check the newspaper for a handyman.

None of the handy men want to come either. All say they do not do showers.

One batheroon guy came over and took a few tiles off, then
left since he did not want to go up more than three tiles. Too much work I guess.

He did not put them back.

A friend of my husband's came over and took the removed tiles to home depot, so he could match, to purchase more. A few months later, he returned the tiles, saying he did not have time.

I think this shower is cursed. Make folks leave and not come back.

Hubby said he would take a home depot cource when they offer one, but they have not offered the needed cource since we have been watching for it.

Contact some of the local Baptist churches and ask the pastors. They always have some people in their congregations in mind that are able or willing and should be reliable.

Have the guys from home depot come in and do it.

call a bath refinisher like re-bath and have them do it.

Here is a link that might be useful: re-bath

you could try a source like servicemagic. Do a search and it will come up. You describe the problem and I've had good luck with them when I've run into not finding a person I need through normal channels.

Maybe - Cultured Marble installers would come, measure and make panels to fit... really quite reasonable in my area.

I agree with Lyfia. Here's the link to Servicemagic where you fill in your information, and they'll give you names of handyman services to call. I find it hard to believe you can't find a handyman to work on your shower issue.

Here is a link that might be useful: Servicemagic - Get Matched to Handyman Services

I can definitely sympathise as we are running into the same problem trying to get things fixed in our new-to-us house. Either people don't return calls or the quotes are astronomical. The designers on HGTV could do a major structural remodel for what we have been quoted to do our small guest bathroom, and that is just for installation - we have already bought all the fixtures and tile!

We have had some luck finding people through Angie's List, so that might be worth a try.

Good luck :-)

What is angies list?

You do not need a handyman...you need a complete new bathroom. Fixing a ceramic tile shower that probably wasn't done right in the first place, makes no sense at all.

Find someone who knows how to properly install tile in wet areas...it requires the right materials and the right skills. Or...go for one of those leakproof fiberglass units.

Yes you are probably right.

here are a few photos of the mess

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I want cultured marble, hubby thinks we just need the tiles replaced

If the black color in those pictures is mold you need the entire shower stall walls replaced. Water/ mold should not be behind the tiles. The grout broke down and allowed water behind onto, I assume, sheetrock! It needs to be rebuilt with cement board or tiles backer board.
I have a home improvement company in NJ. I would probably charge 1k excluding materials to rebuild your shower stall.
This is assuming the floor pan is not deteriorated.

Yes that is what I was affaid of. bummer. When we get the money, It will sure be nice to have a solid surface shower.

I am severely allergic to mold, and also severely chemically sensitive to everything else so I am homebound. I have no place I can go to get away from the fumes that will be around when the shower is fixed.

Such is life. I am sensitive to car fumes, the polyester/foam car seats. My legs go numb if I sit in a car. I get confused and dizzy, and my legs cave out from under me if I go into public, so I truely have no place I can go for days while the bathroom airs out.

I wish there was sure a thing as a MCS Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) hotel. Anyway, more than you wanted to know. I am dreaming again.

Go to johnbridge.com

These guys know EVERYTHING about tiling and bathrooms. See if there is anyone there who can recommend or even if any of the guys on there are from your area!

They can even help you step-by-step if you want to do it yourself. Don't wait for hubby! Do it yourself!!!

my shower was just like that when we moved in. tile on sheetrock. i cut out the sheetrock/tile. it looked awful with no walls but i wanted to let it dry for several days first. i than put in new sheetrock. than i put on a low priced 3 piece plastic wall kit and replaced the shower door and called it quits. luckily our fiberglass base was in good shape. i can't figure out why any handyman could not go it.

For the MCS - what you need is a "safe room" with positive pressure HEPA/organics ventilation. Basically, you have a large blower running air through a true-HEPA filter (so no dust, mold spores, etc gets in) and some large activated charcoal filters (to take care of all the vapors). The positive pressure makes sure that the only way for air to get in is through the filters - air goes OUT the cracks around the door, for example, not IN.

This should handle the vapors from any work being done as well. I use a face respirator with similar filtration, and it does a great job. I don't smell anything with it on. (The facepiece needed an outgassing period itself, but after that, it's been odor-free.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Safe Room filters