Riverstone Salon & Spa..........

 

    Visit our friends at   http://riverstonesalonspa.com/   in South Minneapolis and check out their brand new location and recent renovation..... (and  take a few pictures for me please!).

     Riverstone is a family affair and this family project came to us through referral..... Say Hi to Tamie, Scott, Angie, Art and Ben for us.!

   Riverstone has A new 1300 sq' laminate wood cutting floor, and a neat gauged rough slate floor with ceramic and glass mosaic wainscot walls in their tiled bathroom.... recently installed by Tundra Finish Works.... on this project we were able to work within our clients buildout budget and use materials they had already chosen....... 

  When were not building a custom tile shower.....Tundra Finish Works does smaller creative commercial projects such as restaurants & storefronts in addition to mostly residential tile and stone installations as well as laminate and hardwood flooring and finish trim work.
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Minneapolis Shower Pan Contractor

        Maybe you want to build your own tile shower...we can help with that .........You are going to need a "Flood testable" Shower pan built to code   or better yet well ABOVE local codes that only meet the bare minimum.......... YES.......You may consider this the most important step of tile shower preperation. It takes a certain skillset, experience, product knowledge and know how.

    Tundra Finish Works can build you either A Thinbed (preferred) or A Full mortar bed ( pre slope/ bladder) shower pan with A 100% concrete curb or better yet Curbless . We can work with standard clamp ring drains, kerdi and linear drains.

    Its true the City of Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs are cracking down on Tile shower pan  inspections. (In many states a tile shower is flood tested for 24-72 hrs prior to moving forward with tiling the shower. (This makes it hard for unskilled handymen and even many skilled yet unqualified tile contractors to build showers for half price (in half the time) )

                         
 ......I recently did A tear out of another leaky shower pan that was never inspected or flood tested. It took a few months before the problem was evident to the home owner, (water trickling down from the ceiling to the dinner table).......

  "Homeowners" that have had to go thru this horror....... have no problem paying the second time for quality skilled shower buildouts".

  In the end The price wasn't right. They lost over $1800 in wasted labor and materials, plus the now added expense of rebuilding the pan, curb, and perimiter tile. 

Their handyman assured them he can build a tile shower for under half the price of their bids from Qualified Licensed contractors............

     Our avg. 3x3'  Flood testable thinbed shower pan costs aprox. $800* ( installed w/materials*).
     Our avg. 3x3'  Complete tile ready waterproof shower costs aprox.  $1800*       

                                                                                         
  Please Call Tundra Finish Works today to discuss your tile shower pan needs @ 952-239-0084

Minneapolis Kerdi Tile Shower

Prepping for pan......

Ready for drain & tile....

Get In and enjoy....

....This South Minneapolis client was overdue for a new Waterproof tiled shower. Here we had to replace a lot of water damaged rotted out framing and rebuild part of the subfloor...... To Insure our client has no repeat of this in the future we upgraded a few materials and made some smart decisions. Tundra Finish Works built a 3x3 thinbed waterproof shower with traditional clamp ring drain. We used Nobleflex and Nobleseal TS as our pan membrane and weep divot.. and schluter Kerdi on walls...We also used ditra as a slip sheet for our pan.

"All of these options come at a cost and are considered "upgrades" in comparison to a more budget minded buildout (which is exactly how their last LEAKY MOLDY shower was built and why costly water damage to their home followed)"

For TILE we kept the cost down with affordable classic subway that mathched the origional period vintage hex floor...we used glass and metal mosaic accents and Carerra marble hexagon for the shower pan floor. The curb is honed from A slab of marble that had been hidden in their attic for decades...our client opted for quality frameless 3/8" tempered glass.....

Tundra finish works is well versed in SUSTAINABLE quality shower buildouts and can tailor your budget with a myriad of material choices and price points.... call us to discuss your Mpls/St. Paul area tile shower project today @ 952-239-0084

Travertine & Oak

Heres a Nice condo bath remodel and red oak stair Bannister for our HAPPY Minneapolis area client.

Our client was hyper focused on her details and.... well, so are WE!. Here Tundra Finish Works waterproofed the tub surround, and installed Mocha Honed travertine tile with linear mosaic and marble accents focused on the shower valve wall, we finished off the shower with 2 piece Kohler glass.... For the Floor...We rebuilt this substrate & subfloor to ensure The deflection rating would support soft stone such as travertine which we installed over Schluter Ditra... (Does your tile crew understand Deflection ratings ? can they calculate this and explain it to you....BEFORE your floor falls apart with cracked tiles and loose grout...???)

