Most houses have a tub somebody stopped using years ago. In the same five-foot footprint you can have a shower that is easier to get into, easier to clean, and worth more to the next buyer — provided the house still has a tub somewhere for resale.
Should you keep one tub?
If this is the only bathtub in the house, think twice. Buyers with small children look for one, and a house with no tub at all narrows the market. If there is a second bath with a tub, or the household has no use for one, the conversion is usually the better room.
We will give you our honest read at the estimate rather than selling the bigger job by default.
What the work involves
The tub comes out, along with the surround and everything behind it that is wet. The drain moves from the tub's position to a shower drain — that is plumbing work under the floor, and it is the part that makes this more than a tile job. Then the new pan is built and sloped, the walls and pan are waterproofed, and the shower is tiled, glazed and fitted.
While the wall is open we add blocking for a bench, a niche and grab bars, even if the grab bars go in years later. It costs almost nothing at this stage and is disruptive to add afterwards.
Same footprint, more room
A tub is 30 inches wide inside; a shower built in its place gives you the full five feet in length and no wall to climb over. A low curb or a curbless entry makes the difference plainer still, and curbless is worth asking about if anyone in the house is planning to stay put as they age — see ADA and aging-in-place bathrooms.
How long, and what it costs to leave the rest alone
Typically one to two weeks. The vanity, the toilet and the floor outside the wet area can stay exactly as they are, which is what keeps the price down. If the floor tile runs into the tub alcove and cannot be matched, the floor joins the scope — we flag that before starting, not halfway through.
Related scopes: a wet-area-only remodel if the tub stays, walk-in showers for what the finished shower involves, and a full bathroom remodel when the whole room is due.
