Bathtub to Shower Conversion in Arlington, MA
You want the tub gone and a shower you can step into without climbing over a ledge, and you want to know what that job actually involves before you call anyone. This page walks through how a bathtub to shower conversion runs in an Arlington bathroom, what it costs, and what you end up with.
Arlington’s housing stock is old. The median home here was built around 1931, and close to half the town’s homes went up before 1939. That means most of the tubs we pull out are cast iron, sitting on drain lines that are cast iron or galvanized steel and usually due for replacement on their own timeline anyway. We check the drain line and the subfloor before we quote the job, not after the wall is already open.
Why Arlington homeowners call us for bathtub to shower conversion
A lot of Arlington bathrooms were built to a small footprint, often five feet by seven feet or smaller, because that was standard for a single bathroom serving a family in a 1920s or 1930s house. Pulling a cast iron tub out of a room that size, without cracking the tile on the wall you’re keeping, takes a different approach than the same job in a newer house with more room to work in. In East Arlington and around the two-family and triple-decker streets, we also run into bathrooms stacked directly over a kitchen or a downstairs unit, which changes how we handle the drain relocation and the subfloor blocking for a grab bar. On anything built before 1980, we test for asbestos in the old tile mastic and adhesive before we start cutting, because a lot of it is there, and it changes how demo day goes.
What We Do
We do this work with our own crews, not subcontractors, so the people you meet at the estimate are the same ones back for demo day and through to trim. A bathtub to shower conversion with us includes:
- Removing the existing tub, surround, and any tile down to the studs or original plaster
- Testing for asbestos in old adhesive and mastic on pre-1980 tile jobs, and handling abatement if it comes back positive
- Inspecting and, where needed, replacing the drain line and shutoff valves before the new pan goes in
- Framing and setting a shower pan or a poured curb, sized to the room
- Installing cement board and a waterproofing membrane before any tile goes on
- Setting new tile or an acrylic surround, based on what you pick
- Installing a new shower valve, showerhead, and any niche or bench you've asked for
- Adding blocking behind the wall for a future grab bar, even if you don't want one installed now
- Confirming the bathroom has working exhaust ventilation, and adding a fan if it doesn't
Full scope and material options are on the service page.
