Palm Beach — Palm Beach County
A large master bath often calls for a long marble wall, and a long wall means more seams to plan. Think about polished versus honed before you choose, and ask for a flood test before any tile is set. The quote comes after a visit and a measurement of the bath.
A large master bath can have a walk-in shower with a bench, a niche and a long run of marble. More stone means more seams to lay out and more slabs to match, so the layout gets settled before any cutting starts.
Polished marble shines and shows its veining best, but it also shows etch marks and scratches sooner. Honed marble has a matte surface, slips less underfoot and hides marks better. In a 55+ community, honed is an easy choice to defend when the owner is older.
Many owners in Palm Beach County live here only part of the year. A house that sits closed for months can hide a slow leak, since nobody is in the room to hear a drip or see the damp.
Before a long trip, turn off the water supply if the house allows it, then walk the shower and look at the drain and the caulk line with a flashlight. A rebuilt wall is the best time to put the membrane where you cannot reach it later.
Before the tile
A membrane sits between the stone and the framing, and it keeps water out of the wall. Ask which type goes in, and whether the seams and corners are covered before any marble is set.
Gated and 55+ communities often ask for approval before any renovation. Request the rules before you book, and ask whether the application wants the membrane type named.
Hold water in the shower for a full flood test before tile. Let the water stand before you judge the level, and mark the line so any drop is easy to read.
If an older person uses the shower, a honed finish is the safer pick underfoot. Polish looks sharper but turns slicker when it is wet, and that difference matters every day, not just on the day of the install.
The biggest drivers are the size of the master shower, how many walls get marble, and whether the finish is polished or honed. An approval review that asks for the membrane name can add steps first. Ask for the quote in writing once the measurement is done.
If the community must approve the work, that review usually comes first and can set the start date. The stone work then usually follows this order: old surfaces out, substrate prepared, membrane installed, liquid cure if the system needs one, a flood test, and only then the marble. Owners who are away for months should arrange access early.
West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens each run a building division. Unincorporated addresses go to the county's Planning, Zoning and Building office. Palm Beach County sits outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone but still builds for high wind.
For a bather who is older or unsteady, a honed finish often makes more sense, because it grips better when wet. Polished marble looks sharper, yet it stays slick and shows etching sooner. Ask for a sample of each finish before you decide.
"We installed a full Calacatta marble walk-in shower in the master suite. AP Stone specified the ANSI waterproofing membrane, showed me the flood test before tiling, and the result is flawless. No leaks after two years."
Jennifer R.
Palm Beach — Master Suite Shower
"They installed 60x120 porcelain slab panels in a curbless shower with a linear drain. The vein matching across the panels is perfect. Every tile is flat with no lippage whatsoever."
David M.
Palm Beach — Curbless Walk-In Shower
"AP Stone redid our master shower after a failed installation by another contractor. They identified the failed waterproofing, removed everything, and rebuilt it correctly. The new shower has been perfect."
Patricia L.
Palm Beach — Shower Rebuild
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