Our McLaughlin crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Corson County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Are you tired of climbing over that high porcelain wall just to wash your hair on a busy morning? Replacing that bulky basin with an open shower gives you a safer bathroom and saves you a ton of hassle.
That old porcelain basin takes up way too much room in compact spaces. Upgrading lets you enjoy a spacious washing area without a massive renovation budget.
Your current plumbing configuration dictates how the new basin will drain properly. Shifting pipes around usually costs extra money and adds days to the construction timeline.
Smart planning helps you avoid costly mistakes during the messy demolition phase. Checking the subfloor condition lets you prevent hidden water damage from ruining your investment.
Acrylic pans resist chipping and keep your feet warm during frosty winter mornings. Textured bases give you firm traction so nobody slips while soaping up.
Glass enclosures wipe clean easily and make small rooms feel much larger. Choosing sturdy hardware means your new setup will last for decades without leaking.
Dealing with local weather means your bathroom remodel needs proper ventilation to stop mold growth. Houses here experience freezing winters and hot summers which can stress building materials.
Living in a town of four hundred eighty-two residents means finding reliable tradespeople can feel tricky sometimes. Local contractors understand regional building codes much better than big national chains.
Money matters to everyone living on a modest household budget around forty thousand dollars per year. Financing options let you spread out payments so you never feel strapped for cash.
Getting a professional evaluation helps you figure out exact costs before any hammers start swinging. You see the number first, then you decide.
Frameless glass doors give your room a modern vibe that visitors always notice. Built-in seating offers extra coziness during long washing sessions after hard yard work.
Recessed soap niches keep your shampoo bottles organized and off the floor. This design trick lets you maximize every single inch of available square footage.
Workers arrive early to protect your floors with heavy duty drop cloths before starting any messy demolition. Tearing out the old heavy iron tub requires patience and specialized heavy tools.
Framing the new shower alcove ensures everything stays square and level for the waterproof backer board. Plumbers then tie the new drain assembly into your existing waste lines.
Applying liquid waterproof membranes creates a sealed barrier behind the tile or solid surface panels. This crucial step lets you prevent moisture from rotting your home wooden framing.
Grouting joints properly stops mildew from taking over your shower walls after steamy showers. Professional installers use high grade silicone sealants around every edge and corner.
| Style Type | Main Benefit | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-In Tray | Easy step-in height | Daily safety |
| Curbless Entry | Seamless wheelchair access | Universal design |
| Corner Unit | Saves floor space | Small bathrooms |
Selecting a low profile base makes stepping inside effortless for aging family members. Custom tile pans let you match your exact flooring color scheme.
Prefabricated acrylic units drop into place quickly and save you labor costs. Weighing these options helps you pick what fits your lifestyle best.
Squeegeeing the glass after every use prevents stubborn hard water spots from building up. Mild daily cleaners keep your fixtures shining bright without harsh chemical odors.
Checking the grout lines annually ensures no water sneaks behind the wall panels. Proper upkeep lets you enjoy your investment for many years without expensive repairs.
Attempting plumbing work without proper tools usually leads to disastrous leaks under the floorboards. Hiring skilled professionals guarantees the job gets done right the first time.
Ignoring mold behind old tiles can cause serious health issues for your family members. Getting experts involved lets you protect your indoor air quality and structural integrity.
Upgrading your washing space transforms your daily routine into a genuinely relaxing experience. Modernizing your property also boosts your overall resale value if you ever decide to move.
Ready to ditch that dated tub for a gorgeous open washing enclosure? Reach out today to request your totally free quote and start planning your dream bathroom upgrade.
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 McLaughlin 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 Corson County; the statewide picture lives on South Dakota; 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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