Lake of the Pines Walk-In Shower
Lakefront 1980s primary bath in Lake of the Pines — second-home use with weekend Bay Area owners. Replaced a tub-shower combo with a low-threshold walk-in shower, kept low-maintenance finishes, ran the project remotely with weekly photo updates.
A common Lake of the Pines project type: 1980s lakefront primary bath, second-home use, owners coming up on weekends from the Bay Area. The original room had a fiberglass tub-shower combo over a daylight basement, a single oak vanity, and a window facing the lake we wanted to protect and feature.
What we changed
- Replaced the tub-shower combo with a low-threshold walk-in shower (1″ tile-clad curb — kept the curb because of the daylight basement below; we don't go curbless above living space without a backup pan-liner detail)
- Built a stone-tile shower with a built-in bench facing the lake-view window
- Replaced the single oak vanity with warm walnut on a honed quartz counter
- Rebuilt lighting around the natural light: minimal sconces outside the shower zone, a single shower-rated recessed can directly above the shower
Result
The bathroom feels like the lakefront cabin it serves — calm, durable, easy to maintain between weekend visits. We ran the project with weekly photo updates because the owners weren't on site. Active build was three and a half weeks; permit was pulled with Nevada County.
