Our Hecker crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Monroe County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
You probably know the feeling of staring at that old, high-walled basin in your washroom and wishing for something much easier to step into. It takes up way too much space, it is incredibly annoying to scrub, and honestly, when was the last time you actually took a long soak in there anyway? If you are like most people in our quiet corner of Monroe County, you just want a quick, breezy wash before starting your day.
By swapping out that bulky, outdated fixture for a sleek, walk-in stall, you instantly reclaim your floor plan and make your daily routine safer. This smart upgrade eliminates the risk of tripping over a wet ledge, which is a major relief for everyone in the household. Fortunately, our local team specializes in making this exact swap happen in just a few days, giving you a fresh, open setup that feels ten times larger.
Getting your hands on a free estimate is the very first step toward transforming your space into a modern sanctuary. We come right to your doorstep to measure your layout and walk you through every beautiful option without any pressure. You will get a clear, honest price tailored to your exact home, so why not take a look at what is possible?
Think about how much room that giant porcelain monolith actually wastes in your small washroom. Once you replace it with a low-profile pan and beautiful glass doors, the entire area suddenly feels incredibly airy and light. This change breathes new life into your home, turning a cramped, dark corner into a bright spot that you can actually enjoy.
On top of that, cleaning becomes a total breeze because you no longer have to bend over double to scrub grime out of deep, hard-to-reach corners. Modern non-porous wall surrounds resist mold and mildew naturally, which means you spend less time on your knees with a scrub brush and more time relaxing. Who wouldn't want to trade hours of hard chores for a simple wipe-down once a week?
Safety is another huge factor that you simply cannot ignore as the years roll by. Slipping on a wet curved surface is a recipe for disaster, whereas a flat, textured floor provides solid traction underfoot. This simple upgrade protects your joints, your kids, and your elderly relatives, offering priceless peace of mind for the entire family.
To help you visualize how this project can completely change your daily routine, we have put together a quick comparison of what you gain when you make the switch.
| Feature | Old High-Walled Setup | New Walk-In Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Step-In Height | Up to 15-20 inches of awkward climbing | As low as 2-3 inches for easy access |
| Visual Space | Bulky barrier that cuts the room in half | Seamless glass that opens up the area |
| Maintenance | Hard-to-reach corners and stained grout | Smooth, mold-resistant wall panels |
| Safety Features | Slippery curved basin with few grip points | Flat textured floor, built-in benches, and bars |
Choosing the right materials allows you to match your personal style while staying within your budget. From gorgeous simulated stone panels to sleek, minimalist glass enclosures, the design possibilities are virtually endless. Our local team will guide you through these choices to ensure your new setup fits your daily habits perfectly.
Now, you might be wondering how we actually pull off this magic trick without tearing your entire house apart. First, we carefully remove the old cast iron or acrylic beast without damaging your surrounding walls or plumbing. Next, we inspect the subfloor underneath to make sure there is no hidden water damage or rot that needs fixing.
This attention to detail ensures your new foundation is rock-solid and completely leak-proof for decades to come. After preparing the base, we run the proper drain lines and install your gorgeous new low-threshold pan. Finally, we seal the walls with premium, water-tight panels and install your chosen hardware, leaving behind a spotless, ready-to-use space.
Because we respect your home, we work quickly and clean up every speck of dust before we pack up our tools. Most of our projects wrap up in surprisingly little time, which means your daily schedule suffers almost zero disruption. You will be enjoying your first refreshing wash in your new setup before you even have time to miss the old one.
Living in a small community of just 537 residents means that reputation is absolutely everything to us. Our neighbors in the 62248 ZIP code deserve top-notch craftsmanship, which is why we never cut corners on any job we take. We understand the unique charm of homes in this historic portion of the state, where the median household income sits around $54,167.
This local knowledge helps us recommend durable materials that withstand our regional weather and hard water conditions perfectly. We treat your property with the exact same care we would use in our own family homes. You get honest, down-to-earth service from real people who live right down the road from you.
Instead of dealing with a massive, faceless corporation that treats you like a number, you get personalized attention from start to finish. We listen to your concerns, answer your questions in plain English, and make sure you are completely happy with the plan. Our deep roots in this county guarantee that we will be here to support you long after the job is done.
Although we love this specific home improvement project, we always want to be completely honest with you about every aspect of it. On the plus side, you get unmatched daily convenience, a much safer environment, and a gorgeous, modern look that boosts your home value. It makes your washroom feel like a luxury spa, which is a fantastic treat at the end of a long, tiring workday.
However, you should keep in mind that removing the only deep basin in your house can sometimes affect resale appeal if you plan to sell soon to a family with very young toddlers. If you have a second washroom with a basin still intact, then this is a complete non-issue for you. We always weigh these factors together during our initial chat to make sure you are making the absolute best decision for your future.
Another thing to consider is that custom tile work can take a bit longer and cost more than high-quality acrylic surrounds. We lay out all these budget options clearly so you can decide what balance of cost and style works for your wallet. No hidden fees, no surprise upcharges, just straightforward facts that let you make an informed choice.
There is absolutely no reason to keep putting up with an inconvenient, outdated washroom that no longer serves your lifestyle. Our friendly team is ready to drive out to your home, assess your current setup, and give you a detailed, zero-obligation quote. This completely free service gives you the exact numbers you need to plan your project with total confidence.
Imagine how incredible it will feel to finally step into a bright, spacious, and modern wash area every single morning. You deserve a home that fits your needs perfectly, simplifies your chores, and keeps you safe from nasty slips and falls. Taking action today costs you nothing, but it brings you one step closer to the beautiful home upgrade you have been dreaming about.
All you have to do is reach out to us to schedule your convenient, free consultation at a time that works best for you. We will handle all the heavy lifting, the messy demolition, and the precise plumbing work while you sit back and relax. Let us help you transform your space into a stunning, practical oasis that you will love using day after day!
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 Hecker 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.
For the bigger map: county seat pages start at Monroe County; the statewide picture lives on Illinois; the wider region is the Midwest; background reading sits on Wikipedia.
One three-day job stands between this bathroom and its best fixture.
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