If your bathtub mostly collects dust — or laundry — you are not alone. All over Evansville, homeowners are pulling out old tubs and replacing them with walk-in custom tile showers. The change is one of the most popular bathroom upgrades we build at River City Flooring Pros, and for good reason: a walk-in shower is easier to use, easier to clean, and it makes the whole bathroom feel bigger.
Here is what a tub-to-shower conversion actually involves.
Why Homeowners Are Ditching the Tub
Most of the tubs we remove are rarely used for soaking. They take up a lot of floor space, they are hard to step into and out of, and the fiberglass surround around them is often stained, cracked, or hiding water damage behind it.
A walk-in tile shower fixes all of that at once:
No high wall to climb over. You walk straight in, which is easier on knees, hips, and backs.
More usable space. The same footprint feels roomier without a tub wall boxing it in.
A cleaner look. Large-format tile and a glass panel open up the room in a way a tub surround never will.
Built for daily use. A shower you actually use every day beats a tub you use twice a year.
If you have another tub somewhere else in the house, giving up this one costs you nothing. And if you are planning to stay in your home long-term, a walk-in shower is one of the smartest aging-in-place upgrades you can make.
What the Conversion Looks Like
A tub-to-shower conversion follows the same one-week rhythm as any custom tile shower we build.
Day one is demo. The tub comes out, along with the old surround, tile, and any damaged drywall behind it. This is also when we see what is really going on behind the walls — old plumbing, water damage, or framing that needs attention. We fix what we find before anything new goes in.
Then comes plumbing and waterproofing. The drain usually moves, because a shower drain sits in a different spot than a tub drain. The shower valve gets set at a comfortable height, and the walls get a full waterproofing system — the same careful membrane and sealing work we use on every shower we build. A tile shower is only as good as what is underneath it, so this step never gets rushed.
Then the tile goes up. This is where the conversion starts to feel real. Homeowners usually pick a large-format tile for the walls — fewer grout lines, easier to wipe down — and a smaller, slip-resistant tile for the shower floor. A built-in niche for shampoo and soap is the single most-requested feature, and this is the time to add one.
Finally, glass and fixtures. A frameless or semi-frameless glass panel keeps the space open and lets the tile show. We install the shower head, valve trim, and any extras — a bench, a hand shower, a grab bar — and then we grout, seal, and clean up.
Most conversions are done in about a week, start to finish.
What About the Space Around the Shower?
Removing a tub often frees up more than just the shower footprint. The old tub deck and surround are gone, which means the bathroom can breathe a little. Some homeowners use the extra room for a wider shower — 60 inches is a comfortable width that fits most standard tub footprints. Others keep the shower the same size and gain a little floor space in front of it.
Either way, the finished bathroom almost always looks larger than it did before. Glass and light tile do a lot of the work.
What Does a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Cost?
A custom tile shower conversion in Evansville typically runs $7,000 to $8,000, which covers demo, plumbing, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, and glass. The final number depends on the size of the shower, the tile you choose, and whether the plumbing needs to move very far.
That is real money, and we do not pretend otherwise. But compare it with the cost of living with a bathroom you avoid using every morning, or with a tub that is quietly leaking into your subfloor. A conversion done right lasts for decades.
We give free estimates, and we put the number in writing before any work starts.
Before and After: What Changes
Before: A dated tub and surround, a shower curtain that never quite stays clean, a high step-in, and a bathroom that feels small and closed-in.
After: A walk-in tile shower with clean lines, a niche that holds everything within reach, glass that opens up the room, and a floor that is easy to keep clean. The bathroom looks bigger, feels newer, and works better every single day.
That is the change we hear about most from homeowners after a conversion: not just that the shower looks nice, but that the whole bathroom finally feels right.
Is a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Right for You?
It usually is if:
You shower far more than you soak.
Stepping over the tub wall has gotten harder.
Your tub or surround is stained, cracked, or damaged.
You want the bathroom to feel bigger without adding square footage.
You have another tub in the house, or you simply do not need one.
If you are selling soon, a walk-in shower is also a strong selling point — buyers notice a modern tiled shower the moment they walk into the bathroom.
Ready to Lose the Tub?
River City Flooring Pros builds custom tile showers across Evansville, IN. One week, one crew, one shower built to last — with honest pricing and a free estimate up front.
Call (812) 454-1631 or visit rivercityflooringpros.com to get started. Tell us about your tub, and we will tell you what your new shower could look like.
