A shower is a waterproofing job that happens to look like a tile job. Get that order backwards and the tile is the last thing that fails.
Every shower assembly has to answer one question before a single tile goes on: where does the water that gets through the grout actually go? Tile and grout are a wear surface, not a seal — grout is porous by design and water moves through it in normal use. What stops that water from reaching framing is a dedicated waterproofing layer built into the walls, the curb, the niche and the pan before tile ever touches it. Green board, on its own, is not that layer. It resists moisture better than plain drywall and it is still not a waterproofing system, and using it as one is one of the most common reasons a shower fails years before it should.
The rest of the assembly matters too. Proper slope to the drain, a correctly waterproofed curb and niche, and a movement joint at every plane change — where wall meets wall, wall meets floor, wall meets tub — are what keep water managed and keep the tile from cracking as the building moves. A corner that gets grouted instead of caulked is a corner that will crack, because grout is rigid and the building is not. None of this is visible once the tile is set, which is exactly why it has to be right the first time.
Describe the job and we'll match you with an installer who builds the assembly in the right order.
Get a Tile InstallerA rough description is plenty — we will follow up to scope the details and set a time.