The call goes something like this: “I started a bathroom project a few months ago and I can’t quite get it finished. I’ve got the demo done, the backer board is up in most of the shower, and I bought all the tile. I just need someone to come in and tile it.”
What that call almost never includes: the backer board (the cement board that goes behind tile) was installed without a waterproofing membrane, the hidden waterproof layer that belongs behind the tile. The shower niche (the recessed shelf built into the wall) was framed at the wrong depth. The floor isn’t sloped toward the drain. And the tile that was purchased is 20% short of what the actual square footage requires.
I’m not describing a hypothetical. I’m describing a call I’ve received a version of dozens of times in Colorado Springs. Half-finished projects are some of the most expensive calls I take. Not because I pad the price. It’s because the real work needed to finish them correctly is always bigger than what the homeowner expected when they called.
Here’s why that is, and what to do about it.
Why Half-Starts Cost More: The Three Reasons
1. Assessment Time
When I start a project from scratch, I know exactly what I’m working with. I’ve done the walkthrough, I’ve identified the conditions, and my estimate reflects the reality of the space.
When I arrive at a half-finished project, the first hour or two is always assessment, not work. What was done? Was it done correctly? What has to be undone before the next phase can proceed? What materials are there, and are they the right materials? What hidden decisions were made that I’m now inheriting?
That assessment time is work. It requires experience to do accurately. And it’s time that a fresh-start project doesn’t require. On a small project, this might add $150–$300. On a larger scope, it can be a full day before a single new thing is installed.
2. Undoing Mistakes
Most DIY half-starts have mistakes. This isn’t an insult. It’s the reality of attempting skilled work without professional training. The mistakes that contractors encounter most often in Colorado Springs half-starts:
Skipped waterproofing. The most common and most expensive mistake. Backer board in a shower with no waterproofing membrane behind it. You can’t fix this by tiling over it. The tile has to come off, the membrane goes in, and then the tile goes back on. The homeowner bought tile for one install. Now they need enough for two.
Walls or floors that aren’t straight. Tile only looks right on a flat, even surface. If the backer board went up on walls that aren’t perfectly vertical (out of plumb, in trade terms), or the floor wasn’t leveled first, the tile will follow every bump and dip. The only real fix is to make the surface straight before the tile goes on. Once tile is set, fixing the surface means tearing the tile back off.
Wrong screws or glue. Drywall screws used in cement board (they rust and lose their grip in a wet area). Regular tile mastic used in a shower (it can’t handle constant water; a wet area needs thinset, the cement-based adhesive that bonds tile). Trim nails used where structural screws were called for. Each one forces a choice: leave it and note the risk, or pull it out and redo it right.
Framing that doesn’t meet code. A shower niche framed 12 inches deep instead of the standard 3.5 inches (the depth of a normal 2x4 wall). A missing header, the beam that carries the weight above a new door opening. Missing blocking, the short pieces of wood added between studs to hold a fixture in place. These aren’t optional fixes. They’re structural or code problems, and they have to be corrected before any finish work goes on top of them.
Every mistake discovered during a half-start completion adds scope that wasn’t in anyone’s estimate. The homeowner’s estimate for their own project didn’t include it because they didn’t know it was wrong. My estimate for the completion didn’t include it because I couldn’t see it until I was on site.
3. Liability for the Whole Thing
When I finish a project, my name is on the finished product. If the shower leaks two years from now, the homeowner calls me, not the contractor who did the backer board before I arrived, and not the YouTube tutorial the homeowner followed. Me.
This means I have to bring every element of the existing work to a standard I’m comfortable standing behind. Sometimes that means leaving work that’s acceptable even if it wasn’t done the way I’d have done it. More often, it means correcting sections that technically function but aren’t built to the standard that produces a reliable long-term outcome.
That’s not padding scope. That’s not being difficult. That’s the professional standard applied to a project that has to work for the next 15 years, not just look correct on the day I leave.
The Math, Illustrated
A standard custom tile shower in a Colorado Springs bathroom, built from scratch with a proper waterproofing membrane, a correctly sloped floor, and the right materials, runs $4,000–$7,000 installed by a professional.
