Should You Swap Your Tub for a Shower? An Honest Look at the Tradeoffs

The happiest conversions we see share a pattern. The tub was used for storage, for bathing a dog or not at all. The household showers every day and wanted that daily routine to feel better.

Homeowners planning to stay put as they get older are another group. Stepping over a tub wall gets harder with a bad knee or hip, and a low-threshold shower with a bench and grab bars works well for decades.

• Couples or single adults who shower daily and rarely bathe
• Anyone with mobility, balance or joint concerns, now or ahead
• Hall baths with a cramped five-foot combo and a low shower head
• Primary suites with a rarely used garden tub eating floor space

A walk-in shower in the same footprint as a tub usually feels much larger, because the tub wall and curtain no longer chop the room in half. Glass opens the view across the whole bathroom.

It’s also easier to clean. One flat floor and a squeegee replace a tub ledge where soap scum and hard water scale build up. You also gain room for a niche, a bench, a handheld shower and better lighting.

Conversions do have costs beyond the invoice. These are the ones we make sure every homeowner hears before demolition starts.

• Bathing toddlers in a shower is harder, and some parents miss the tub fast.
• Removing the only tub in the house can narrow the pool of future buyers.
• A shower floor needs a properly sloped pan, which means more work than a tub drop-in.
• Glass enclosures need regular wiping in San Antonio’s hard water.
• There’s no place for a long soak after yard work or a sore back.

The common advice is to keep at least one bathtub in the house, and it’s sound. Many San Antonio buyers are families, especially in neighborhoods like Alamo Ranch, Converse and Cibolo where three- and four-bedroom homes are the norm. A house with no tub can still sell, but some buyers will cross it off quickly.

So the usual answer is to convert the bath you use most and leave a tub somewhere else. Converting a primary bath garden tub while keeping the hall bath tub covers both needs. If the hall bath is your only full bath, think twice before removing its tub.

The choice isn’t always all or nothing. A few options sit between keeping a dated tub combo and removing the tub completely, and they suit households that are split on the question.

In a primary suite with enough room, a freestanding tub beside a larger walk-in shower gives both, though it takes more floor space than most hall baths have. In a smaller room, a new deep soaking tub with a tiled surround and a glass panel instead of a curtain refreshes the combo without giving anything up. Some homeowners also choose a low-profile tub with a lower wall, which is easier to step over and still holds water for a child’s bath.

Another path is timing. If young kids will outgrow bath time in a few years, refresh the combo now and plan the conversion later. Ask us to rough in the plumbing for a future shower layout if the walls are open anyway, so the later job is simpler.

• Freestanding tub plus separate shower in a large primary bath
• New tub with tiled surround and fixed glass instead of a curtain
• Low-wall tub that is easier to step into
• Refresh now, convert later, with plumbing planned ahead

A tub drain sits at one end of the tub. A shower drain usually goes in the center of the floor or along a linear channel at the back. On a slab foundation, moving that drain even a couple of feet means cutting the concrete, trenching, re-sloping the line and patching the slab.

Sometimes we can keep the drain close to the old location with an offset drain or a linear drain along the end wall. Other times moving it is worth it for a better shower. We explain more in our guide on slab foundations and moving drains.

Most tub-to-shower conversions in San Antonio land between $11,850 and $27,400. That’s a planning range, not a quote, and a few decisions move it more than others.

• Keeping the drain in place versus moving it through the slab
• Tile height and size, from standard porcelain to floor-to-ceiling slab walls
• A curb versus a low-threshold or curbless entry
• A fixed glass panel versus a full hinged frameless door
• Add-ons like a bench, niche, grab bars, handheld wand and a new exhaust fan
• Repairs to rotted framing or subfloor found under the old tub

Most conversions take one to three weeks of work, plus time for glass to be measured and made after tile is set.

1. Design walkthrough: measure, check the drain and valve, and pick a layout.
2. Demolition: remove the tub, surround and damaged drywall or backer board.
3. Rough plumbing: set the new drain and valve, and get inspection if required.
4. Shower pan and waterproofing: slope the floor and seal walls and pan.
5. Tile: set floor and walls, then grout and seal.
6. Glass and trim: measure glass after tile, then install it with the fixtures.