Custom Tile Showers in Lake Mary, FL

Lake Mary homes are reaching their first big remodel

Lake Mary, in western Seminole County along I-4, grew quickly from the 1980s onward as corporate offices and planned communities moved in. Neighborhoods such as Heathrow, Timacuan and the subdivisions around Crystal Lake and Lake Mary Boulevard were mostly built between the mid-1980s and the 2000s. That means a large share of the city’s bathrooms are now twenty to forty years old and still have their original showers.

Those showers share some common traits. Many have a tiled stall with a mortar bed or liner pan that has been absorbing water for decades, a framed glass door with a metal track, smaller tile with wide grout joints, and a separate soaking or jetted tub that takes up a large part of the room. Secondary baths often have a tub with a tile or fiberglass surround. Shower pans of that age are a frequent source of slow leaks that show up as loose tile, cracked grout, a musty smell or stains on an adjacent wall.

Remodels here typically remove the original stall down to the studs and slab, replace the pan with a modern waterproofing system and expand the shower into space taken by the tub. We map the drain and supply lines first, since moving a drain on a slab is very doable but needs to be planned.

Seminole County water and humidity

Lake Mary’s water, like most of Central Florida’s, comes from the Floridan aquifer and is naturally hard. It leaves white spotting on glass and dulls polished fixtures, while humid summers keep grout and caulk damp longer than they should be.

We counter that with a continuous waterproofing membrane behind and under every tile surface, a precisely sloped floor, and drains placed for the layout. Larger-format porcelain means less grout to clean, high-performance grout resists staining and mildew better than standard grout, and coated low-iron glass makes hard-water spots easier to wipe away. The waterproofing guide explains how the system works.

Permits and HOAs in Lake Mary

Homes inside Lake Mary city limits generally permit through the city’s building division, while some communities with a Lake Mary address, including parts of Heathrow, are in unincorporated Seminole County and permit through the county. We confirm the jurisdiction for your property before work begins.

Many Lake Mary neighborhoods are gated or HOA-managed. Interior remodels rarely need design approval, but contractor access, working hours, parking and dumpster placement are often regulated, and some communities need advance notice. Share your HOA’s rules with us and we will plan the schedule around them.

Budget and next steps

Removing an original pan and enlarging a shower is a bigger job than re-tiling, and it is usually the right one for a shower of this age. See our custom shower cost guide for what affects the budget, review the pricing page, and book a consultation for a look at your bathroom.