A sloped-ceiling bathroom in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Most people who’ve seen that orange waffled membrane on a job site assume it’s waterproofing. Its actual job is crack prevention — houses expand and contract, subfloors flex, and this layer keeps that movement below the tile instead of transmitting it up into the grout lines.

Walls and floors don’t fail the same way:

• Walls fear water — cement board with finished edges first, then a red liquid membrane brushed over everything, niche included

• Floors fear movement — an uncoupling membrane goes under the tile

Also in this video:

• Stripped back to the studs with the ceiling opened, new tub set before the surrounding framing went back

• A wood-look tile niche, laid horizontally, with all four edges landing on one line

• Hex mosaic running under the tub line, which stretches a narrow room out

• The window kept — in a sloped-ceiling bath that beats adding another fan

The niche, the sliding glass door and the extra moisture protection on the shower wall were all added mid-project. Start to finish, about ten days.

Materials: USG DUROCK cement board, Schluter DITRA uncoupling membrane, red liquid waterproofing, hex mosaic floor tile, large-format gloss white wall tile, wood-look tile niche, sliding glass door, dark wood-grain vanity with a recessed medicine cabinet.

Sun Shore Construction — licensed and insured, serving Greater Boston.

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