If your Pocatello bathroom still wears 1980s 4x4 ceramic or a shower pan that flexes underfoot, bathroom tile installation Pocatello ID is the fix that changes the whole room. We tear out the old substrate, set cement backer board, roll a waterproofing membrane, and lay porcelain tile flat and true. One crew, one schedule, no mystery subs.
Bathroom tile installation Pocatello ID is the trade of setting ceramic or porcelain tile over a prepared, waterproofed substrate so the finished wall and floor shed water instead of absorbing it. It starts with demolition, not tile. We pull the old material, check the framing and subfloor, then rebuild with cement backer board and a waterproofing membrane before a single tile goes down. Grout lines get spaced with tile spacers, cut on a wet saw, and finished with a grout float. Done right, the assembly outlives the fixtures bolted to it.
Most Pocatello homes we walk into were built between 1950 and 1985, and the bathrooms show it. Original tile is cracked, grout has gone black with mold and mildew, and a leaking shower valve has been quietly rotting the wall cavity behind the tile for years. That is the scenario where a Pocatello bathroom tile contractor earns the money, because the tile is the easy part. The repair underneath is what keeps the room dry.
Every tile job we quote includes demolition, substrate prep, waterproofing, tile setting, grout and caulk. What varies is the tile you pick and whether we find rot or a failing valve behind the wall. We price those repairs separately and only after we show you the problem.
We remove old tile, backer board, drywall and thinset, then haul it off. Floors get protected on the path out. On a typical 40-square-foot bathroom this takes one day, and we photograph the open wall so you can see what was behind the tile.
Cement backer board goes up on walls and floors, seams taped and mortared. We sister soft studs and replace rotten subfloor sections before the backer goes down. This is the step that decides whether the tile job lasts.
A rolled waterproofing membrane covers the wet area, with reinforcing fabric at corners and the shower pan. We seal every valve and pipe penetration. It cures a full day before tile, and it is the reason the assembly does not grow mold.
Tile gets dry-laid for layout, cut on a wet saw, and set with spacers for consistent joints. Grout goes in with a grout float, then cures 24 hours. We use silicone caulk at every change of plane instead of grout, because grout cracks there.
Toilet, vanity, trim and shower door go back after grout cures. We test the shower valve for leaks, run the exhaust fan, and clean the room. You get a walkthrough and a punch list before we call it finished.
We measure the room, check the subfloor with a laser level and moisture meter, and open the valve wall if there is any sign of a leaking shower valve. You get a written price the same day, covering tile, setting materials, membrane and labor. No allowances that balloon later.
Old tile, backer and any water-damaged drywall come out. We inspect the framing and subfloor, sister any soft studs, and replace what is rotten. On an older Pocatello home this is where surprises live, so we photograph what we find and tell you before we rebuild.
Cement backer board goes up, seams get taped and mortared, and a waterproofing membrane rolls over the whole wet area. Corners and the shower pan get reinforcing fabric. This step takes a full day and it is the one that decides whether the tile job lasts.
We dry-lay the tile to center the layout and avoid slivers at the corners. Cuts run on a wet saw, spacers hold consistent joints, and a grout float packs the grout. Walls go up before the floor so the floor tile hides the wall cuts, the way it should be done.
Grout cures, then every inside corner and fixture penetration gets silicone caulk, not grout, because grout cracks there. We reinstall the toilet, vanity and trim, clean the room, and walk it with you. Any punch item gets handled before we call the job done.
We measure the room, check the subfloor with a laser level and moisture meter, and open the valve wall if there is any sign of a leaking shower valve. You get a written price the same day, covering tile, setting materials, membrane and labor. No allowances that balloon later.
Cuts porcelain and ceramic tile cleanly with a water-cooled diamond blade. It is what gives you straight, chip-free cuts at the corners and around the valve and drain penetrations.
Checks wall plumb and floor flatness before tile goes down. We use it to measure subfloor deflection and to set a level datum line for the first course of wall tile.
Reads moisture in the subfloor and framing before we close anything up. If the reading is high, we stop and find the source instead of tiling over a wet assembly.
Spacers hold consistent joint width across the field. The grout float packs grout into the joints at the right density so the grout cures hard instead of powdery.
