Tub to shower conversion, and what is really in the alcove

What is tub to shower conversion?

A tub to shower conversion removes a bathtub and builds a shower in the same alcove. Because the two fixtures use the space differently, the job almost always involves moving or reworking the drain, replacing the valve, and rebuilding the walls of the alcove - the tub does not simply lift out and a shower drop in. How much of that work is done, versus covered over, is the difference between a two-day job and a two-week one, and it is the question every quote should answer.

Signs you need tub to shower conversion

• Nobody in the household has taken a bath in years and the tub is functioning as an awkward shower tray
• The tub surround is cracked, the tiles around it are loose, or the caulk line has been redone repeatedly and keeps failing
• Getting in and out over the tub wall has become the difficult part of washing
• The bathroom feels smaller than it is because a full-length tub is eating the only wall with any length to it
• There is a second bathroom with a tub in it, so the household is not giving up bathing entirely
• You are already replacing the valve or chasing a leak in that wall, which is when the marginal cost of converting is lowest

Seeing something not on this list? Browse bathroom remodeling problems by symptom →

How tub to shower conversion actually works

1. 1

   Establish what happens to the drain

   A bathtub drains at one end through a waste and overflow assembly; a shower drains through a centre or linear drain in a floor built to fall toward it. Those are rarely in the same place, so most conversions involve opening the floor to move or extend the drain. Where the floor can be accessed from below it is straightforward; on a slab it means cutting concrete.

   Watch forA quote that never mentions the drain. Either they have found a base whose outlet lines up - worth confirming - or they have not looked, and the number will change once the floor is open.

2. 2

   Decide prefab base or tiled pan, because everything follows from it

   A one-piece acrylic or solid-surface base is fast, factory-formed to fall correctly, and has no grout. A tiled pan is built on site over a waterproofed, sloped bed and can be any size or shape, including curbless. The base decides the timeline, the price and how much of the job is craft versus assembly.

   Watch forA tiled pan quoted at prefab prices. Building a shower floor by hand and waterproofing it properly is skilled work, and a suspiciously cheap tiled pan usually means the waterproofing is where the saving came from.

3. 3

   Strip the alcove back and look at the walls

   The tub, its surround and the wall covering come out. In older bathrooms this is where soft or blackened substrate around the tub flange appears, along with any framing damage under the old waste. Everything found here has to be dealt with before the new shower goes in.

   Watch forA crew willing to install straight onto whatever they find. If the reason you are converting is that water has been getting in, the substrate is the thing that must be replaced, not covered.

4. 4

   Rework the plumbing - the valve, not just the pipe

   A tub-and-shower valve has a diverter and a tub spout outlet; a shower-only valve does not. The valve typically gets replaced and reset at shower height, and this is the moment to fit a pressure-balancing or thermostatic valve if the existing one is not one. Adding a handheld on a slide bar is far cheaper now than later.

   Watch forThe old valve reused with the tub outlet capped off inside the wall. It works, and it leaves a capped fitting buried behind new tile forever. Ask what is being left in the wall.

5. 5

   Waterproof, then build the enclosure

   Backer board goes up, the wet area gets a continuous waterproofing layer, the base or the sloped pan is set and tested, and the wall covering - tile or panel - goes on. On a tiled installation the membrane, the corners and the drain detail are the whole job; on a panel system the joints and the base flange are.

   Watch forShower walls left at tub height. A shower wets the wall far higher than a bath does, and stopping the waterproofing or the tile where the old surround stopped is a defect you will discover as a stain on the other side of the wall.

6. 6

   Glass, screen or curtain

   A fixed glass panel with an open entry is the common answer and needs no track to clean. A hinged or sliding enclosure contains water better in a small alcove. A curtain costs almost nothing and is easier to move around. Frameless glass is measured after the walls are finished, so it arrives a couple of weeks behind everything else.

   Watch forThe lead time on custom glass being left out of the schedule. It is the single most common reason a "finished" shower stays unusable for another fortnight.

7. 7

   Make good the room around the alcove

   A tub is longer and taller than most shower bases, so removing it exposes floor and wall the tub used to hide. Floor tile may need patching, the skirting line changes, and the wall above the old surround usually needs making good and painting.

   Watch forThis work not appearing in the quote at all. It is genuinely easy to overlook at the walkthrough and it is genuinely not free.

What does tub to shower conversion cost?

Tub to shower conversions commonly run between $4,000 and $15,000. A prefab base into an existing alcove with the drain reused sits at the bottom; a tiled pan, a relocated drain, and frameless glass push toward and past the top. The drain and the base type move the number more than the tile does.

See the full tub to shower conversion cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →