What the lifetime leak-free guarantee covers
Every bathroom we build carries a lifetime leak-free guarantee on the shower pan and the walls we install, and five years on the workmanship and on the finish and adjustment items around them. Those are three different promises with three different terms, and the useful version of this page is the one that says exactly what each covers, what it does not, and what happens when you make a claim.
Last updated September 2026 · The terms page carries the summary and the customer handbook you receive at signing carries the full text · Part of the knowledge base
Three promises, three terms
| Promise | How long | What it is about |
|---|---|---|
| Leak-free | Lifetime | The waterproofing assembly we build: the pan and the walls, and everything that joins them to the house and to the drain. |
| Workmanship | Five years | Everything we installed, installed correctly: tile setting, plumbing, electrical, ventilation, framing and substrate, cabinetry, glass, flooring and trim. |
| Finish and adjustment | Five years | The things that settle in with use: cosmetic defects, drywall cracking and nail pops, grout shrinkage, our original caulk, paint touch-up, and door, drawer and hardware adjustment. |
One year is the industry standard for finish and adjustment items. Ours is five. The products themselves are a fourth column that belongs to their makers, covered below.
Lifetime, on the waterproofing
If the shower pan or the walls we install ever leak, we fix it. What that covers, precisely, is the waterproofing assembly we build: the pan or base and its bond to the structure; the waterproofing of the walls, whether that is a membrane behind a tiled shower or the factory-sealed panels and seams of a manufactured system; the curb or threshold where the design has one; the sealed connection to the drain; and the penetrations we made and sealed. It covers leaks through that assembly caused by our workmanship or by the waterproofing materials we supplied.
Lifetime means for as long as you, the original purchaser, own and occupy the home as your primary residence. Coverage ends automatically when the home is sold or transferred. And it is the waterproofing that is covered for life, not the whole bathroom: the tile, glass, fixtures and trim in front of it carry the five-year workmanship term instead.
Five years, on the workmanship
Everything we installed, installed correctly. Tile setting, plumbing, electrical, ventilation, framing and substrate, cabinetry, glass, flooring and trim. This is the term that covers the visible bathroom, and it is the one that transfers if you sell, once, for whatever balance of the five years is left.
Five years, on finish and adjustment
The items that settle in with use rather than fail: cosmetic defects, drywall cracking and nail pops, grout shrinkage, our original caulk application, paint touch-up, and the adjustment of doors, drawers and hardware. One year is what the trade generally offers on these. Ours is five, because a bathroom is judged on them for a long time after the leak-free part has been forgotten.
What we do about a covered problem
For a leak covered by the lifetime guarantee, we repair it. Repair, by a method we choose, is the remedy, and it includes restoring the finishes we removed to reach the leak. For the five-year terms, the choice of remedy is ours: we repair the defective work, replace it, or pay you the reasonable cost of repair or replacement, whichever actually solves the problem.
Either way, if we have to open a wall to reach a covered defect, we close it, finish it and paint it, matched as closely as reasonably possible. What we cannot promise is an exact match of tile, stone, grout or paint against a room that has aged since it was installed, and we would rather say that here than at the wall.
We do not wait for you to find a problem. After the work is finished the office checks in with you, rather than leaving it to you to notice something and work out who to call. A guarantee that depends on the customer chasing it is a weaker guarantee than the words suggest.
The products carry their makers' warranties, not ours
The shower valve, the shower head, a cartridge, a cabinet finish, a fan motor or a piece of glass is warranted by the company that made it, not by us, and we pass those written terms through to you. The valve and the shower head come up most often, so to be plain about them: we cover our installation of them, which means setting the valve in the wall, the connections we make, the anti-scald limit we set, and the arm and trim we fit. The products themselves are the maker's to warrant on that maker's own terms: Delta for the valve, and for the head whichever maker's head you picked. The lifetime leak-free guarantee is about the waterproofing assembly, the pan and the walls, and it does not extend to the valve or the head.
Some of those manufacturer warranties run long. Transolid backs its walls with Transolid's own ten-year warranty, Bestbath backs its pan with Bestbath's own thirty-year warranty, and Castico backs its surfaces with Castico's own limited lifetime warranty. Each is that manufacturer's promise, on that manufacturer's definitions and process, separate from our guarantee on the work rather than an extension of it. The wall systems comparison lists the maker's coverage beside each system.
In your first year we handle a manufacturer warranty claim on your behalf, at no charge for our labor. After that the manufacturer's own process is yours to run, and we give you the model number and the purchase record you need to run it.
What is not covered
The exclusions are the part of any guarantee worth reading twice, so here they are in the most common terms.
- Normal wear and routine maintenance. Re-caulking and grout resealing are yours to keep up. Surface water getting through an unmaintained caulk or grout joint is a maintenance item, not a waterproofing failure.
- Water that did not come from our work. A supply line, the valve cartridge, a toilet, a roof or a window, or a leak that starts in another room. A wet ceiling below a bathroom is very often not the shower.
- Work performed by anyone else, and the damage it causes to ours. That includes anything drilled or screwed through the waterproofing after we finish, such as a grab bar or a shelf we did not install, because a membrane is a continuous barrier and a screw through it is a hole in it.
- Products you supplied yourself. We cover our installation of them, not the product.