Cuts backer board, trims around valve bodies, and removes old thinset at the edges without damaging adjacent surfaces. It is the tool that keeps the demo clean.
Applies silicone caulk at every change of plane, around the drain, and at the tub or shower pan joint. Silicone moves with the assembly where grout would crack.
Original pink ceramic tile with black grout, a leaking shower valve that had soaked the wall for years, and a floor that flexed near the toilet. The exhaust fan vented into the attic instead of outdoors.
After: New porcelain tile on walls and floor, a replaced Moen shower valve, a corrected subfloor with new backer board, and an exhaust fan vented through the roof. Job ran six working days. Grout lines are consistent and the floor is flat.
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A 1990s master shower with a cracked pan, loose tile around the drain, and water staining on the ceiling below. The original pan had been set without a membrane and the slope was nearly flat.
After: Rebuilt pan with correct slope to the drain, a waterproofing membrane with reinforcing fabric at the corners, and a small-format porcelain mosaic floor for grip. Walls re-tiled in large-format porcelain. Five working days.
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A 5x8 bathroom with a cast iron tub that had rusted through at the drain, cracked floor tile, and a running toilet leaking at the base. The room had no waterproofing behind the tub surround.
After: Tub removed, drain relocated, new walk-in shower framed and waterproofed, porcelain tile on walls and floor, and a linear drain to keep the slope shallow. Toilet reset on a new flange at finished-floor height. Seven working days.
Book this service →Most tile calls start with something visible and end with something hidden. Cracked tile, black grout and a soft spot near the shower are symptoms. Here is what we find behind them and how we fix it.
Ask a pro →We remove the loose tile, inspect the substrate, and replace any saturated backer board. Then we re-waterproof the area and re-tile it so the repair matches the surrounding field. If the whole wall is compromised, we re-tile the shower rather than patch it twice.
We open the valve wall, replace the valve with a Moen or Delta unit, and pressure-test it before closing up. Then we rebuild the backer board, waterproof, and re-tile. Doing this during a tile job means one open wall instead of two.
We fix the source first: check and replace the exhaust fan, confirm the duct vents outdoors, and verify the waterproofing. Then we re-grout with a dense, sealed grout and re-caulk the corners with silicone. The mold stops returning because the moisture does.
We measure deflection, add blocking or a second layer of subfloor where needed, and set cement backer board over it. Then we tile with full coverage. The floor stops moving, so the tile stops cracking.
Most full bathroom tile jobs in Pocatello run $2,400 to $7,500 in 2026, depending on square footage, tile choice and how much substrate repair is needed. A shower-only tile job typically lands between $1,800 and $4,200. Porcelain tile installation Pocatello Idaho costs more in material than ceramic but holds up better in a wet area, so it usually pays for itself.
Porcelain is the best all-around choice for Pocatello bathrooms because it absorbs under 0.5 percent water, handles freeze-thaw swings in an unheated bathroom, and comes in matte finishes that are not slippery when wet. Ceramic works fine on walls and backsplashes. On shower floors, we set small-format porcelain or a mosaic so the floor grips and drains correctly toward the weep holes.
A standard hall bathroom takes three to five working days. A master bathroom with a large walk-in shower runs five to eight. Waterproofing needs a full cure day before tile goes down, and grout needs 24 hours before the shower is used. We give you a day-by-day schedule at the walkthrough so you can plan around one bathroom being out of service.
Yes, every wet area needs a waterproofing membrane before tile goes down, and Idaho code expects it in shower pans and walls. Cement backer board alone is not waterproof, it is water-resistant. We roll a membrane over the backer, tape and mortar the seams, and reinforce the pan corners. Skipping this step is the number one cause of mold and mildew behind Pocatello shower tile.
Licensed, insured and warrantied, with a written price before demo starts. Call +1 986-336-9053 and we will measure your bathroom, check the substrate, and give you a straight number on tile, materials and labor. Same-week scheduling on most jobs.
Get My Tile Quote +19863369053 →Call us or send a message and we will get back to you the same business day. We schedule estimates Monday through Friday and can usually get to a Pocatello address within a few days. Tell us what is going on with the bathroom and we will tell you what it takes to fix it.