Considerations and Costs
At VIP Services, Inc., we have been providing Tub-To-Shower Renovations for 20+ years in Allen, Texas, and understand that most clients have never had bathroom makeover prior. Due to this, they are often concerned about the overall cost and options that might affect the total price. We’ll review these options and includes some accurate costs for each. Check our Gallery for more pics and inspiration.
Over the 20+ years at VIP Services this has become a common request for many homeowners when looking to replace an existing tiled shower or tub. Many people consider removing a tub and installing a stand-alone shower in its place for many reasons, sometimes due to children getting older, and not needing the smaller, less spacious tub in a secondary bathroom or due to physical issues for visiting parents in a primary bathroom.
The process for converting a tub to a shower is similar to installing a standard shower with a few minor changes. These mainly involve:
Replacing the existing drain with a larger drain that is required for a shower
Sometimes relocating the drain to the center of the shower in a concrete slab floor or plywood, subfloor
Relocating the valve to the proper location and height.
Tile installation and shower liner process is the same, so please see our other blogs about this tile install process, costs and options for a shower remodel, along with the buying guide for a shower remodel. Converting is fairly simple once the tub is removed and the plumbing is modified.
Depending on the clients’ preference, we can install a prefabricated, fiberglass or acrylic shower pan, or upgraded custom pan as well. We also offer the option of a curb less shower pan or also called a Roll-in or accessible shower. This involves Removal of the top layer of concrete or reframing the existing plywood subfloor to a recessed area for the custom pan and liner. This upgrade can add between $1000-$2000 in additional labor and materials. This applies to custom pans only; it would not be available for pre-fabricated acrylic units.
We often provide these conversions to secondary bathrooms, where the kids have gotten older, and require more space without the requirement of a tub. However, this is also a very common request for homeowners that have bathrooms with limited space, or a tub that is rarely used. In this situation, we will remove the tub and shower and convert one of those spaces to a larger standup shower. The remaining space can often be used to create additional storage in the form of a linen closet. In other words, either the existing shower is expanded once the tub is removed, or the larger Tub location is converted to a large shower, while the existing smaller shower is converted to a linen closet.
Other options include adding grab bars, recessed, shower, niches, Glass coatings for easier cleaning, and seats are custom benches. Please see our blog post.
For more details on a complete custom shower build out. See our photo gallery for examples of some of these tiled shower conversions.
While there are several factors to consider, we hope this helps to provide some overall costs to consider when converting a tub to a shower.
Installation quality as well as materials are often the focus when making decisions. VIP Services, we know that there are companies that can provide similar quality, but find that the overall experience during the remodel is disappointing.
At VIP Services, we not only focus on the overall quality, which honestly is the easier part, but more importantly, the clients overall experience. Having the right team of people in place, the right processes, to ensure that every detail is covered, and slowing down to be sure that the planning is correct before we start is our primary focus. We know that delivering a quality product is very important, but we also know that the process and experience you have while getting there is just as important.
Please see our page at VIPServices4u.com for more details on our approach, processes, and guarantees