Our Independence crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Saint Louis County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
You might start your day feeling annoyed by a bulky basin that just takes up too much room in your bathroom. This common headache affects many homeowners who want a modern, open space to wash up without tripping hazards. By swapping that old deep tub for a sleek, walk-in washing area, you immediately gain extra room and peace of mind.
Fortunately, our team helps folks make this exact upgrade every day. We realize that your needs change over time, and a layout that worked years ago might feel like a chore to use now. You can get a free estimate from us today to see how easily we can transform your bathing area into a beautiful, spacious walk-in setup.
Think about how often you actually take a full soak compared to a quick rinse. For most people, that giant acrylic or cast-iron barrier just sits there collecting dust and soap scum. When you choose to install a modern shower base right where the old basin used to be, you instantly create a safer environment for everyone in your home.
This smart swap also does wonders for your daily routine. Cleanup becomes incredibly easy because you no longer have to bend over double to scrub grime out of deep corners. Instead, you get low-maintenance wall surrounds and easy-to-reach surfaces that stay clean with a quick wipe.
On top of that, a barrier-free entryway looks amazing and feels far more spacious. Your room suddenly feels twice as big because the heavy visual block of the high tub wall disappears. This simple change brings a fresh sense of cozy relaxation and modern style to your home, making your morning routine feel like a trip to a high-end getaway.
First, we sit down with you to look at your existing layout and discuss exactly what you want. We measure your current footprint to ensure the new pan and wall panels fit like a glove. This planning phase ensures we do not run into any surprises once the work begins.
Next, our skilled team carefully removes the old fixture without damaging your surrounding walls or floorboards. This part of the job requires a delicate touch and strong muscles, especially with heavy cast-iron models. We handle the heavy lifting and disposal so you do not have to worry about a thing.
Finally, we prepare the subfloor, update your plumbing valves, and install the beautiful new walk-in system. We seal every single joint with premium silicone to prevent leaks and ensure your new setup lasts for decades. You get a gorgeous, functional space that fits your lifestyle perfectly.
To help you compare your options, we put together a quick look at how these setups differ:
| Feature | Old Deep Basin | New Walk-In Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Height | 15 to 20 inches to step over | 3 to 5 inches (low-threshold) |
| Floor Space Feel | Cramped and visually heavy | Open, bright, and modern |
| Cleaning Effort | High (lots of bending and scrubbing) | Low (wipe-down panels and glass) |
When you redesign this space, you can customize it with incredibly helpful additions. For example, installing sturdy grab bars gives you something solid to hold onto when floors get slippery. This simple upgrade provides extra safety for kids, grandparents, and everyone in between.
Another brilliant addition is a built-in bench or a folding seat. This lets you sit down comfortably while washing, which turns your daily rinse into a truly peaceful experience. Which means you can relax and take your time without standing on tired feet after a long workday.
We also love installing recessed niches to hold your shampoos and soaps. This keeps your bottles off the floor and off the ledge, keeping your brand-new space clutter-free. You get a clean, organized look that highlights the beauty of your new wall panels.
Our neighbors in the beautiful western suburbs of Hennepin County deserve spaces that match their high standard of living. This scenic area, known for its rolling hills and peaceful lakes, features beautiful homes where families love to settle down. With a local median household income of about $120,600, investing in home improvements is a smart way to protect your property value.
Whether you live near the local parks or closer to the quiet rural edges of town, we understand the local building styles. We know how the local winters can affect plumbing, so we take extra care to insulate pipes properly during the remodel. Our team serves this community of 3,751 residents with pride, ensuring every home gets top-tier craftsmanship.
Because we live and work nearby, we can easily drive out to your property to take measurements and discuss your ideas. We cover the entire local ZIP code area, bringing friendly service right to your front door. You do not have to deal with out-of-town contractors who do not understand our local building codes.
Naturally, we want to give you the full picture so you can make the best decision for your household. The main drawback to removing your only deep basin is that some home buyers with toddlers still prefer having one. However, if you have another bathroom with a tub, this swap is a complete win-win that raises your home appeal.
On the plus side, the safety benefits far outweigh any minor drawbacks for the vast majority of homeowners. Slipping while stepping over a high ledge is one of the most common household accidents. Eliminating that high barrier keeps you safe and allows you to stay in your beloved home much longer as you age.
Additionally, the speed of this project might surprise you. Unlike full-scale bathroom overhauls that take weeks, this targeted swap usually takes just a few days. This means your daily life faces minimal disruption, and you get to enjoy your upgraded space almost immediately.
Water damage is every homeowner's worst nightmare, which is why we take waterproofing incredibly seriously. We do not just slap some panels over your old drywall and call it a day. Instead, we strip the area down to the studs to inspect for hidden mold or wood rot.
Once we ensure the framing is solid, we apply a state-of-the-art waterproof backing system. This creates an impenetrable shield behind your new walls, keeping moisture where it belongs. This extra step guarantees that your home stays safe from hidden leaks and structural damage.
Then, we install high-quality drain connections that handle water flow perfectly. We test the drainage thoroughly before we declare the job finished. You get a beautiful, dry, and worry-free space that performs as great as it looks.
Are you ready to stop struggling with that old, outdated basin and upgrade your daily routine? Our friendly local team is standing by to help you design the perfect walk-in wash space. We will come right to your home, look over your bathroom, and give you a detailed, honest quote at absolutely no cost to you.
This free consultation lets you ask all your questions and explore different style options without any pressure. We believe in transparent pricing and friendly service, ensuring you feel confident every step of the way. Contact us today to schedule your visit and take the first step toward a safer, more beautiful home!
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 Independence 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 Saint Louis County; the statewide picture lives on Minnesota; 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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