Bathroom Tile Ideas for 1950s Ranch & Eichler Homes in Palo Alto, Mountain View & Los Altos
Palo Alto, Mountain View and Los Altos grew up fast after World War II, and their neighborhoods still show it: single-story ranch homes, Eichler tracts with walls of glass, and big lots with mature trees. Many of those homes are now on their first serious bathroom remodel, or their second.
Here's how to plan tile work that suits a mid-century home and passes each city's requirements.
The homes: lots of 1950s housing
Palo Alto: about 70% of homes were built before 1980, and 25% in the 1950s. About 13% were built before 1940, in older neighborhoods like Old Palo Alto and Professorville.
Los Altos: about 73% were built before 1980, a third of them in the 1950s. The town incorporated in 1952 and grew quickly after the war. In North Los Altos, many original ranch homes are being replaced by larger new homes.
Mountain View: about 61% were built before 1980, but about 16% have been built since 2010, mostly newer condos and townhomes.
Sources: Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View (U.S. Census data via Point2Homes), City of Los Altos history, DeLeon Realty, North Los Altos
Eichler neighborhoods
Palo Alto has about 2,700 Eichlers, roughly 17% of its single-family homes. The Greenmeadow neighborhood, about 270 Eichlers listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was even planned with a second bathroom that had its own exterior entrance. Mountain View has Eichlers in the Fairview tract in Monta Loma (built in 1954) and Bell Meadows (1972–73).
Many Eichlers have radiant heat tubing in the concrete slab, which changes how floor tile is removed and how a shower is built. Our Eichler tile guide covers it in detail.
Permits: three cities, three approaches
Palo Alto offers licensed contractors an instant Kitchen/Bath Remodel permit for single-family homes, as long as the work stays within the existing footprint with no structural, wall, window, door or electrical panel changes.
Mountain View requires a permit for all bathroom remodels, including replacing a tub or shower enclosure. The city lists a typical fee of about $400–$550 and about 5–7 days for same-location fixture upgrades.
Los Altos publishes a bathroom handout calling for shower pans or liners at least 3 inches high, cement or glass-mat backer board, a non-absorbent finish to 6 feet and a 50 CFM fan. Non-compliant plumbing fixtures elsewhere in the house must be replaced unless the home was built after January 1, 1994.
Links for each city are in our Bay Area bathroom permit guide.
Tile ideas that suit mid-century homes
Stacked or vertical subway tile in white, soft green or blue, a clean nod to the era
Small hex, penny-round or square mosaics on shower floors
Terrazzo-look porcelain floors
Warm wood-look porcelain for the feel of wood in a wet room
Long, uninterrupted lines with minimal trim, echoing the architecture
A curbless shower, especially in a single-story home where it keeps every room easy to use. See our curbless shower guide.
Practical planning tips
Budget for fixture upgrades if your city requires replacing older toilets, showerheads or faucets elsewhere in the house when a permit is issued.
Decide on a heated floor early. It needs its own circuit and is easiest to add while the floor is open.
Think about the hall bath too. Many 1950s homes have one small hall bath. Converting a tub to a shower there is a common upgrade; see our post on tub-to-shower conversions.
Planning a remodel in Palo Alto, Mountain View or Los Altos?
Send Mike a few photos of your bathroom, rough measurements and your city, and mention whether your home is on a slab. He'll tell you what's realistic, what the permit path looks like and what it will take.
Call or text 916-847-2825, or request a free estimate on our website.
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