Walk-in Showers in Newmarket

Where walk-in showers make the biggest difference in Newmarket homes

Across Newmarket, homeowners ask us to build custom tiled walk-in showers for two main reasons. In Stonehaven-Wyndham, Woodland Hill, Summerhill Estates and Copper Hills, the upstairs primary ensuite almost always has a large corner soaker tub on a tiled deck beside a tight 32- or 36-inch acrylic shower stall. Removing both the unused corner deck and the cramped stall opens up a full wall for a spacious glass walk-in shower with a bench, recessed niches and dual shower heads.

In Gorham-College Manor, Huron Heights, Bristol-London and Glenway, the goal is often replacing a 60-inch alcove bathtub with a bright, easy-entry shower—just like our Newmarket dual walk-in shower renovation, where we converted two upstairs tub alcoves in the same Newmarket house into custom porcelain walk-in showers with matte-black fixtures, linear drains and an LED-lit vertical niche.

If you are planning ahead for safe mobility or adapting a room for an older parent, adding a curbless or low-profile entry, a fold-down or tiled seat, a slide-bar hand shower and solid wood blocking behind the tile for grab bars is straightforward while the walls are open. See our accessible bathrooms in Newmarket page and our Newmarket accessible walk-in shower case study.

Designing your walk-in shower

Curbless (zero-threshold) vs. low-curb entry

A curbless shower runs the main bathroom floor tile directly into the shower pan with no step to cross. It looks seamless, is effortless to clean, and eliminates any tripping edge. Because the shower floor still has to pitch toward the drain, our crew either recesses the subfloor between the joists or raises the outer bathroom floor slightly. On a second floor in a wood-framed Newmarket house, we check joist depth, span and direction before confirming a recessed curbless pan.

A low-curb shower places a slim 3-to-4-inch stone or tiled threshold along the glass line. It works over any upstairs joist layout without structural modifications, keeps water contained reliably, and costs less in carpentry than a recessed pan.

Linear trench drains vs. centre point drains

A linear drain sits along one wall or across the shower threshold so the entire floor slopes in a single flat plane. That allows us to lay large-format porcelain tiles right across the shower floor—as shown in our Newmarket dual shower project and our Yonge Street condo shower case study. A centre point drain slopes from all four sides toward the middle, which pairs well with 2-inch hex or square mosaic tile for extra grip underfoot and costs less to install.

10 mm frameless glass, lit niches and benches

Depending on your bathroom layout, we install a fixed walk-in glass panel (splash screen), a hinged frameless door and panel, or sliding frameless doors with matte-black, brushed-brass or chrome hardware. Every custom glass enclosure is laser-measured after the wall tile is grouted so it fits out-of-square walls cleanly without bulky metal framing.

Inside the wet zone, we frame recessed shampoo niches aligned with your tile courses—with optional warm LED strip lighting—and build solid waterproofed corner or full-width benches (or floating stone benches like the one in our Bradford primary ensuite case study).

Walk-in shower costs in Newmarket

When a custom walk-in shower is built as part of an ensuite or wet-room renovation, our published labour packages show the exact installation scope before finish materials:

Finish materials—porcelain or stone tile, the linear or point drain, mixing valve and trim, and custom glass—are priced separately so you can pick the exact fixtures you want. If you are converting an existing tub alcove or rebuilding only the shower stall while keeping your vanity and toilet, we quote the job line by line; a recent curbless accessible shower conversion of ours came to about $15,000 all-in. Check our Newmarket bathroom renovation cost guide for per-square-foot tile rates and trade line items.

Seven steps behind a leak-free tiled shower

1. Strip-out to bare studs. We protect your floors and remove the old acrylic stall, tub deck, tile and drywall down to the framing.
2. Framing and joist check. We inspect the subfloor for moisture damage, reinforce framing, and recess the floor if building a curbless pan.
3. Rough-in plumbing. We install a new pressure-balanced or thermostatic mixing valve, diverter and 2-inch shower drain trap.
4. Niches, bench and blocking. We frame recessed niches and benches, add 2x8 wood blocking for glass hinges and grab bars, and hang waterproof backer board.
5. Continuous bonded waterproofing. Every shower wall, floor pan, curb, niche and bench is covered with a continuous waterproof membrane, with sealed corner bands and drain flange connection.
6. Tile setting and grouting. Wall slabs and floor tile are set with levelling clips to your approved drawings, grouted, and sealed with flexible silicone at all corners.
7. Plumbing trim and custom glass. Shower heads and controls are mounted, and custom tempered glass is measured and fitted. Read more on our renovation process page.

Town of Newmarket permits and second-floor framing

Relocating a shower drain requires a permit. Rebuilding a shower in the exact same footprint using the existing drain trap does not require a municipal building permit. Moving the drain across the floor—for instance, when combining a corner tub and stall into one larger shower—or upgrading a 1.5-inch tub trap to a 2-inch shower drain is a plumbing alteration that requires a Town of Newmarket building permit. Source: Town of Newmarket: Residential Building Permits and Plumbing Alterations (accessed October 10, 2026) See our article on Newmarket bathroom renovation permits.

Engineered joists vs. concrete slabs. Many 2000s homes in Woodland Hill and Copper Hills use engineered wood I-joists upstairs, which cannot be notched without an engineered detail. We inspect your floor framing early and advise whether a recessed curbless pan or a low-profile curb is the right structural choice. In a basement bathroom, trenching the concrete slab makes a curbless entry straightforward.

Planning to remove a bathtub for your new shower? Visit our tub-to-shower conversion in Newmarket page, or upload photos of your bathroom for a free itemized quote.