Should I replace my tub with a walk-in shower?

When it makes sense

• Nobody has taken a bath in years, and the tub is used as a shower with a curtain.
• Stepping over the side of the tub is getting harder for someone in the house.
• The tub is in poor shape, or water has gotten behind the surround.
• You want a larger shower that is easier to clean, without changing the layout of the room.

When I would think twice

• Small children. Bathing a toddler is much easier in a tub.
• It is the only tub in the house. A common piece of advice from real estate agents is to keep at least one tub, because some buyers with children look for one. It is a consideration, not a rule, and in a house with two or more bathrooms it matters less.
• You actually use it. If a long soak is the reason you love the room, a shower will not replace it.

What the work involves

A standard tub is about 5 feet long and 30 inches deep, which is a comfortable footprint for a shower. California code requires a shower floor of at least 1,024 square inches that fits a 30-inch circle, and a typical tub space clears both.

• Demolition. The tub, surround and wall board come out, and we see the condition of the floor and framing. Hidden damage is photographed and priced before we continue.
• Drain. A tub drain sits at one end. The new shower drain can stay near that spot, with the floor sloped toward it, or move to the center. Moving it means opening more of the floor.
• Valve. The new valve must be pressure-balancing or thermostatic, so the water temperature does not jump when someone flushes a toilet. In most conversions I recommend replacing the old valve, because this is the one chance to do it without opening new tile.
• Waterproofing. A membrane over the backer board on the walls and floor, a floor sloped about 1/4 inch per foot to the drain, and a 24-hour flood test before tile. More in What goes behind shower tile.
• Glass. Measured after the tile is done, then made to size.

Curb, low curb or no curb

• Standard curb. The simplest option. It holds water in the shower with a wide margin and needs no changes to the floor framing.
• Low curb. Easier to step over, and still a clear edge for the water. There is less margin, so the slope and the glass placement have to be more precise.
• No curb. The shower floor is level with the rest of the bathroom. That usually means lowering part of the subfloor, so it is a bigger job. See Curbless showers.

Price and time

A tub-to-shower conversion with us starts at $12,500, including demolition, haul-away, labor and mid-grade materials written in as named allowances. Moving the drain, adding a niche or a bench, or tiling to the ceiling moves the number up. The job is usually shorter than a full bathroom remodel, and the written estimate gives the schedule. If this is your only shower, I plan the work so you are without it as few days as possible and tell you which days.

Can I keep the tub and just redo the walls around it?

Yes. New tile and waterproofing around an existing tub is a smaller job than a conversion. I would still check the valve and the wall behind the old tile, because that is where tub surrounds usually leak.

Does a walk-in shower add value to the house?

I cannot promise that it raises the sale price. That depends on the house, the neighborhood and the buyer. What it does add is a room that is easier to use and clean every day, and for many owners that is the reason to do it.

Related questions

• What goes behind shower tile, and why does it matter?
• Can my bathroom have a curbless shower?
• How much does a bathroom remodel cost in the Bay Area?
• All bathroom guides

Codes and permit rules change, and each Bay Area city applies them a little differently. Treat this page as a starting point and confirm the requirements for your address before work begins. We do that as part of every written estimate.