Our Patterson crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Des Moines County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Maybe you feel tired of stepping over that high, slippery ledge every single morning just to wash up. This daily obstacle course gets old fast, especially when you realize you never actually use the deep basin for soaking anymore. Fortunately, our local team specializes in removing those outdated, bulky basins and replacing them with sleek, walk-in washing areas that fit your lifestyle perfectly.
If you live in this cozy corner of the Hawkeye State, you already know how important home safety and efficiency are. Replacing that old basin with a modern walk-in option makes your daily routine much safer. Our skilled team comes directly to your home to evaluate your space and give you a free estimate with zero obligations.
Imagine having a bright, open space that feels twice as big as your old setup. This smart upgrade saves you tons of cleaning time because modern wall surrounds do not have those annoying grout lines where mold loves to grow. You get a fresh look that boosts your home value while making your daily routine a breeze.
First of all, safety stands out as the most common reason homeowners make this change. Standard basins have tall walls that require balance and effort to navigate, which can lead to nasty slips. By lowering that entry barrier to just a few inches, you instantly minimize the risk of falls for everyone in your household.
Besides safety, you will notice an incredible difference in how spacious your bathroom feels. Traditional tub walls eat up a lot of visual and physical real estate in a standard room layout. Once we swap that bulky unit for a low-profile base, your entire room opens up and feels much lighter.
This layout change also lets you customize your washing experience with modern features. You can choose built-in seating, convenient grab bars, and recessed shelving for all your shampoos and soaps. These smart additions keep your essentials organized and within arm's reach without cluttering the floor space.
| Feature | Old Heavy Basin | Modern Low-Threshold Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Height | 14 to 18 inches to step over | 3 to 5 inches for easy stepping |
| Maintenance | Hard scrubbing on old enamel | Simple wipe-down acrylic walls |
| Safety Level | High slip risk when stepping out | Very secure with textured floors |
| Visual Space | Cramps up smaller bathrooms | Makes the room look open and bright |
First, we start with a friendly, in-home visit to look at your current plumbing setup. We measure your existing alcove and discuss what style of wall surrounds and fixtures you prefer. This initial step allows us to give you a precise, honest quote without any hidden fees or surprises.
Next, our installation crew carefully removes the old cast iron or steel tub without damaging your walls. We inspect the subfloor underneath to ensure there is no hidden water damage or wood rot from old leaks. Fixing these issues early ensures your new setup rests on a rock-solid, dry foundation.
After preparing the base, we reroute the drain pipes to align perfectly with your new center or side drain. Then we install the durable, slip-resistant pan and seal the waterproof wall panels tight. Finally, we hook up your new showerhead and hardware, leaving the space sparkling clean and ready to use.
When it comes to design, you have an amazing variety of options to choose from. You do not have to settle for basic white plastic because modern materials mimic high-end stone and tile beautifully. This means you can get the look of luxury marble or classic subway tile without the maintenance headaches.
Additionally, choosing the right doors can completely transform the look of your space. Frameless glass doors offer a clean, modern aesthetic that showcases your beautiful new wall panels. If you prefer more privacy, textured or frosted glass options keep things private while still letting light filter through.
Do not forget about the small details like hardware finishes and storage options. Brushed nickel, matte black, and oil-rubbed bronze fixtures allow you to match your existing bathroom hardware easily. We can also add heavy-duty grab bars that look like stylish towel racks, blending safety seamlessly with style.
Living in this peaceful Madison County community of about 130 residents means you value reliable, local craftsmanship. With a median household income that keeps families focused on smart investments, upgrading your home infrastructure is a great choice. Our services cover the entire 50218 ZIP code area with prompt, neighborly service.
Because we know the local water conditions and housing styles here, we install systems built to last. Our team treats your home with the utmost respect, working quickly to minimize disruption to your daily life. We handle all the heavy lifting, disposal, and plumbing permits so you do not have to worry about a thing.
To help you plan your budget, we offer completely free, on-site estimates. We walk you through the materials, timeline, and layout options that fit your specific bathroom size. This transparent process ensures you know exactly what to expect before we ever turn a single wrench.
Once your project is complete, the daily benefits will make you wonder why you waited so long. Your morning routine becomes faster and much more relaxing when you do not have to climb into a deep tub. The textured floor surface provides excellent traction underfoot, giving you peace of mind every time you wash.
Cleaning also becomes a quick chore instead of a grueling weekend workout. The non-porous acrylic materials we use resist mold, mildew, and tough soap scum build-up. A quick spray and wipe with a soft cloth keep the entire enclosure looking brand new for years.
Furthermore, this smart upgrade is highly attractive to future home buyers if you ever decide to sell. Many buyers look for homes with accessible, modern bathrooms rather than outdated guest tubs. You get to enjoy the improved usability now while building long-term equity in your property.
Ready to say goodbye to that old, drafty tub and hello to a spacious walk-in shower? Our local team is standing by to help you design the perfect replacement for your home. We take pride in delivering top-notch craftsmanship and friendly service to our neighbors.
Contact us today to schedule your free, no-pressure estimate right in your home. We will look at your space, listen to your ideas, and provide a clear plan to update your bathroom safely. Let us handle the hard work so you can start enjoying a safer, more beautiful home right away.
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 Patterson 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 Des Moines County; the statewide picture lives on Iowa; 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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