Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Tamko Bathroom Remodeling: The Houston Owner’s Guide
If you have a Tamko product in your bathroom and something’s failed or worn out, you’re likely looking at a full bathroom remodel rather than a simple part swap in most cases. We work with Tamko-related bathroom projects across Houston, and a complete bathroom remodel here typically runs $9,000 to $28,000 installed. Most owners discover the problem the same way: water staining on the ceiling below, a shower base that’s flexed or cracked, or grout that’s pulling away from the substrate and letting moisture get where it doesn’t belong.
Which Tamko Models This Applies To
Tamko manufactures roofing, waterproofing, and building products. In a bathroom context, that usually means Tamko’s waterproofing membranes, shower pan liners, and underlayment materials that sit beneath tile and finished surfaces. The compatibility question isn’t about a model number on a visible fixture. It’s about what’s under the tile. If your bathroom was built or remodeled using Tamko’s sheet membranes or pan liners, the failure mode is almost always at the seams, corners, or where the membrane meets the drain assembly. We identify the right approach by exposing a small section and checking the membrane type, thickness, and seam condition. Homeowners should not try to identify Tamko membranes themselves from the surface. There’s nothing visible to read until demolition starts. That’s why the first step on any Tamko-related bathroom remodel in Houston is a controlled inspection, not a guess.
One compatibility gotcha we see regularly in Houston: bathrooms where a contractor mixed Tamko’s membrane system with a different manufacturer’s drain assembly or bond flange. Those mismatches look fine for years, then the seal fails. When we open the floor, we document it, and the fix is a matched system, not a patch.
Bradford Remodeling Co Houston is an independent remodeling contractor. We are not affiliated with Tamko. We specify and install Tamko products as part of broader bathroom remodels, and we also work with other documented brands like KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone when the project calls for them.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Tamko Bathroom Remodeling Is Failing
- Water staining on the ceiling below the bathroom. This is the most common first signal in two-story Houston homes. A membrane seam has separated and water is tracking down through the subfloor. By the time you see the stain, the leak has usually been active for weeks or months.
- Grout cracking or pulling away from the tile in the shower floor. Shower floors flex. Houston’s clay-heavy soil means slabs and framing settle more than homeowners expect. That movement transfers to the tile assembly and the membrane underneath it.
- A soft or spongy spot in the bathroom floor. The subfloor is compromised. Moisture has gotten past the membrane and is rotting the wood or degrading the substrate. In a slab-on-grade Houston home, this presents as a tile that sounds hollow when tapped.
- Musty odor that won’t go away, even after cleaning. Water is trapped in the wall cavity or under the floor. That means the moisture barrier has failed somewhere and the wet material can’t dry out. In Houston’s humidity, this can become a mold issue quickly.
- Baseboards or door casings swelling and separating. The wicking effect. Water that gets past the waterproofing travels along the framing and shows up at the trim. By the time trim moves, the membrane has been compromised for a while.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A bathroom remodel in Houston that involves failed Tamko waterproofing or a full tear-out and rebuild runs $9,000 to $28,000. Where your project falls in that range depends on bathroom size, whether you’re moving plumbing, what finishes you choose, and how much structural repair the framing needs once we open everything up.
| Scope | Houston Price Range |
|---|---|
| Small bathroom remodel (shower area only, no plumbing moves) | $5,000 – $12,000 |
| Full bathroom remodel (standard 5×8, full tear-out, new waterproofing system, new tile, new fixtures) | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Walk-in shower installation (custom, with new Tamko or equivalent waterproofing membrane) | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Tub-to-shower conversion (with new waterproofing and tile) | $3,500 – $10,000 |
| Shower replacement (pan, walls, valve, new membrane) | $3,000 – $8,500 |
What’s included: demolition and disposal, inspection of the framing and subfloor, repair of any rot or compromised wood, a new waterproofing system matched to the manufacturer’s install spec, tile work, fixture installation, and a written scope of work with a fixed price before we start. No numbers that move at the door. Every completed project carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise from The Garrison Standard. If the work fails inside a year, we come back and correct it at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
A homeowner can safely check a few things: look for visible water staining, press on tiles to feel for hollow spots, and listen for a floor that creaks differently than it used to. What a homeowner should not do is start demolition. Cutting into a bathroom floor or shower wall without knowing where the membrane runs, how the drain is connected, and what’s behind the tile is how small leaks become slab damage. And if you’ve got water under a tile assembly in Houston, you’ve also got a drying problem without commercial equipment.
Waterproofing is not a spot-fix trade. When a Tamko membrane fails, the correct repair is removal to clean, sound framing, a new membrane installed to the manufacturer’s span and seam requirements, and a flood test before tile goes back down. That is what we do. Curtis Lane has been running crews in the Houston market for over a decade, and he reads a scope of work the way other guys read a box score. Straight scope, straight number, that’s the whole conversation. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll schedule the inspection.
FAQs
A properly installed bathroom waterproofing membrane should last 20 to 30 years in Houston. The bigger variable is the tile assembly above it and the movement in your particular slab. If the prep work was wrong, the membrane can fail in 5 to 10 years. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll tell you what you’re actually dealing with, not what a brochure says.
No, not reliably. Seam patches and spot repairs on failed bathroom waterproofing are temporary fixes that fail again because the surrounding membrane has already degraded or separated. The roof of a compromised shower pan can’t be reattached. Call (940) 289-7658 if you want an honest answer about repair versus replacement. We’ll match the recommendation to what’s actually under your tile.
A standard bathroom remodel in Houston takes 2 to 4 weeks from demolition to finished tile, depending on scope and any framing repairs. Larger bathrooms with custom showers or moved plumbing can run 4 to 6 weeks. There is no same-day answer. Call (940) 289-7658 for a realistic timetable on your specific job.
We order waterproofing materials per project so you get a matched system, not a mix of whatever was on the truck. We keep the inventory relevant to the scopes we actually build. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll pull the right materials for your bathroom, not whatever’s closest.
Written by Curtis Lane, Owner, Bradford Remodeling Co Houston at Bradford Remodeling Co Houston, serving Houston and nearby areas.
