Our Tiburon crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Marin County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Many homeowners in ZIP codes around the beautiful waterfront town of 9,151 residents find themselves tired of stepping over high porcelain walls just to get clean. This gorgeous spot in Marin County sits right by the bay, where median household income reaches $163,865, meaning folks here appreciate fine craftsmanship and practical home upgrades. Yet that old basin holding water just takes up too much room in your bathroom, causing daily annoyance when you want a quick rinse instead of a long soak.
Right now, trading that bulky tub for a sleek open basin gives you total peace of mind and modern convenience. Converting that dated fixture lets you maximize your square footage without tearing down your walls. Best of all, you get to enjoy a safer routine every single morning.
Looking closely at your current setup, you probably notice mold growing around those tricky caulked edges and slipping hazards everywhere. Addressing this issue right away saves you from costly water damage down the line. Plus, removing that massive porcelain box opens up your floor plan immediately.
Consider how much easier cleaning becomes when you ditch the deep basin for a streamlined glass enclosure. This smart swap lets you wipe down surfaces in a fraction of the usual time. Another perk is the sheer visual impact it brings to your entire house.
Starting the project requires careful demo work to pull out the heavy iron or fiberglass shell without scratching your tile floors. Experienced local contractors handle this heavy lifting so you never break a sweat. Afterward, plumbers inspect your subfloor for any hidden rot or leaks.
Fixing these underlying problems guarantees your new setup stands strong for decades. Meanwhile, fresh waterproofing membranes go down to block moisture effectively. This meticulous preparation prevents future headaches and protects your investment.
Choosing durable acrylic bases and frameless glass doors gives you a stunning aesthetic that never goes out of style. These materials resist soap scum much better than old tile grout lines. Furthermore, adding built-in seating increases your daily coziness while getting ready.
Matching your new hardware to your existing faucets creates a unified look throughout the room. That attention to detail elevates the overall luxury of your property. Eventually, you will wonder why you waited so long to make this change.
Tackling home renovations near the bay comes with specific building codes and strict permit requirements. Local professionals know these rules inside and out to keep your project fully compliant. Consequently, inspections pass smoothly on the first try without any annoying delays.
Working with an experienced crew ensures your plumbing lines match up perfectly with modern drain requirements. This technical precision stops slow drains before they even start. On top of that, your contractor cleans up every speck of dust before leaving.
| Feature | Old Tub Setup | Modern Open Basin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | High step-over risk | Zero threshold entry | |
| Cleaning | Difficult grout scrubbing | Quick wipe surfaces | |
| Space Usage | Cramped footprint | Open airy feeling | |
| Resale Value | Outdated look | High buyer appeal |
Weighing these differences helps clarify why so many neighbors make the switch every single month. Upgrading your washroom changes how you start your mornings completely. Therefore, investing in this home improvement project pays off in pure daily enjoyment.
Finding the right local trade professional means looking for honest communication and clear pricing structures. You deserve a team that respects your home and finishes the job on schedule. Fortunately, getting started takes only a minute of your time today.
Reaching out for a complimentary estimate lets you discuss your exact vision without any financial pressure. Qualified technicians visit your home to measure the area and give you straightforward answers. Naturally, you can plan your budget accurately before any hammers start swinging.
Taking this step toward a more functional home improves your quality of life in noticeable ways. Your mornings become smoother, safer, and much more enjoyable from now on. Now is the ideal moment to ditch that old bathtub for good.
Claiming your complimentary consultation is the easiest way to begin this exciting journey today. Local experts stand ready to evaluate your space and provide a detailed price breakdown. Request your free quote right now to turn your outdated washroom into a modern masterpiece.
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 Tiburon 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 Marin County; the statewide picture lives on California; the wider region is the West; background reading sits on Wikipedia.
One three-day job stands between this bathroom and its best fixture.
Get my free quote