Tub-to-Shower Conversion: What It Costs and What to Choose

Of everything we build in bathrooms, the tub-to-shower conversion is the one homeowners are most surprised by — both by how much better the room works afterward and by how wide the price range is. The same three words describe a $7,000 job and a $35,000 job. Here is what separates them.

The three ways to do it

• Prefab walk-in unit (roughly $6k–$12k). The old tub comes out and a one-piece or multi-piece acrylic shower base and surround go into the same footprint, usually on the existing drain. Fast, watertight by design, and the least expensive way to get a step-in shower. The trade-off is the look: it is a plastic box, and it will always read as one.
• Tiled shower, same footprint (roughly $12k–$25k). A proper pan, sloped and waterproofed, tile on the walls and floor, a new valve, and either a curb or a low threshold. This is the version most of our clients choose. The range inside it is mostly tile choice and whether the valve and drain move.
• Curbless tiled shower (roughly $20k–$35k+). No step at all: the floor structure is recessed or built up so the slope runs to a linear drain, with frameless glass, a bench and a niche. It is the best-looking and the best-aging version, and it is more construction than it appears, which is why it costs what it does.

These are typical 2026 ranges for the Seattle, Eastside and Snohomish County market, not quotes. If the vanity, floor, lighting and toilet are being replaced in the same project, use the bathroom remodel cost guide instead — at that point the shower is a line item in a bigger number.

What actually decides the price

A standard tub occupies a 60-inch alcove, and most conversions keep that exact footprint. Within it, four things move the budget:

• The drain. A tub drain sits at one end. A tiled shower wants its drain where the slope makes sense — centered, or at one wall for a linear drain. Moving it means opening the floor, which is easy over a crawlspace and basement and harder over a finished ceiling.
• The valve. A tub filler and a shower valve are not the same rough-in. Nearly every conversion gets a new valve; adding a handheld, a second head or body sprays adds plumbing behind the wall while it is open.
• Waterproofing and inspection. This is the part you cannot see and the part that decides whether the shower is still dry in fifteen years. A sheet or liquid membrane, a properly sloped pre-slope under the pan, sealed corners and a flood test before tile. It is also where inspectors look, and we build for that rather than around it.
• Tile and glass. Large-format porcelain is durable and mid-priced. Natural stone and mosaics cost more to buy and more to set. A frameless glass panel or door is measured only after tile is complete and typically runs $1,500–$4,000 installed.

Curbless: worth it, but know what it involves

A curbless shower needs the floor to slope to the drain with no lip to hold the water in. In new construction that is a framing detail. In an existing bathroom it means either recessing the subfloor between the joists or raising the rest of the bathroom floor to meet the shower — and the linear drain and larger waterproofed area follow from that.

It is our favorite upgrade regardless, for the reason covered in the aging-in-place guide: a curbless entry removes the most common trip point in the house and never looks like a medical fixture. If anyone in the household is going to be there in twenty years, build it once.

Should you keep a tub somewhere?

The honest resale answer: a house with no bathtub at all is a harder sell to families with small children. If the bathroom you are converting is the only one with a tub, think about it. If a hall bath keeps its tub and the primary bath gets the shower, or the house has three bathrooms, there is no downside — that is the configuration most buyers want.

A freestanding tub plus a separate shower in a primary suite is a different project and a different budget; the bathroom remodeling page covers the tiers.

Permits and what to expect during the work

Drain and valve changes, a new fan or circuit and the shower waterproofing all require permits and inspection in Snohomish and King County — the kitchen and bath permit guide walks through the triggers. A prefab unit set on the existing drain with no plumbing changes is sometimes exempt. Either way we handle the filing.

Plan on three to five days without the shower for a prefab unit and two to three weeks for a tiled one; if it is your only bathroom, tell us up front and we sequence it so the toilet is out of service for hours, not days. Custom glass arrives two to three weeks after tile, and a curtain rod bridges the gap.

Get a real number

We build tub-to-shower conversions across Everett, Seattle and the Eastside, and a written estimate for yours is free and itemized.

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