One alcove in Dickinson Square West is about to earn its keep again. The Philadelphia crew handles demo, plumbing, walls and glass.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
So you probably hate that giant tub taking up all your precious floor space. Luckily, upgrading your daily routine brings massive relief to your cramped Philadelphia home.
Therefore you get a fresh layout that makes your morning routine so much easier. This lets you step right into a spacious glass enclosure without climbing over any high porcelain walls.
Many homeowners in the 19148 area code deal with tiny bathrooms that feel terribly claustrophobic. That heavy cast iron tub collects dust while you barely ever soak in it anyway.
Consequently removing that monster opens up your entire bathroom floor plan for better storage. This gives you more room to move around while getting ready for work every single day.
Furthermore trading an old tub for a modern glass stall completely updates your home style. Which means your property value gets a nice little bump if you ever decide to sell it.
Climbing over a wet tub edge causes plenty of nasty slips and falls over the years. Fortunately a curbless base or low threshold keeps your feet firmly planted on solid ground.
Plus you can add sturdy grab bars right into the waterproof walls for extra stability. This protects your aging parents or energetic kids from taking a bad tumble during bath time.
Scrubbing soap scum off a giant porcelain basin takes way too much hard physical labor. Instead modern acrylic walls wipe clean in mere seconds using a simple damp cloth.
Additionally fewer grout lines mean mold and mildew have almost nowhere to hide in your shower. That means you spend less time cleaning and more time relaxing on your days off.
Every single home in this historic Keystone State neighborhood features unique plumbing quirks and weird dimensions. That is why custom acrylic pans fit your exact space without any awkward gaps or leaks.
Meanwhile sliding glass doors keep water splashing all over your brand new bathroom floor. This ensures your bath mats stay bone dry even after a long and steamy shower.
| Feature | Old Bathtub | New Shower Stall |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | High step-over risk | Low threshold access |
| Cleaning Time | Hours of heavy scrubbing | Minutes of quick wiping |
| Space Usage | Cramps small bathrooms | Opens up the floor plan |
On top of that choosing matte black fixtures adds a striking visual punch to your tile work. Which means your guests will constantly compliment your fantastic interior design skills.
Rainfall showerheads deliver a spa-like water flow that washes away all your daily stress instantly. Meanwhile handheld sprayers let you rinse down the walls or wash your pets with zero hassle.
Equally important built-in corner shelves keep your shampoo bottles organized instead of cluttering the floor. This stops those annoying shampoo bottles from sliding around while you try to wash up.
Local contractors in your area arrive on time to inspect your old plumbing lines. This lets them spot any hidden water damage behind the drywall before starting the actual project.
Next they carefully haul away that heavy porcelain tub without damaging your hallway floors or walls. Finally they hook up the new drain and secure the waterproof panels tightly against studs.
Because nobody wants to live in a construction zone for weeks our efficient crews work fast. That means your bathroom upgrade finishes in just a couple of days instead of dragging out.
Workers protect your bedroom and hallway carpets using heavy-duty plastic drop cloths from start to finish. Once everything is covered they smash out the old tub in manageable pieces.
Following that dirty work they check the subfloor for any rotting wood caused by past leaks. This guarantees your brand new custom enclosure sits on a rock-solid foundation for decades.
Solid surface wall panels resist chipping and scratching much better than cheap fiberglass ever could. Hence your enclosure looks brand new even after years of heavy daily use by the family.
Besides that antimicrobial sealants stop bacteria from growing in the dampest corners of your washroom. This keeps your family breathing clean air every time someone turns on the hot water.
Upgrading your wet area is one of the smartest investments you can make right now. Buyers love walking into a fresh bathroom that does not scream nineteen eighties retro style.
Furthermore lower water bills often happen when you replace old leaky faucets with modern pressure-balancing valves. Which means you save a little extra cash on your utility bills month after month.
Truthfully ignoring a cracked tub only leads to expensive structural repairs down the road when wood rots. So handling this upgrade proactively saves you a massive headache and wallet pain later.
Clear out all your personal items and towels from the bathroom before the installation crew arrives. This gives workers enough room to bring in heavy tools and large glass panels safely.
Meanwhile keep pets locked in a secure bedroom so they do not escape through open doors. These little steps make the whole construction phase run smoother for everyone involved.
Stopping that morning dread starts by reaching out to local professionals who know Pennsylvania homes inside out. They listen closely to your design ideas and offer honest advice on what works best.
Instead of stressing over outdated fixtures you deserve a gorgeous washing space that makes you smile. Contact our local team today to request your FREE quote and get your bathroom project started right away.
Count the baths your household actually ran last year. In most homes we visit, the honest number is somewhere between zero and three, and yet every single morning somebody swings a leg over fifteen inches of porcelain rim to stand up and shower inside a fixture built for lying down. The tub charges rent daily and works a few evenings a year.
Nothing dramatic follows from that. Nobody is in danger because a bathtub exists, and if long soaks are part of your week, keep the tub and enjoy it with our blessing. The case for the conversion is plainer: when the tub has become a shower tray with high sides, you are paying, in caution and in cleaning, for a feature you retired years ago.
The swap itself is smaller than most people picture. The supply lines, the drain and the alcove walls are already exactly where a shower wants them, which is why this is a job measured in days. We are not building a new bathroom; we are letting the one you have stop pretending it still gives baths.
The same alcove, photographed the way the week actually unfolds. Weather never delays this one; it all happens indoors.
