Our Norridge crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Cook County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
If you feel tired of stepping over a high porcelain wall every single morning just to wash yourself, you are definitely not alone. Many homeowners in our lovely Cook County suburb find themselves stuck with an outdated, deep basin they never actually use for soaking. We can help you swap that bulky old tub for a modern, walk-in washing space that fits your daily routine much better.
This simple change instantly makes your daily routine faster and much safer. Because we live in a cozy village of 14,888 residents, we know the local housing styles inside and out. Our team comes right to your door to look at your layout and give you a free estimate on the spot.
You deserve a home that works for you instead of causing daily frustration. Let us handle the heavy lifting while you sit back and plan your new layout. Our local experts specialize in making these quick bathroom upgrades seamless and stress-free.
First of all, think about how much water and space you waste with an old basin. Most busy people prefer a quick rinse rather than waiting twenty minutes for a giant tub to fill up. By switching to a spacious, low-barrier stall, you gain valuable floor area and create a more open vibe in the room.
On top of that, safety becomes a major plus for everyone in the household. Slipping on wet porcelain remains one of the most common household accidents around here. A flat, slip-resistant floor keeps your feet planted firmly on the ground where they belong.
This smart upgrade also adds serious value to your property without requiring a massive, months-long remodel. Since the median household income in our community sits around $64,631, we understand that local homeowners appreciate smart, cost-effective investments. We focus on delivering top-tier results that fit your budget perfectly.
When you start planning your project, the sheer number of wall and base options might feel a bit overwhelming. Acrylic surrounds stand out as a highly popular choice because they require almost zero scrubbing to stay clean. Which means you can spend your weekends relaxing at the local parks instead of scraping grout lines with an old toothbrush.
If you prefer a more traditional look, classic ceramic tiles offer endless design options. However, tiles do require a bit more maintenance over the years to keep the moisture out. We always explain the honest pros and cons of each material so you can make the best choice for your lifestyle.
| Material Option | Main Benefit | Maintenance Level |
|---|---|---|
| High-Grade Acrylic | Resists mold and cracks | Very Low |
| Classic Ceramic Tile | Highly customizable style | Medium to High |
| Solid Surface Panels | No grout lines at all | Low |
To help you visualize these options in your actual home, we bring samples directly to your house. This allows you to see how the colors look under your specific bathroom lighting. Our goal is to make sure you feel completely confident before we ever turn a single wrench.
Many people worry that a bathroom remodel will turn their home into a dusty, chaotic construction zone for weeks. Fortunately, our experienced crew has refined this specific process down to a science. We work quickly and cleanly to minimize any disruption to your daily routine.
On the very first day, we carefully protect your flooring and remove the old, heavy cast iron or steel fixture. This part of the job requires some serious muscle and expertise to avoid damaging your existing plumbing. After that, we inspect the hidden wood framing for any signs of water damage or rot.
Once we ensure the subfloor is dry and sturdy, we install the new drain plumbing and secure the base. Then, we fit the beautiful new wall panels and hook up your upgraded showerhead and fixtures. Finally, we clean up every speck of dust so your new space is ready to use immediately.
As we grow older, simple things like taking a bath should not feel like an athletic event. Incorporating built-in seating and sturdy grab bars into your new design provides incredible peace of mind. These features allow you or your loved ones to maintain independence for years to come.
We also install low-threshold entries that require you to lift your feet only an inch or two to step inside. This design virtually eliminates the risk of tripping on your way in or out. It represents a simple modification that delivers huge benefits for your physical safety.
Additionally, we can position handheld sprayers at the perfect height for seated or standing use. This level of customization ensures that every member of the family can wash comfortably. We love helping our neighbors make their homes safer and more practical.
To truly elevate your daily wash, you might want to consider a luxurious rainfall showerhead. These modern fixtures distribute water evenly to mimic a soothing, natural downpour. This simple addition turns a quick morning wash into a spa-like experience.
We also recommend pressure-balancing valves to prevent sudden temperature drops when someone else runs the kitchen sink. No one likes getting a sudden blast of freezing water mid-lather. Our plumbers ensure your water pressure and temperature remain perfectly steady.
Most old tubs do not offer much space for your shampoos, soaps, and body washes. By designing custom corner caddies and recessed shelving, we keep your new space organized and clutter-free. This keeps your bottles off the floor and within easy reach.
We can even color-match these storage accessories to your wall panels for a clean, seamless look. This attention to detail makes your bathroom look professionally designed and highly polished. You will love how much wider and cleaner the entire room feels.
Because we operate right here in the local area, which includes the ZIP code 60706, we care deeply about our reputation. We treat every single home we enter with the utmost respect and care. Our team lives in the same neighborhoods as you, so we treat you like family.
We do not believe in high-pressure sales tactics or hidden fees that pop up at the end of the project. When we give you an estimate, we stand by our word and explain every cost clearly. This honest approach has helped us build lasting relationships throughout the county.
If you are ready to say goodbye to that old, dusty tub, we are here to make it happen. Get in touch with us today to request your free, no-obligation home consultation. We look forward to helping you create the beautiful, practical bathroom you deserve!
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 Norridge 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 Cook 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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