Tub-to-shower conversion
A defined, tightly scoped project: the tub and surround out, a properly waterproofed shower in, usually finished in eleven working days.
Most of the tubs we remove have not held water in years. A standard 60 by 30 inch alcove is almost exactly the right footprint for a generous single shower, and because the drain, the valve and the alcove are already there, the work stays inside the existing footprint and inside a predictable number of days.
The temptation with this job is to tile over what is already there. We do not. The old tub surround usually sits on gypsum board or on a failed mortar bed, and the alcove walls are rarely plumb. Everything comes out to the framing, the walls are corrected, backer board goes on, and a bonded membrane goes over that. It is the same assembly as a full remodel, in a smaller room.
Keeping one bathtub in the house is worth thinking about before you commit. If this is the only tub and you plan to sell within a few years, a Denver family buyer will look for one. If you have a second bathroom with a tub, or the children are grown, the shower wins every time.
What is included
- Tub, surround and old substrate removed to the framing
- Alcove walls corrected to plumb and blocked for a grab bar and a slide rail
- Backer board, bonded membrane and banded corners
- Pre-sloped pan or a low-profile base, drain adapted to the existing waste
- 24 hour flood test, photographed
- Recessed niche with a sloped sill
- Tile to the approved layout, grout and silicone to the joint schedule
- New valve, head, handheld and glass panel or door
- Made good to the surrounding floor and paint
How the work runs
Survey
Alcove measured, waste and valve located, wall condition assessed.
Strip out
Day one. Tub and surround out, framing exposed and corrected.
Rough-in
Valve, drain adaptation, blocking and backer board.
Waterproofing
Membrane, banded corners, pan build, flood test.
Tile and glass
Setting, grouting, glass template and fit, fixtures, handover.
What moves the price
- Alcove condition
- Rot at the old tub flange adds days. It is common and we price it as found.
- Base type
- A solid-surface base is faster and cheaper; a tiled pre-sloped pan looks better and lasts longer.
- Glass
- A single fixed panel is the usual answer here; a bypass slider suits a wider alcove.
- Waste position
- Moving from a tub waste to a centre drain sometimes needs access from below.
$11,000 to $22,500 (sample range) is a sample range for this demonstration site. Every project is priced from an approved drawing after a survey, never from a square-foot rate.
Questions about tub to shower
Yes, because the vanity, toilet, floor and lighting all stay. The saving is real, but the shower itself is built to exactly the same standard: same membrane, same flood test.
If it is your only tub and you expect to sell to families within a few years, probably. If you have another, or you have not filled it since you moved in, convert it.
No, and nobody can. A bonded membrane needs to cure, the flood test takes twenty-four hours, and thinset and grout both need time. A one-day bathroom is a liner over the old one, which is a different product.
Talk to us about tub to shower
Send the room dimensions and a photograph and we will tell you what is possible before anyone visits.
Bathrooms only · Licensed and insured in Colorado · 4.9 from 214 reviews (sample)