallery
Google Reviews
What Bristol Homeowners Say
Marek Pawulski
November 2026
Daniel did some tile work for me and I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. Absolutely amazing work and craftsmanship. He showed up on time, was very professional throughout the whole job, and did a fantastic job. You can tell he takes pride in his work and pays attention to the little details. Good, reliable contractors aren’t always easy to find, and Daniel is definitely one of them. The quality of the work was excellent, everything was done right, and he was worth every penny. I will definitely use him again and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for quality tile work. Highly recommend! Daniel, thank you so much for getting the job done on short notice.
Response from the owner
Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a detailed review! It was a pleasure working with you, and I truly appreciate your kind words and trust. I’m glad you’re happy with the finished work and that I could get everything done on short notice. I look forward to working with you again!
Anne Hope
November 2026
Daniel does amazing work, Very professional, and great prices! I would highly recommend Daniel to anyone that is seeking great work and a great price!
Response from the owner
Thank you so much for the kind words and recommendation! We truly appreciate your support and are glad you were happy with our work, professionalism, and pricing!
Autumn
November 2026
Rated 5 stars, no written review.
Shower Tile · Bristol
Bristol showers: out with the fiberglass, in with tile that lasts
Bristol was built in layers, with 39% of the housing predating 1960, and each decade left a different shower behind. The mid-century capes and ranches have a tub alcove with four-by-four tile; the raised ranches and split-levels off Chippens Hill and in Edgewood usually have a one-piece fiberglass tub-shower that has yellowed and cracked; the pre-war homes on Federal Hill and in Forestville have a cast-iron tub in a plaster-walled room.
The most common Bristol job is the fiberglass cut-out: remove the unit, replace the drywall behind it (nearly always damaged at the tub line) with cement board, build a properly sloped pan or set a pre-formed one, waterproof with a bonded membrane, flood-test, and tile. Done that way, it is a shower that outlasts the next fiberglass unit. Bristol is sixteen minutes from our base, close enough for a same-week estimate visit.
Not sure how much of this your home needs? Start here: what actually goes behind shower tile It takes five minutes and saves guessing.
In Bristol we set porcelain, ceramic, mosaic, glass and natural stone shower tile, on an offset layout, stacked, brick-set or herringbone, over a bonded waterproofing system.
Bristol Housing at a Glance
Hartford County
- Homes
- 26,369
- Median year built
- 1967
- Built before 1960
- 39%
- Built 1980 or later
- 31%
- Single-family detached
- 55%
- In 2-4 unit buildings
- 19%
- In 5+ unit buildings
- 20%
- Owner-occupied
- 65%
- From our base
- ≈16 min
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. ZIP codes 06010, 06011.
Three checks before a Bristol shower
The drain under a fiberglass unit
Most one-piece units drain through a 1½-inch tub drain. A stand-up shower needs a 2-inch drain, and that is the size we install and quote. The Connecticut code minimum is 1½ inch (2021 IPC section 421.3, and the same figure in 2021 IRC section P2708.2), so 2 inches is our practice rather than a code requirement. The plumber's rough-in is part of almost every conversion. We plan it before demo, not after.
Split-level plumbing access
In a raised ranch the bathroom often sits over a finished lower level. We check whether the drain can be reached from below or whether the floor has to be opened from above, because it changes the day count.
Rental-grade choices
For a tenant bathroom we recommend porcelain wall and floor tile, epoxy or high-performance grout, a pressure-balanced valve and a tiled curb with a solid cap: choices that take abuse and are easy to clean.
Permits in Bristol
Does this work need a permit?
Under the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code (§R105.2), tiling, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work that involves no structural change is exempt from a building permit. Plumbing changes such as a new valve or a moved drain, and any electrical work, are permitted separately by the licensed plumber or electrician who performs them. We tell you which items in your scope apply before work starts.
Where permits are filed
Hartford County
City of Bristol, Building Department
111 North Main Street, Bristol, CT 06010
Tel. 860-584-6215
Permit applications and permit searches are handled online through the city's portal; the department also posts its fee schedule.
Official Bristol building department pageFrequently Asked Questions
Shower Tile Installation in Bristol: Questions
No. Daniel and his own crew do the tile work. We do not hand your job to a third-party installer, so the same people who set the tile are the ones in your house every day of the install, and you deal with one company from the estimate through the final clean-up.
About a week of site time for the tile scope: a day for the cut-out and drywall removal, the plumber's rough-in, a day for cement board and waterproofing with a 24-hour flood test, two to three days of setting, then grout and silicone. You can shower again once the silicone has cured, normally the day after grout.
Yes, if the tub is sound. We remove the old tile and backing to the studs, protect the tub, install cement board and a bonded membrane, and tile to the ceiling or to a height you choose. Refinishing a chipped cast-iron tub is a separate trade we can schedule before the tile goes up.
A fully tiled, waterproofed shower with porcelain tile and epoxy grout costs more up front than another fiberglass unit but does not yellow, crack or need replacing at the next turnover. Add a tiled niche instead of a corner caddy and a solid-surface curb cap so there is no grout line at the wettest edge.
The tile is exempt from a building permit under the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code. Changing the drain to 2-inch or replacing the valve is a plumbing permit, and a new fan or light is an electrical permit, both applied for online with the Bristol Building Department at 111 North Main Street by the licensed trade doing the work.
We build the pan, then go over it with a bonded waterproofing membrane such as a Schluter-KERDI style sheet or a liquid-applied one where the geometry calls for it. The membrane runs over the pan, up the walls, around the curb, and over every seam, corner and valve penetration, and we hold a twenty-four-hour flood test before any tile goes down. If a drop moves, we find it while it is still inexpensive to fix.
Only sometimes, and only when the old tile passes the checks: solidly bonded everywhere when you tap it, flat, and structurally sound, with enough give at the outlets, counters and doors to absorb the added thickness. When it fails any of those, tiling over it locks the problem in. On a wet area we almost always take it down to the substrate instead.
Still have questions? Call us at (860) 990-2332
Guides
Shower Tile Questions, Answered
The questions homeowners ask us before the estimate. Read them before you book anyone, then call us with your questions.
Showers
What Goes Behind Shower Tile, and Why It Decides Whether the Shower Lasts
The pan, the membrane, the backer board, the grout and the tile. Five layers, and the one nobody sees is the one that decides how long the shower lasts.
Materials
What Tile Holds Up in a Shower
Porcelain against ceramic against stone in a wet room, slip resistance, and why the pan and the wall behind it matter more than the tile you pick.
Grout
How to Regrout a Shower
How to tell a grout problem from a substrate problem, what a regrout actually involves, and the four things that make a fresh grout job fail.
Permits
Do I Need a Permit for a Bathroom Remodel in Connecticut?
What the state code exempts, what needs a trade permit, and why a tile job and a plumbing job are not the same job. Read this before you pull anything off a wall.
How we work
Our Tile Installation Process, Step by Step
The whole sequence, from the first visit to the last silicone joint. Substrate prep, waterproofing, layout, setting, grout. No steps skipped.
More Tile Services in Bristol
The same careful work, for every surface in your Bristol home.
Shower Tile in Nearby Towns
Local crews, same standard, across Connecticut.
Shower Tile Installation in Bristol? Get Your Free Estimate.
If you are in New Britain, Berlin, Newington, Plainville, Farmington, Avon or a nearby Connecticut town and need tile installation, bathroom remodeling, shower waterproofing, backsplash work, or floor tile installation, contact Dmtilellc today. Free estimates available.