Bathroom Renovations
Tub-to-Shower Conversions in Calgary
A tub-to-shower conversion isn't a swap. The wall behind the tub was never built to be a shower wall, and rebuilding it properly is the whole job.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
McAra Design + Build gives you a fixed price in writing before any work begins. The simplest version is a tiled shower built in the original tub's footprint, with the drain left where it is. Moving the drain, going curbless (no lip to step over), or adding a glass enclosure with a fixed panel and a door all raise the price.
The wall structure, the waterproof membrane and the grab bar backing are listed as separate line items, because they're the difference between a conversion that lasts twenty years and one that leaks into the floor joists in five.
What's involved
Out with the tub, and out with the wall behind it.
- 01Tub removal and disposal
- 02Replacing the wall structure
- 03Moving or adapting the drain
- 04Shower base or sloped mortar bed
- 05Waterproof membrane and corner detailing
- 06Grab bar backing
- 07Replacing the shower valve
- 08Tile and a recessed shelf (niche)
- 09Glass enclosure
- 10Permits and inspections
What we check that others don't
What we check that others don't.
- §1
What the wall behind the old tub surround is actually made of. Very often it's regular drywall, or greenboard (a slightly water-resistant drywall), neither of which is meant to go behind a shower. A proper conversion strips that back to the wall studs and rebuilds it with a tile backer board and a waterproof membrane. Tiling straight over what was behind the tub is the top reason we get called to fix someone else's conversion.
- §2
Whether the drain has to move, and what's under the floor. A tub drain sits at one end of the tub; a shower drain usually needs to be closer to the centre. Moving it means opening the floor and working between the joists, and what we find down there — the old trap, the condition of the joists, past leak damage — affects the price. We look before quoting.
- §3
Grab bar backing, installed now rather than later. Solid wood backing behind the tile costs almost nothing while the wall is already open, and it can't be added later without removing the tile. We install it wherever grab bars might go, whether or not you want them today, because the person who ends up needing them is often the person who said they never would.
- §4
The floor structure and the height of the finished shower base. A shower base or mortar bed changes the floor height and the step into the room. We work out the finished heights, the slope toward the drain and the clearance for the door before ordering any materials.
- §5
Whether this is the only tub left in the house. It matters for resale, and it matters more if there are young children in the picture. A house with no bathtub at all narrows the pool of buyers. If this would be the last tub, we tell you plainly so you can decide with that fact on the table, not after.
How long it takes
Two to three weeks on site.
Demolition, wall rebuilding and plumbing take the first week. Waterproofing, tile and grout run into the second week, with the drying time between stages built into the schedule rather than skipped.
Glass is measured after the tile is in and usually takes one to two weeks to arrive, so you can use the shower with a curtain in the meantime if you need to.
We put it in writing.
- A fixed price
- agreed before we start, and it doesn't move unless you change the scope.
- A completion date
- in the contract, not a range, not a best guess.
- A workmanship warranty
- if it fails because of how we installed it, we fix it. No argument, no invoice.
Most renovation guarantees are a paragraph of conditions. Ours is three commitments you can hold us to.
Questions people ask before they book.
- The base itself is the easy part of the job. What matters more is that the wall behind a tub was never built as a shower wall, so McAra Design + Build usually strips it back to the studs and rebuilds it with tile backer board and a proper waterproof membrane. That wall rebuild, not the base swap, is the real job.
- If the tub you're converting is the only one left, think it through first. A house with no bathtub narrows the pool of resale buyers and rules out most families with young children. McAra Design + Build tells you exactly where your house stands on tub count before the conversion, so you decide with that fact in hand.
- You need the backing installed now, even if the visible bars go up later. McAra Design + Build adds solid wood backing behind the tile while the wall is already open, at almost no extra cost, since backing can't be added afterward without removing finished tile. The grab bars themselves can go on whenever you actually want them.
Where this sits
This work is part of Bathroom Renovations.
People looking at this page usually look at Ensuite Renovations and Basement Bathrooms in the same conversation.
Get a free in-home quote.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
What are you planning?
Or call Chris directly: +1 (587) 837-3113