A half-started shower, where the homeowner stopped after demo and partial backer board and then calls a contractor to finish it, typically runs $4,500–$9,000. The range is wide because the assessment sets the scope. Best case (the backer board is correct, the membrane is there, and the materials are enough): the extra cost over a fresh start is small. Realistic case (no membrane, some crooked surfaces, not enough tile): the extra cost is large.
The homeowner’s out-of-pocket is often higher than a fresh professional start would have been, because they spent money on materials and partial labor before stopping, and now they’re paying for assessment, correction, and completion on top of that investment.
This isn’t always the outcome. Some half-starts are genuinely close to complete and need only skilled finishing work with little correction. But these are the minority. In my experience in Colorado Springs, most half-started projects have at least one thing that has to be corrected before finishing, and that correction is what multiplies the cost.
The Most Common Colorado Springs Half-Starts
Bathroom tile is the most frequent call. It usually stops at the waterproofing decision. The homeowner watched tutorials, wasn’t sure whether they needed a membrane, and decided to figure it out later. Later became a call to me.
Drywall repair is close behind. The homeowner got through demo and the rough patch, applied joint compound (the “mud” used to fill seams), and stopped. Joint compound soaks up moisture if it dries without a coat of paint or primer over it, so it has to be checked before matching texture. Matching wall texture is its own skill. Orange peel and skip trowel are the most common textures here, and matching them takes the right tools and technique.
Deck staining. Started in fall before the weather turned, or started in summer and dropped once it proved to be more work than expected. A deck stain job stopped partway is worse than one never started. Partly applied stain leaves an uneven surface, and that changes how the final coat sticks.
Flooring. Subfloor prepped, underlayment down (the thin layer that goes under the finished floor), but the floor itself not laid. Usually stopped at a tricky spot: a doorway threshold, a transition between rooms, or an odd room shape. These are often close to done and among the easier half-starts to price and finish.
Fence panels. Posts set in concrete, panels not yet hung. Posts that weren’t braced while the concrete cured (hardened) can settle or twist while the job sits. Before hanging panels, the first step is checking that each post is still plumb (perfectly vertical).
What to Do Instead
Finish what you start, or don’t start. If you don’t have the time and budget to finish, it’s better to wait than to begin. A torn-out shower with bare, unprotected framing is worse than your old working bathroom while you save up. Open framing has no waterproofing on it, so any leak, spill, or splash reaches the wood directly.
Get professional help at the decision point, not the stuck point. Most DIY half-starts stop at a decision that took technical knowledge the homeowner didn’t have: waterproofing methods, structural connections, or code requirements. A professional consultation at that decision point costs far less than a full completion after the wrong decision was made and the materials were already installed.
Be honest about the existing state when calling for an estimate. Contractors who specialize in completion work can price it accurately if they know what’s there. Presenting a half-finished project as closer to complete than it is produces an estimate that doesn’t account for the real scope, plus a billing conversation that’s uncomfortable for everyone when the real scope shows up.
Describe what you did and why you stopped. The most useful call to a contractor about a half-finished project includes: what was done, what materials are on site, why the project stopped, and what outcome you’re looking for. That information allows an accurate estimate. “I have a half-tiled shower” tells me less than “I tiled three walls but I’m not sure about the membrane and I ran short on tile.”
The One Scenario Where It Works Out
Half-starts can work out well when the homeowner did the demolition and rough prep correctly, creating clean conditions for a professional to build from, and stopped before the skilled finish work began. Demo is hard work, but it’s not usually technically complex. A homeowner who tore out a bathroom correctly, hauled off the debris, and called a contractor before starting the framing or surface prep has done genuinely useful work that lowers the project cost.
The problem is when the homeowner goes one step past what their skills reliably support. Demo is usually fine. Framing is sometimes fine. Waterproofing, surface prep, and tile layout take experience that most homeowners don’t have, and getting them wrong is expensive to correct.
Know where your skill set ends. That’s the point to call.
For a free written estimate on completing a project in your Colorado Springs home, half-finished or fresh start, call (719) 243-9718.
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