- Misuse, abuse, accidental damage, or using the bathroom before we released it.
- Failing to maintain the work once you know something is wrong.
- Conditions outside anyone's control. Acts of nature, structural movement of the house, and natural variation in tile, stone or grout color, which is a characteristic of the material rather than a defect.
The grab bar is the one to remember. It is the single most common way a homeowner ends part of their own coverage without meaning to: a bar or a shelf screwed through a finished, waterproofed wall by a handyman a year later. If you might ever want a bar, have the blocking put in and the bar fitted while the wall is open, or ask us to add it afterward. There is a whole page on where bars go and what holds them.
How to make a claim
Email us with the word WARRANTY in the subject line, or use any of the contact methods on this site. There are no forms to chase and no phone tree. We acknowledge within two business days and schedule a no-charge inspection within ten business days of that acknowledgment.
If the problem is a leak, stop using the shower and let us look before anyone starts a repair. We determine the cause from the actual condition, and work done before our inspection, or without our written authorization, is not covered and is not reimbursed. Please report a problem within thirty days of noticing it. The original defect is still covered if you report it late, under the lifetime guarantee as well as the five-year terms, but damage that got worse because a known problem was left unaddressed is not.
What transfers when you sell
The lifetime leak-free guarantee does not transfer. It belongs to the original purchaser only and ends automatically when the home changes hands. The five-year workmanship guarantee transfers once, to the next owner, for whatever balance of its five years is still running, at no cost. The five-year finish-and-adjustment coverage does not transfer; like the leak guarantee, it is specific to the original owner.
The limits, stated plainly
This is a limited guarantee. Our total liability under it will not exceed what you paid us for the work at issue, and, except where Ohio law does not permit the limitation, we are not liable for incidental or consequential losses such as lost wages, hotel costs or damage to personal property. It is in addition to, and does not replace, any right you already have under Ohio law.
This page is a plain-English explanation. The summary on the terms page is the public version we maintain, and the full text, with the measurable standards each item is judged against, is in the customer handbook you receive at signing. Where this page and those documents ever disagree, they control.
Why it is written about the pan and the walls
The pan and the wall system meeting it are the two places a shower leaks, which is why a leak-free guarantee is written about them specifically rather than about the whole room. A promise that covered every part of a bathroom for life would either be hedged into meaninglessness or be impossible to keep. A narrower promise that names the part that matters, and then keeps it, is worth more. The guaranteed price is a separate promise about the number rather than the work, and it has its own page.
Common questions
What does the lifetime leak-free guarantee actually cover?
The waterproofing assembly we build: the shower pan or base and its bond to the structure, the waterproofing of the walls, whether that is a membrane behind tile or the factory-sealed panels and seams of a manufactured system, the curb or threshold where the design has one, the sealed connection to the drain, and the penetrations we made and sealed. If water gets through that assembly because of our workmanship or the waterproofing materials we supplied, we repair it for as long as the original purchaser owns and lives in the home. The tile, glass, fixtures and trim in front of it carry the five-year workmanship guarantee instead.
Does lifetime mean the lifetime of the house?
No. It means for as long as you, the original purchaser, own and occupy the home as your primary residence. Coverage ends automatically when the home is sold or transferred, and it does not pass to the next owner. The five-year workmanship guarantee is the one that transfers, once, for whatever balance of its five years is still running.
Is the shower valve covered by the guarantee?
Our installation of it is, and the valve itself is not. We cover setting the valve in the wall, the connections we make, the anti-scald limit we set, and the arm and trim we fit. The valve as a product is warranted by Delta on Delta's own terms, and the shower head by whichever maker's head you chose. The lifetime leak-free guarantee is written about the waterproofing assembly, the pan and the walls, and it does not extend to the valve or the head.
What voids the guarantee?
Mostly things done to the shower after we leave. Anything drilled or screwed through the waterproofing that we did not install, such as a grab bar or a shelf, because a membrane is a continuous barrier and a screw through it is a hole in it. Repairs or alterations by anyone else, and the damage they cause to our work. Using the bathroom before we released it, and leaving a known problem unaddressed until it gets worse. Ordinary maintenance is also yours: re-caulking and grout resealing are not covered, and water getting through an unmaintained caulk or grout joint is a maintenance item rather than a waterproofing failure.
How do I make a claim if something goes wrong?
Email us with the word WARRANTY in the subject line, or use any of the contact methods on the site. We acknowledge within two business days and schedule a no-charge inspection within ten business days of that acknowledgment. If the problem is a leak, stop using the shower and let us look before anyone starts a repair, because we determine the cause from the actual condition and work done before our inspection or without our written authorization is not covered. Report a problem within thirty days of noticing it; the original defect is still covered if you report it late, but damage that got worse in the meantime is not.
Do the shower wall systems carry their own warranties on top of your guarantee?
Yes, and they are the makers' promises rather than ours. Transolid backs its walls with its own ten-year warranty, Bestbath backs its pan with its own thirty-year warranty, and Castico backs its surfaces with its own limited lifetime warranty, each on that manufacturer's definitions and process. We pass the written terms through to you, and in the first year we handle a manufacturer claim on your behalf at no charge for our labor. After that the maker's process is yours to run, and we give you the model number and purchase record to do it.
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