James met us at the 2025 CNY Home & Garden Show. If you’ve ever been, you know the event is packed with “1-day” bath companies—slick pitches, heavy sales pressure, and lots of plastic. What stood out to James, though, was our use of cultured stone slab: a premium, durable material that sets us apart. He also appreciated our willingness to provide a rough ballpark quote on the spot. After all, we’ve done hundreds of walk-in shower installations and can usually gauge a realistic price—but every bathroom presents its own unique challenges.
In a funny coincidence, James’ son had just signed on with Syracuse Bath Pros after receiving an eye-popping quote from a well-known Central NY window company that’s recently started dabbling in bathroom remodels. We had just wrapped up that project a couple months earlier—and enjoyed every minute of it. James liked what he saw, and after discussing details with Tom Wolff, he signed the estimate and secured a spot on our calendar.
James’ existing shower wasn’t in terrible shape—roughly 36″x34″, a size we consider a semi-standard footprint. The fiberglass base wasn’t leaking but was showing signs of age: yellowing, surface scratches, and the telltale sponginess that comes from wear. He was ready for a more substantial upgrade.
Unfortunately, the night before installation, James’ mother was hospitalized. Life happens, and we completely understood—but with our calendar booked out 10 to 12 weeks, we explained we’d need some flexibility to reschedule without impacting other clients. Thankfully, she recovered quickly, and three weeks later, we were back on site.
Rick and Stacey—our trusted traveling install duo—arrived early on a Thursday morning. While we typically begin larger bathroom renovations on Mondays, we reserve Thursdays and Fridays for smaller-scale remodels to maximize calendar efficiency. James was just happy to see things move forward.
His upgraded shower system featured a mid-height (2.75″) cultured stone pan in “Spice” from the Onyx Collection, with imitation shiplap wall panels in “Alabaster.” The new walk-in shower offered a clean, sophisticated look. Given the compact space, James opted for a shower curtain instead of a glass door to make the room feel more open. While we were there, we also swapped out his old sink faucet to match the new finishes.
We followed up a few days later, and James was thrilled with the results. It’s always satisfying when a client is happy, especially after a project with unexpected delays.
This should have been a quick install, but our crew encountered a small hiccup: the previous contractor had embedded mortar around the drain, not common practice in this type of installation, filling the space between the joists. Ricky spent nearly four hours carefully chiseling it out to move the p-trap over an inch—without damaging the ceiling below. Despite that setback, the rest of the work wrapped up by the second afternoon.
If you’re a homeowner in Liverpool, Baldwinsville, Syracuse, or anywhere in Central New York looking for a trusted bathroom renovation contractor, give Syracuse Bath Pros a call at (315) 217-1151. We specialize in cultured stone walk-in showers and full bathroom remodels—no BS, no pressure, just high-quality craftsmanship and honest service.