Floors along the hallway get covered, the water goes off for a few hours, and the bathtub is cut free and carried out, tile flange and all. With the alcove stripped, the plumber moves the drain to where the new pan wants it and sets the new valve at shower height. By supper the room is bare, clean and ready.
The base arrives first: an acrylic pan set dead level on a mortar bed, or a sloped, waterproofed floor when the plan says curbless. Then the walls close in, either grout-free panels bonded in a single afternoon or backer board ready for tile. Everything from here on is watertight before it is pretty.
The glass panel or door is drilled, hung and plumbed straight, the trim goes on, and the silicone lines are drawn last. Silicone wants a day to cure, so the first shower usually happens the following morning, which is exactly how we schedule the walkthrough.
Both are real showers in the same alcove. The difference is the entry, and what has to happen under it.
| What you weigh | Low curb | Curbless |
|---|---|---|
| What stands at the entry | A tidy threshold about 3 to 4 inches tall | Nothing. The bathroom floor rolls straight into the shower |
| Cost, installed | The friendlier bracket, most jobs land here | Roughly a third to a half more, the floor is rebuilt |
| What the crew rebuilds | The alcove only; the bathroom floor stays shut | Part of the bathroom floor, sloped and waterproofed |
| Water containment | The curb and glass do the holding | The slope and a linear drain do the holding |
| Suits best | Straight swaps on a budget and upstairs bathrooms | Wheels, walkers, and anyone planning to stay put for decades |
Undecided is a fine answer on the form. The site visit settles it with a tape measure, not a sales pitch.
Removal
Cut free, hauled out and off to recycling, with floors and doorways shielded on the way. The loudest hour of the conversion, and it wraps before most jobs have begun.
Plumbing
Tub drains sit at one end; showers drain where the pan says. We move what needs moving and swap the old valve for a pressure-balanced one.
The base
A level acrylic pan for most swaps, a mortar-built sloped floor for curbless plans. Either way it is tested with water before anything covers it.
The walls
Grout-free panels go up in an afternoon and wipe clean forever. Tile takes longer, costs more, and looks like whatever you can imagine.
The glass
A fixed panel keeps things open and easy to clean; a hinged door closes the warmth in. Both are tempered, both are set dead straight.
The finish
Shelving, the hand shower, clean caulk lines and a walkthrough. We leave the cure time in writing so the first shower is not a gamble.
| The job | Usual range | Inside the number |
|---|---|---|
| Standard tub-to-shower conversion | $3,100 - $5,600 | Tub out, low curb pan, wall panels, new valve, glass panel. |
| Curbless conversion | $4,900 - $8,800 | The floor is rebuilt flush and sloped to a linear drain. |
| Glass: fixed panel or hinged door | $450 - $1,400 | A single panel sits at the low end, a framed door at the top. |
| Walls: PVC panels or tile | $1,100 - $3,900 | Panels finish in a day; tile adds days and takes any look you want. |
| Tear-out only | $450 - $950 | The tub gone and the alcove left clean for another trade. |
| Small job minimum | around $2,400 | Even the simplest swap books a licensed plumber and a full crew. |
Wall condition, drain position and the glass you choose move every line. The visit pins the figure down, and the figure then holds.
A bathtub drains at one end through its own trap; most showers want the drain nearer the middle, or along one edge when the plan is curbless. Sometimes the existing trap is close enough to reuse and sometimes it has to travel a foot or two, which means opening a strip of floor. We can usually tell which from the basement or the crawl space during the visit, and the paperwork you sign already names which one you are getting.
Houses older than the seventies like to add a surprise: galvanized supply lines rusted nearly shut, a cast iron trap that crumbles at a touch, or framing that got damp decades ago and kept it quiet. None of it is rare and none of it is ruinous, but it is your call, not ours. When something like that turns up, work pauses, you get photographs and a price for the fix, and nothing is billed until you have said yes to it. A conversion should never be the job where the invoice writes itself.
QIs losing the only bathtub a resale mistake?
AAgents around Dickinson Square West repeat one rule: a family house shows better with a tub somewhere in it. If this is your only tub and small children are in your plans, we put that on the table during the visit and you decide with open eyes. If another bathroom keeps its tub, or the buyers you expect are shower people, the argument evaporates.
QHow long do we go without washing?
AThe toilet and sink stay usable every evening, and the water is only off for stretches on day one. The shower itself is ready once the silicone cures, so figure on missing roughly three days of showers at home. Plenty of clients time the job before a weekend away.
QDoes all the old tile come off the walls?
AOn the alcove walls, yes, because the new waterproofing needs to start from the studs, not from forty-year-old grout. Tile outside the alcove stays put, and we cut a clean line where the two meet.
QCan the new shower use the tub drain?
AThe pipe itself is nearly always reusable; the position is the question. A low curb pan can often sit its drain within reach of the old trap. Curbless floors want a relocated or linear drain, and that difference is priced before demo, never discovered after.
QDo we need a permit for the swap?
AA like-for-like fixture swap usually rides on a simple plumbing permit, and moving the drain can add an inspection. We file whatever your jurisdiction wants and fold the cost into the written price.
QWhat if there is rot behind the tub?
AIt happens, mostly around the old tile flange. You get photographs the hour we find it, a firm price for the repair, and the choice to proceed or pause. The framing fix is usually a morning, not a remodel.
The map carries the geography; the link lists underneath spell out every town our crews can reach from this one.
One three-day job stands between this bathroom and its best fixture.
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