Tub-to-Shower Conversion in PA & NJ

Swapping a bathtub for a walk-in shower is the single most requested bathroom job we do. Most people ask because nobody takes baths any more, the tub wall is getting harder to step over, or a curtain and a tub surround are hard to keep clean. Underhill Lions LLC does the whole conversion with one crew: tub out, framing, waterproofing, tile, fixtures and glass, with the plumbing change handled by our licensed partner under permit.

What happens to the room

The tub comes out and the opening is reframed to the shower size you want, which can be the tub footprint or a wider, deeper space if the room allows. The drain almost always moves, so the floor is opened for new plumbing and inspected before it closes. Then we set a sloped pan, run a waterproofing membrane over the pan and walls, and test it before a single tile goes on. Tile, grout and fixtures follow, and the glass is measured last and set once it is made.

Choices worth making early

• Curb or curbless. A low curb is simplest. A curbless entry is the easiest to walk into and the easiest to clean, and it needs the floor planned for it.
• Glass. A frameless door looks the cleanest; a black-framed sliding door suits a narrower opening; a fixed panel with an open end needs no door at all.
• Floor tile. Small tiles or pebbles give the floor grip and let it slope to the drain; large polished tile is slippery when wet.
• Niche, shelves and bench. Built into the waterproofed walls, not screwed on afterwards, so there is nothing to leak around.
• Grab bars. Even if you do not want them yet, blocking behind the tile is easy to add now and lets them go in later without opening the wall.

What we find under the old tub

A tub that has been leaking at the drain or along the surround leaves a soft subfloor and sometimes a rotted joist end. That only shows once the tub is out, so we show it to you the same day and price the repair before we fix it. In older Philadelphia rowhomes and postwar houses the drain line is often cast iron, and this is the cheapest moment to replace the section the shower ties into.

Not sure a shower is right?

Our guide to walk-in shower or tub covers resale, kids, bathing and safety. If the room needs more than the shower changed, the full bathroom remodeling page covers vanities, floors, lighting and layout changes; a conversion is often the first part of that job.

We convert tubs to showers in Philadelphia, through Bucks and Montgomery Counties and over the river in South Jersey. Request a free estimate with a photo of the tub and we will come back with a written scope.