Tub-to-shower conversion in Calgary
Step over three and a half inches instead of sixteen. The old tub comes out, a low-threshold base and grout-free walls go in, and most conversions are finished in one to one and a half days.
Days on site
The half day is the base setting and levelling.
Step-in height
Down from roughly sixteen on a standard tub.
Grout lines
Nothing in the field of the wall for hard water to attack.
Year warranty
Written, and it transfers if you sell.
When a conversion makes sense — and when it doesn't
We would rather tell you at the measure than have you find out afterwards.
It's usually the right call when
- The tub is never used as a tub — it's a shower you happen to climb into.
- Getting in and out has started to feel unsafe, or you're planning ahead for that.
- The surround is fibreglass, cracked, chalky, or the grout has been re-done twice already.
- There's another bathtub elsewhere in the house.
- You want the bathroom usable again this week, not next month.
Worth pausing on when
- It's the only tub in the house and you may sell within a few years.
- Small children still get bathed in it.
- You want fully curbless but the bathroom sits on a concrete slab.
- The floor already flexes or feels soft — that gets fixed first, separately.
Four shapes, all on the same wall system
Which one fits is decided by the alcove you already have and where the drain sits.
What a conversion day actually looks like
Silicone cures overnight, so the shower is ready to use the following morning. If glass doors are part of the job they're measured on install day and fitted two to three weeks later — the shower is fully usable with a curtain in the meantime.
Quoted before we start, not after
- Demolition of the tub and surround, plus removal and disposal.
- Inspection of what's behind the wall, and a call to you if it isn't sound.
- The shower base, set and levelled, connected to the existing drain.
- Tile-less wall panels, corner shelves and a niche where the wall allows.
- Valve, shower head, hand shower and grab bars as specified.
- Site protection, cleanup, and the 20-year written warranty.
Priced separately, and always shown separately: moving the drain, repairing rot or a soft floor, electrical work, and glass doors. Nothing gets added to the invoice that wasn't discussed with you first.
Permits, drains and hard water
A like-for-like conversion inside the existing alcove, reusing the same drain, generally doesn't need a building permit. The moment the drain moves — commonly for a curbless base — a plumbing permit usually does apply, and that's a licensed plumber and an inspection. We confirm with the City of Calgary or the relevant MD before booking the date.
Calgary's water is hard, which is the practical argument against grout. Mineral scale settles into the joints, then stains, then needs re-sealing every couple of springs, and eventually a joint fails and lets water behind the wall. A panel system has no joints in the field of the wall to do that.
If this is about staying in the house
Most of the conversions we do are not renovations — they're someone deciding they'd rather not climb over a tub wall any more. That changes what matters: the step height, where the grab bars go, whether there's somewhere to sit, and whether the hand shower reaches.
Grab bars are anchored into blocking we add behind the wall while it's open. That is the one part of this job that cannot be retrofitted cheaply later, so it's worth deciding on at the measure even if you don't feel you need them yet.
Tub-to-shower, specifically
How long does a tub-to-shower conversion actually take?
One to one and a half days. A straight tub-for-tub swap is a single day, but a conversion adds a step: the shower base has to be set, levelled and left to sit before the walls go on. That's the half day.
It runs longer than that only in two situations — we open the wall and find rot or old water damage, or the drain has to move far enough to need a plumber and an inspection. Both are things we tell you about the moment we see them, not at the end.
Do I need a permit in Calgary to convert a tub to a shower?
It depends on whether the plumbing moves. A conversion that reuses the existing drain and supply in the same alcove generally doesn't need one. Move the drain — which a curbless or a repositioned base often requires — and a plumbing permit usually does apply.
We tell you which side of that line your bathroom falls on at the free measure, and we confirm with the City of Calgary or the relevant municipal district before we book the install date.
Will removing my only bathtub hurt resale value?
It can, and it's worth thinking about honestly. The general guidance from realtors is to keep at least one bathtub in the house — buyers with small children look for one. If the tub you want gone is the only one, say so at the measure and we'll talk it through rather than talk you into it.
If you have a second bathroom with a tub, or the tub in question is an ensuite that never gets used, that concern largely goes away.
Can you do a curbless, roll-in shower?
Sometimes. A curbless entry needs the drain to sit below the finished floor, which means there has to be room in the floor structure — the direction the joists run, and how much depth is under them, decides it. On a main floor over a basement it's often possible. On a slab it usually isn't without cutting concrete.
Where a true curbless isn't possible we fit a low-threshold base instead: a step of roughly 3½ inches rather than the sixteen or so you climb over now.
Is the wall system really scratch-proof?
No surface in a bathroom is. It is more scratch-resistant than acrylic and most tile alternatives, and it won't yellow in sunlight — but abrasive pads and scouring creams will mark it. Warm water and a soft cloth is genuinely all it needs, which is most of the point.
What happens to the old tub?
We demolish it, carry it out and take it away the same day — removal and disposal are in the quoted price, not added afterwards. You don't end up with a cast-iron tub on the driveway.
Not the shower you had in mind? We also do bathtub replacement, tile-less wall systems, custom glass and full bathroom renovations — same crew, same wall system, same fixed-price-in-writing approach.