TEC Regional Sales Manager Upgrades Her Primary Bathroom

When TEC Specialty's Regional Sales Manager, Heather Ruhl, decided to renovate her primary bathroom, she knew exactly which products and partners would help bring her vision to life. Her first call was to Dan Welch, owner of NTCA Five-Star Accredited Welch Tile in Michigan, to request a custom prefabricated tiled shower system from Welch Tile Solutions (WTS). Though the WTS service area for a single residential shower typically was not typically outside of Michigan, Dan Welch quickly approved the request from Ruhl, a long-time technical partner located in Illinois. Ruhl had been instrumental in helping Welch Tile determine the optimal TEC products to use with WTS, helping to ensure its success.

WTS Helps the Project Vision Come Alive

Launched in 2021, WTS was developed to address skilled labor shortages in the tile industry and economic slowdowns. At its dedicated Michigan facility, WTS began by fabricating custom residential showers and has since scaled production to deliver hundreds of shower systems at a time for hospitality and education projects. The patented system combines a shower pan and wall panel assembly engineered to reduce installer strain, accommodate multiple tile types and drain locations, and deliver reliable waterproof performance. By shifting much of the work off-site, WTS reduces installation time by as much as 75%, allowing a standard shower to be installed in as little as three to four hours.

The WTS process begins with a custom template. Given her extensive experience working with WTS in her role at TEC Specialty, Ruhl helped create the template for her own project. She chose all Crossville branded tiles, which were easy for Welch Tile to source. Her tile selections included dramatic floor-to-ceiling deep brown marble-look gauged porcelain tile panels (GPTP) with bold veining for the shower walls, 2" x 2" light gray stone look tile on the shower floor, and 24" x 48" gray stone look large format tile (LFT) for the bathroom floor.

TEC Technical Expert’s Installation Product Choices

Ruhl partnered with Phillip Steingraber, owner of Rooms 2 Remodel, to design and manage the renovation. His team framed and prepared the shower area to WTS specifications and installed the bathroom floor underlayment for tile installation. Ruhl completed the waterproofing herself with TEC® HydraFlex® Waterproofing Crack Isolation Membrane, a ready-to-use, flexible, mold and mildew-resistant membrane that forms a smooth, monolithic watertight surface over floors and walls, while preventing in-plane cracks up to 1/8" or up to 1⁄4" wide at the subfloor from telegraphing through the finished tile installation. 

On installation day, Dan Welch personally delivered the oversized custom shower system and with assistance from Ruhl, completed the installation the same day. At the WTS facility, the expert Welch team had installed the shower floor tile using TEC® TotalFlex® 110 Universal Polymer-Modified Mortar. Ruhl selected TotalFlex 110 for its ultra-smooth troweling, extended open time, and proven performance in submerged applications. The same mortar was used by the WTS crew to install the three floor-to-ceiling marble look GPTP, where the mortar’s robust non-sag and non-slump properties helped secure the oversized tile with confidence. TotalFlex 110 was also used to secure three shower niches in one of the panels.

WTS craftsmen grouted the shower floor and GTPT with TEC® AccuColor® EFX Epoxy Special Effects Grout, selected for its exceptional durability and stain resistance. The shower installation was finished with color-matched TEC® AccuColor 100® 100% Silicone Sealant to protect it from water breaching changes in plane.

For the bathroom floor LFT installation, Ruhl chose TEC® Ultimate 6 Plus Polymer Modified Mortar. Known for its superior handling and full-coverage performance, Ultimate 6 Plus is suitable for nearly every tile installation and helps simplify placement of the 24" x 48" floor tiles. Its superior non-sag and non-slump performance enabled the Rooms 2 Remodel tile installer to skip back buttering, saving time and physical strain. The LFT was ready for grouting in just six hours.

The floor was finished with TEC® Pure-Color™ RTU Ready-to-Use Grout, delivering excellence in color consistency, stain resistance, and mold resistance. This durable grout stands up to scrubbing and does not shrink or crack. As a first-time user of the Pure-Color RTU, the Rooms 2 Remodel installer was impressed by how easily it cleaned during installation, an unexpected advantage adding to the time-saving benefit of using a ready-to-use grout. 

For Ruhl, the renovation was an opportunity to leverage the best TEC products for her project and the proven partnerships she supports every day. By combining WTS’ innovative shower system, TEC's complete installation system, and expert installation help, the project delivered on the high expectations for performance, efficiency, and craftsmanship of an industry insider. The finished space stands as a showcase of what can be achieved when proven products, trusted partners, and technical expertise come together.

Fully finished and installed shower.

Posted by Garrett Price

https://www.tecspecialty.com/product-support/case-studies/tec-regional-sales-manager-upgrades-her-primary-bathroom/