Tub to shower conversion cost
Converting a tub to a shower costs $2,000 to $12,000, typically $4,500. About 70% of homeowners doing this job hit a surprise, most often water damage behind the tub.
National average
$4,500
per project
Converting a tub to a shower costs $2,000 to $12,000, with most jobs landing near $4,500. A prefabricated base and surround dropped into the tub's footprint is at the bottom. A custom tiled walk-in with glass is $3,500 to $15,000.
It is one of the most popular bathroom projects in the country, for two reasons that pull in the same direction: most people stop using the tub years before they admit it, and a step-over tub becomes a hazard as people age.
What each version costs
| Version | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Prefabricated base and wall surround | $2,000 to $5,000 |
| Prefab base with tiled walls | $3,500 to $8,000 |
| Fully tiled, standard curb, glass panel | $5,000 to $12,000 |
| Curbless tiled with a linear drain | $7,000 to $15,000 |
| Any of the above with the drain relocated | Add $800 to $2,500 |
The single largest variable is whether the shower stays inside the tub's footprint. A standard tub is 60 by 30 inches, which makes a generous shower, and staying inside that outline keeps the drain, the valve and the walls where they are.
Where the money actually goes
Demolition and disposal. A cast iron tub weighs 300 to 500 pounds and often has to be broken up in place to get it out of the room. $300 to $900.
The drain. A tub drain sits at one end; a shower drain sits in the middle. Moving it means opening the floor, which on a slab is a different job entirely from on a joisted floor. This is the line most often missed in a cheap quote.
The valve. A tub-and-shower valve has a diverter and a tub spout outlet. A shower-only valve does not. Replacing it means opening the wall, which most jobs do anyway.
Waterproofing. The membrane, the pan, the corners and the curb. On a tiled build this is $600 to $2,000 of the price and it is the part that decides whether the room is fine in ten years.
Glass. A single fixed panel is $500 to $1,500. A hinged door adds $400 to $1,200. Frameless costs roughly double framed.
Prefabricated against tiled
Prefabricated means a moulded acrylic or solid-surface base and wall panels. Fast, usually two to four days, and the most leak-resistant option because there are so few joints. It looks like what it is, and the sizes are fixed.
Tiled is built on site over a waterproofed substrate. Any size, any shape, any finish, and it can be made curbless. It takes one to two weeks and it is only as good as the waterproofing underneath, which you will never see.
For a secondary bathroom, prefabricated is frequently the better value. For a primary bathroom you will look at every day for fifteen years, tiled usually wins.
Ageing in place, done properly
If the reason for the conversion is mobility, some choices are worth making now rather than later:
Curbless entry, so there is nothing to step over. It requires the floor to be sloped, which is why it costs more, and it is the change that matters most.
Blocking in the walls for grab bars, even if you do not fit them yet. Plywood between the studs costs almost nothing while the wall is open and is expensive to add afterwards. Do this regardless.
A handheld shower on a slide bar, which works standing or seated.
A built-in bench or space for a stool, at least 15 inches deep to be useful.
A slip-resistant floor tile, which means a small-format tile with more grout lines, or a tile with a rated slip coefficient.
Grab bars fitted to blocking hold 250 pounds. Grab bars fitted to drywall anchors hold nobody, and they are common.
Before you commit
Keep one tub in the house if you might sell to families with small children. Removing the last tub in a house is a real, if modest, resale penalty. Removing a tub from a secondary bathroom when the primary still has one is not.
Expect a surprise. In a January 2026 survey of a thousand homeowners who did this project, about 70% hit at least one unplanned cost, most commonly structural repair or water damage found behind the tub. The tub has been holding water against that wall for decades. Budget 15% on top.
Check the tile height on the remaining walls. Removing a tub surround often leaves a tiled band that stops at the old tub height, and matching it is usually impossible, so plan to retile the wall rather than patch it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take?
Two to four days for a prefabricated conversion, one to two weeks for a tiled one, including cure time for the waterproofing and the grout.
Do I need a permit?
Usually yes, because the work touches plumbing. A like-for-like swap inside the same footprint is treated more lightly in some jurisdictions than a drain relocation, but check rather than assume.
Is a walk-in tub a better option?
For some people, though they cost $5,000 to $20,000 installed and you have to sit in one while it fills and drains, which is cold. A curbless shower with a bench solves the same problem for most people at less cost.
Will it lower my home's value?
Not if another tub remains in the house. Buyers value a good shower highly, and a tub nobody uses is dead space. The penalty only appears when a house has no tub at all.
Can the same drain be reused?
Often, and it is worth designing around. If the shower base is chosen so its drain lands over the existing tub drain, or the drain is a linear one placed to reach it, you avoid the most disruptive part of the job.
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