John and Kelly reached out to Buffalo Bath Pros after coming across our work on Instagram. Their home was built into a hill with a finished walk-out basement that opened directly into the backyard. Tucked down there was a bathroom that John used every morning to avoid waking his wife, Kelly, while getting ready for work. The existing tub-shower combo, however, was getting harder for him to climb into, and he wanted to explore safer, more accessible options—namely a flip-up seat and strategically placed safety bars.
He had already contacted several companies, but the estimates were all for acrylic systems—and John wasn’t sold. For the price they were quoting, he didn’t want to settle for what he saw as glorified plastic. Complicating things further, his home was more than an hour south of Buffalo, so his contractor options were limited. But John had done his homework—he’d read that Bath Pros services most of upstate New York, from the Southern Tier all the way to Thousand Island Park. After a quick call to confirm details and expectations, our team sent Jen Hugill out to meet them in person.
The bathroom itself wasn’t in bad shape. Still, working on slab foundations always comes with added challenges—it’s often impossible to predict the direction of waste lines without demo, and re-routing plumbing typically means breaking concrete. Fortunately, this install went relatively smoothly.
That said, there were a couple minor hiccups. Our Operations Manager, Josh, forgot to include the flip-up seat in the initial shipment—a rare oversight on his part. We caught it quickly and overnighted the seat, but it still delayed completion by a day. A few weeks later, John gave us a call to let us know that one of the safety bars had a scuff along the back edge. Whether it happened in shipping or install didn’t really matter—we sent James back out to replace it, no questions asked.
This particular installation features Samuel Mueller’s Monterey Collection in Creme, designed to mimic classic subway tile but with the durability and seamless appeal of cultured stone. The shower was outfitted with a dual showerhead and wand, a flip-up seat, a safety bar, and a 5/16″ double-sliding barn-style glass door—all in a sleek matte black finish. While the job was originally slated for 3–4 days, a shipping delay and the need to break through slab concrete added a couple of extra days. Sometimes the best work takes a little longer. In the end, John and Kelly were thrilled with the transformation, and we’re proud to have contributed to the home they plan to enjoy for years to come.
