Add for: moving the drain more than a couple of feet, opening a finished ceiling below, a frameless glass enclosure (typically $1,500–$4,000 and fabricated after tile), heated floor, or asbestos abatement in an older home.
Should you do it? The resale question, honestly
The common advice is "always keep one tub in the house." That's roughly right, with nuance.
**Keep a tub if:** you have small children, you plan to sell to families, or this is the only full bathroom in the house. A house with no tub at all narrows the buyer pool, particularly for family buyers.
**Convert if:** you have another tub elsewhere, nobody in the household uses this one, or accessibility is the reason. Aging-in-place is a strong argument — stepping over a 16-inch tub wall is a fall risk, and a curbless or low-curb shower removes it.
In a lot of Seattle homes the practical answer is: convert the primary or upstairs bath to a shower, keep the tub in the hall bath.
The accessibility case, done properly
If accessibility is the reason, a few details matter more than the shower itself:
- **Curbless or low curb.** Zero threshold is best; a 2-inch curb is a large improvement over a 16-inch tub wall.
- **A 36-inch-wide entry minimum,** wider if a walker or wheelchair is in the picture.
- **Blocking in the walls for grab bars** — put it in even if the bars go in later. Blocking during framing costs almost nothing; adding it afterward means opening finished tile.
- **A bench,** built in, not a plastic stool.
- **A handheld shower on a slide bar** in addition to the fixed head.
- **A slip-resistant floor tile.** Small-format tile with more grout lines gives more traction than a large polished tile. Look for a tile with a published dynamic coefficient of friction rating suitable for wet areas.
Permits and code in Seattle
Replacing a tub with a shower involves plumbing changes, so it requires a permit from Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspections. Most bathroom work of this kind qualifies for a subject-to-field-inspection permit rather than full plan review — SDCI screens those applications in a few days, and permits stay valid for 18 months.
There will be a rough plumbing inspection before anything is covered. A conversion done without a permit becomes an unpermitted-work disclosure when you sell.
What goes wrong in a cheap conversion
Three failure modes, all of them expensive:
1. **The pan isn't sloped correctly.** Water stands. Grout stays wet. Eventually it finds a way through.
2. **The membrane isn't continuous.** Corners, the curb, and the drain flange are where it fails. A proper job flood-tests the pan before tile.
3. **The wall board is wrong.** Standard drywall or non-waterproof board behind tile in a wet area will fail. Cement board or a bonded waterproof board system, with the membrane detail carried into the corners.
Ask any bidder: what membrane are you using, and do you flood-test the pan? The answers separate the bids.
How Fortress Build & Finish does a conversion
Tile is a named craft here, not a subcontracted line. We slope the pan on site, carry the membrane into every corner and up the curb, flood-test before a tile goes down, and flatten the substrate so the finished plane is dead flat rather than approximately flat.
We also block for grab bars whether or not you want them today. It costs nothing now and it's the difference between a future modification being a Saturday and being a demolition.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to convert a tub to a shower?
$8,000–$15,000 with a prefabricated base and surround, $15,000–$25,000 or more for a fully tiled shower in the Seattle market.
Do I need a permit to replace a bathtub with a shower?
Yes. It involves plumbing changes, which require a permit from SDCI and a rough plumbing inspection.
Does removing the only bathtub hurt resale value?
It can, particularly with buyers who have young children. If the house has another tub, converting one bathroom is generally low risk.
How long does a tub-to-shower conversion take?
One to two weeks for a prefabricated unit, three to four weeks for a custom tiled shower including waterproofing, flood test and grout cure.
Can I convert a tub to a curbless shower?
Sometimes. It requires recessing the pan into the floor structure, which is realistic over an accessible crawlspace or joist bay and much harder over a finished room or a slab.
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**About the author.** Ryan Watt is the marketing director at Fortress Build & Finish, a Seattle-owned finish contractor with more than 25 years in residential and commercial remodeling, custom carpentry, tile installation, and fire and water damage restoration.
*Fortress Build & Finish —
(206) 426-2067 · Licensed, bonded and insured — License No. FORTRBF756KA · Serving Seattle, Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, West Seattle, Capitol Hill, Wallingford, Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton, Shoreline, Edmonds and the surrounding communities ·
fortressbuildfinish.com*