WE also installed this red oak Stair bannister as well as other finish trim work (hung doors, baseboard, casings etc.) Tundra Finish Works offers these services as well as custom tile and stone work.... We have extensive carpentry/trim finish skills and the eye for these important details. Call us today to discuss your Trim and tile projects...@ 952-239-0084.......

Linear Drain Steam Shower

If you are in the Minneapolis St.Paul area Call us today to discuss your custom tile shower needs @ 952-239-0084

This Linear Drain "ALMOST Curbless"!!!! Steam shower project was a challenge we enjoyed from start to finish.

Tundra Finish Works designed and built this steam shower. The drain is A Noble Freestyle Linear drain  set in A thin-bed installation which alllows us to use large format tiles for the shower floor... Waterproofing by Laticrete Hydroban and Nobleseal TS...

A few bells and whistles

Mr.Steam chromatherapy lights, Amrec steam generator, Mr.Steam transducer speakers and semi frameless Tempered 3/8" glass complete with transom..

For Tile we chose Florida Tile "Progetto" series for its, thru body color, useable edge, and nearly IMPERVIOUS vitrosity levels (.5%) which is extremely important when building A Steam shower... as vapor transmission and perm ratings are your biggest concern. Basic & contemporary tile layout & design. We used grouts and silicone from TEC.

Thanks To these fine folks!!!!!
Lynn and John from Minnesota Tile and Stone.

Erik and Richard from (Noble Company)

John Whipple (By Any design LTD).

And of course the biggest! THANKS to our friends the Arundel's for the oppourtunity to realize this project from start to finish

Minneapolis tile shower repair

Clogged weep holes

No Preslope

ALL BETTER

Waterproofed and ready to tile

This clients Tile shower was salvageable from about 12 inches up!!...We were able to offer a cost effective solution to repair this shower Properly within our clients budget

This shower pan was built improperly and had a nasty stagnant mildew smell permeating the pan floor and drain....

You can clearly see 2 MAJOR mistakes the builder made here.(among others)

#1. The weep holes in the clamp ring drain were never properly protected when the pan was poured.

#2. The pan liner has no preslope built under it.

Possibly the worst combination of mistakes for a shower build

Here Tundra Finish Works started by correcting the poor framing job, adressed the subfloor for deflection, New P-Trap & clamp ring drain with weep hole protection, a proper pre-slope under the new bladder, deck mud pan with a CBU backer and Laticrete hydroban for waterproofing. The shower will now DRAIN PROPERLY to the weep holes and last longer than the upper half of this poorly built shower.

If you are in the Minneapolis twin cities metro area Tundra finish works can help you properly build a Shower pan system utilizing the newest products available with a solid understanding of older tried and true methods achieving A lasting waterproof shower

Travertine Shower & Masterbath

Call Tundra Finish Works today to discuss your Minneapolis /St. Paul area Travertine tile project...@ 952-239-0084

Visit Our friends @ Swanke design/Build for Finish Pictures of this project Here:

http://swankedesignbuild.com/gallery.html


.....Here's a few "progress pictures" of a master bath we completed recently ..... The Frameless walk in shower is A bit of A hybrid using components from Noble Company in addition to a traditional weep hole drain, pan liner, Deck mud pan.
The bathroom was tiled in a classic brick/running bond theme with drastic tone variations of honed Travertine field tile with 2x2 tumbled travertine for the shower pan & 4x4 marble accents hand chosen and layed out by our client, we used bullnose to picture frame and edge the tub deck and curb...then used our leftover cuts to base the room. The floor tile is Set over TGI w 3/4" subply and Ditra as spec'd by schluter.

The complete job was sealed with a stone specific matte sealer and vital wet area corners and changes of plane were siliconed.....There's Now 3/8" tempered frameless glass installed (try and post some finish pics soon!)

Walk in Ceramic tile shower

Heres a nice example of what Tundra Finish Works can do with a TINY Tiled bathroom and a budget.. Here we (Ken!) took it down to the studs and rebuilt everything. We added a pocket door and opted for a pedestal sink and short bowl toilet to maximize space and still managed to squeeze in a 30x50" walk in pan shower..

