How much does a tub-to-shower conversion cost?
Converting a bathtub to a shower runs roughly $2,000 to $12,000 nationally, per This Old House's conversion cost guide. The low end is a prefabricated shower kit dropped into the existing tub footprint with drain and valve unchanged; the high end is a tiled walk-in shower with a new pan, glass, and reworked plumbing. Whether the drain and valves move is the single biggest cost fork — and it is also what decides whether you need a permit.
What an average can't tell you
A market-average range compresses very different projects into one number, and most of what sets your price is invisible to it. It cannot tell you which scope tier your project belongs to — a cosmetic refresh, a partial remodel, and a full gut renovation are priced from different baselines whose midpoints sit far apart — and it does not know your bathroom’s square footage, which moves every one of those baselines.
It also cannot see whether any plumbing is being relocated, the finish level you would actually choose, or the age of your house — homes from different construction eras tend to conceal different problems, and those surface once the walls are open. Even within one metro, labor pricing shifts from ZIP code to ZIP code in ways a single average flattens out.
Those are answerable questions, and they are exactly the estimator’s inputs. It starts from sourced national cost data and recomputes the range for your scope, size, plumbing, and finishes — the factually correct next step after any market average.
Where in the range your project lands
The cheap conversions keep everything where it is: the tub comes out, a shower base or one-piece unit goes into the same footprint, and the existing drain and supply lines are reused. That is the $2,000-to-$5,000 territory. Costs climb through the range as you add a custom tiled surround, a frameless glass panel, a linear drain, or a curbless entry — and jump whenever the drain has to move, because tub and shower drains rarely sit in the same spot and moving a waste line means opening the floor.
Plumbing relocation is priced separately for a reason: national labor data puts moving a piping run at roughly $935 to $1,140 before any floor or wall repair. A conversion quote that seems oddly high compared to a neighbor's often just contains drain relocation the other project didn't need.
The permit question, concretely
In the metros we have researched, the pattern is consistent: swapping fixtures like-for-like is often exempt, but the moment pipes are replaced or rearranged — which a tub-to-shower conversion usually involves — a plumbing permit is required. Providence requires a permit once any valve, pipe, or fixture is replaced or rearranged; Henrico County (Richmond) exempts plain fixture swaps but not alterations to the drainage or supply systems; Raleigh classifies reconfiguring a plumbing system as a Level 2 alteration with plan review possible. Budget the permit fee and the inspection time, and be suspicious of any contractor who proposes skipping it.
Resale considerations before you convert
If this is your home's only bathtub, think twice before removing it: National Association of Realtors reporting holds that a home needs at least one tub to attract the widest group of buyers. Converting a second or third bathroom is a much safer bet than converting the only tub. If accessibility is the motivation — stepping over a tub wall being the problem — a low-threshold or curbless shower solves it and is a widely recommended aging-in-place change.
Related questions
- Does Medicare cover a tub-to-shower conversion?
- Original Medicare generally does not pay for home modifications, and coverage through Medicare Advantage plans varies by plan and by whether the conversion qualifies as a covered supplemental benefit. Check your specific plan's documentation rather than assuming coverage; some state and local aging-in-place programs offer separate grants.
- Can I use a conversion kit instead of a custom shower?
- Yes — prefabricated conversion kits and one-piece units that reuse the tub's footprint are what the low end of the $2,000-$12,000 national range describes. They cost a fraction of tiled custom work but constrain size, drain position, and appearance.
- How long does a tub-to-shower conversion take?
- A same-footprint kit conversion is typically days, not weeks. A custom tiled conversion with waterproofing, inspection, tile cure times, and glass fabrication behaves more like a partial remodel — measured in weeks, with the glass panel often the last item to arrive.
Get a local answer
National ranges only go so far — labor rates, permit rules, and housing stock move the numbers in every metro. See the local guides, each with a cost estimator: