Our McBaine crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Boone County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Today we look at trading your old tub for a sleek walk-in washing stall. This upgrade gives you safety and style right here in Boone County.
Many folks around our tiny hamlet struggle with high basin walls every single morning. That big porcelain box causes slips and falls when you just want a quick clean.
Replacing that relic makes your bathroom feel massive and totally modern. Plus, you get a gorgeous tile floor with zero tripping hazards to worry about.
First off, contractors remove your heavy iron or fiberglass tub without damaging the surrounding walls. This heavy lifting lets us inspect the subfloor for any hidden water damage or wood rot.
Next, plumbers reroute the drain to fit the new low-profile basin placement. Such careful plumbing work prevents leaks and ensures fast drainage during your morning rinse.
Finally, stunning glass doors and durable acrylic surrounds lock into place. This gives your washroom incredible luxury and makes cleaning a absolute breeze.
With only about nine residents living in our local area, word spreads fast about good home improvements. Neighbors appreciate tradespeople who show up on time and clean up every single mess.
Boone County living brings unique architectural styles ranging from historic farmhouses to newer builds. Because of this variety, custom sizing matters tremendously for a tight fit.
Furthermore, local homeowners face humid summers and chilly winters that test bathroom materials. Selecting top-tier waterproofing products guarantees your new stall survives decades of heavy daily use.
Old Porcelain Tubs versus Modern Walk-In Showers
| Feature | Old Tub | Modern Stall |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | High risk of slips | Zero threshold entry |
| Cleaning | Hard to reach corners | Wipes down in seconds |
| Space | Cramped feeling | Open and airy layout |
Switching from a soaking tub to an open shower transforms your routine overnight. This smart layout change gives you extra floor space for cabinets or hampers.
Additionally, grab bars and built-in seats offer fantastic support for aging in place. These safety features blend seamlessly into the tile design so your room stays gorgeous.
Start by measuring your existing alcove and noting where the current plumbing lines run. Accurate measurements let your contractor order the exact shower pan you need.
Then, pick out your favorite wall panels and fixtures from local suppliers. Selecting brushed nickel or matte black hardware adds a striking custom finish to the room.
Once materials arrive, expert installers complete the messy work in just a few days. This speed minimizes disruption to your household routine and gets you back to normal fast.
Never ignore old plumbing pipes hiding behind the drywall during the tear-out phase. Replacing corroded galvanized pipes now saves you from costly ceiling repairs later.
Always verify that the floor slope directs water straight toward the drain hole. Proper grading prevents standing puddles that can ruin your new tile grout over time.
Skipping vapor barriers is another huge blunder that invites mold growth into your walls. Quality contractors always install heavy-duty plastic sheeting behind the cement backer boards.
Upgrading your bathroom delivers a solid return on investment when selling a house. Prospective buyers adore clean walk-in bathing stalls because they look high-end and luxurious.
Meanwhile, you save money on water bills by installing modern low-flow showerheads. These efficient fixtures use less hot water without sacrificing any spray pressure.
Besides immediate utility savings, you avoid future medical bills from slip-and-fall bathroom accidents. Safety investments pay for themselves the very first time you avoid a nasty tumble.
Wiping down the glass walls with a squeegee after every use stops soap scum buildup. This quick thirty-second habit keeps your enclosure sparkling without harsh chemical scrubbing.
Checking the silicone caulk lines once a year prevents moisture from sneaking behind tiles. Applying fresh sealant takes very little effort and protects your framing timbers.
Using gentle, non-abrasive cleaners preserves the glossy finish on acrylic wall panels for decades. Avoid harsh scouring powders that scratch the surface and trap dirt over time.
Crews arrive early with drop cloths to protect your hallway floors from dust and debris. This courteous behavior keeps your living areas clean while the heavy construction happens.
Demolition noise echoes through the house briefly as the old tub breaks apart. Experienced workers haul away the heavy chunks immediately so your yard stays clutter-free.
By afternoon, framing adjustments begin to square up the walls for the new enclosure. Watching the transformation unfold brings genuine excitement to your home improvement journey.
Choosing a licensed local contractor protects you from shoddy workmanship and abandoned projects. Always ask for references and check online reviews before signing any agreements.
Good communication ensures your vision matches the builder's final plan down to the smallest detail. Transparent pricing prevents surprise charges on your final invoice when the job wraps up.
Securing local building permits keeps your renovation fully legal and compliant with regional codes. Reliable service providers handle this paperwork for you so you can relax completely.
Stop struggling with that cramped and outdated bathtub every single morning of your life. Reclaim your bathroom space with a stunning modern shower designed just for your needs.
Reach out right now to schedule your completely zero-cost consultation with our local team. We visit your home, measure the space, and provide a detailed estimate with zero pressure.
Transform your daily routine by requesting your free quote today and start enjoying ultimate comfort.
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 McBaine 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 Boone County; the statewide picture lives on Missouri; 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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