Our client largely chose the tile and we worked together on layout..WE went with A linear and vertical staggered running bond theme utilizing.. glazed ceramics, glass and stone mosaics, marble rope and porcelain for the floor and JUMBO NICHE! we carried the shower design thru to wainscott the walls (nearly 85% of the total Sq. surface was tiled in this bathroom).....

The tile walk in shower is a hybrid utilizing Traditional lumber framing with a lightweight pre-slope under a pvc bladder and deck mud poured pan with traditional weep hole drain. The shower surround and walls are completely waterproofed under our tile which helped us breeze thru Inspections..... Just waiting for the custom glass to get installed............If you are in the twin cities, Minneapolis / St. Paul area call us today to discuss your Tile contractor needs @ 952-239-0084

Tile ready shower

Maybe you are an experienced weekend "DIY homeowner" or A general contractor lacking a good tile team and you want/need to build a walk in tile shower in the minneapolis area. You are SURE you have the skill set to tile the shower......, but are concerned for good reason to tackle the pan, drain system, waterproofing and buildout.

There is no room for error in a walk in shower build and there are a lot of factors in deciding how to build your shower pan and waterproofing system.

There is afterall an alarming amount of materials and decision's involved such as.. substrate, pitch, drain placement/selection, Deflection, vapor mgmt., structural framing, mortar, deck mud mixture, compression ratings, bladders, weep holes, clamp ring drains, linear drains, backerboard choices it really goes on and on.... and on... and is different for every build, budget and tile choice.

If you are in the Minneapolis St.Paul area we can help you achieve A lasting tile ready surface and let you or your licensed tile contractor have A go at it on the tiling end of things.....

Call us today @ 952-239-0084

Travertine Slate and Nuxite

                                                                   



This small Bathroom remodel had its challenge.....SIZE!!

Here we opened up space by installing a pocket door, designed/built/installed a deep recess cabinet and a Floating Maple Vanity with Nuxite countertop (Recycled wallnut shells).

For the floor... we rebuilt the subfloor to meet deflection requirements for the 8x8 tumbled travertine over DITRA, and Rough Slate for the shower surround with Travertine shelve and glass Niche.

Thanks to M.J. Electric for having the idea to Underlight the vanity with mini LED's on a dimmer...Those guys know their lighting and Electric....If you are in the Minneapolis St.Paul metro area call Tundra Finish Works today 952-239-0084 for your travertine and slate tile installations and all your bathroom remodeling needs...

3/4" Birch Hardwood floor install

3/4" solid Birch hardwood floor install, and dual subway backsplashes for a private residential client in South Minneapolis..Tundra Finish Works is a leading Tile and flooring contractor in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. Call us Today @ 952-239-0084 to discuss your Flooring project needs.

Carpentry & Cabinetry

Cabinet and tile installation for Inspire design and Construction
Cedar handrails residential client
Custom Birch cabinet / Porcelain & slate tile
Crown moulding
Handicap rail




While the bulk of our buisness is custom tile, we also have extensive carpentry experience.

Including: Finish trim (Crown moulding, Baseboard, window and door casing) Custom cabinetry and installation as well as Decks/Fences/Handrails to name a few.......

Walk in Steam Shower

The Steam in this walk in tile shower just wasn't enough for our Minneapolis client so we went ahead and installed in floor heat in the shower floor pan as well as the bathroom floor.

Here we used a large 24x12 porcelain field tile with Travertine to box in the 2 soap niche's and wrap the inside of the entry. Glass and stone accents with 2x8" bullnose porcelain to picture frame the door and large river rock for the shower pan floor.

As with all Tundra finish works projects we built this steam shower well above code and referenced the TCNA (Tile council North America) standards throughout. Thanks to M.J. Electric for the great work wiring the floor heat and steam generator...Call Tundra Finish Works today to discuss your custom tile shower project @ 952-239-0084....

Classic Subway Walk in Shower

   Tundra finish Works  built this small upper level south minneapolis 3'x3' walk in shower utilizing classic subway field tile, bullnose, and 4x4 glazed ceramics for the pitched ceiling and curb, the shower pan floor is a matte 2x2" porcelain hexagon tile. Finished with grey grout... and pure silicone corners (changes of plane)  for a leak proof shower.

   We have A good eye for period vintage subway & hexagon details and understand the demands for preparing the substrate properly to reassure a uniform lippage free installation.

Tile Tip:  Be careful when selecting a more budget priced Subway tile as many times you can run into what we call cupped tile (or arched tiles) that can create a problem in the setting and overall appearance of your installation. (Unless of course you are wanting that look!)