Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Lely Resort, FL: What It Costs & How It Works
A tub-to-shower conversion in Lely Resort typically runs between $3,500 and $10,000, with most jobs finishing in 3 to 5 working days. We pull the permit, handle the ARB application where your sub-association requires it, and walk you through every material choice before demolition starts. Call (844) 638-7249 to get a written estimate for your specific layout - there’s no cost and no obligation.
People make this switch for different reasons. Some want to step straight into the shower without climbing over a tub wall. Others have a master bath soaking tub that hasn’t been used in three years and are ready to reclaim that square footage. And in Lely Resort’s coach homes and villas, where secondary bathrooms ship with builder-grade fiberglass tub-shower combos that show their age after a decade of southwest Florida humidity, the conversion is often the most practical refresh you can make without gutting the whole room.
How We Convert a Tub to a Walk-In Shower in Lely Resort
Every job follows the same sequence, and you’ll know exactly where things stand at each stage. Here’s what the week looks like:
Day 1 - Demolition and drain assessment (4 to 6 hours). The tub gets removed, wall surrounds come down, and we expose the plumbing rough-in. This is the moment we confirm whether the existing drain line is in good shape and positioned where it needs to be for the shower pan you chose. In older Lely Resort villas built in the late ’90s, we sometimes find the original P-trap set deeper than current code likes - if that happens, we’ll walk you through the adjustment before we touch anything. The subfloor and studs get inspected for moisture damage. With CBS construction, the concrete slab under the tub is almost always solid, but we check for any past water intrusion that crept behind the fiberglass surround over the years.
Day 2 - Rough plumbing and waterproofing (full day). The shower valve gets relocated from tub height to shower height - roughly 48 inches off the floor - and the drain is centered for the new pan. If you’re adding a handheld slide bar or a second showerhead, that rough-in happens now. Then the walls get new cement backer board, seams are taped and mortared, and we apply a full-coverage waterproof membrane that ties into the shower pan flange. This is the step where a lot of crews cut corners. We don’t. A failed waterproofing job shows up two years later as mold behind the tile, and in Lely Resort’s wet-season humidity, it shows up fast.
Day 3 - Tile installation begins (1 to 2 days). Wall tile goes up first, with the layout dry-fit and adjusted so you’re not staring at a thin sliver of cut tile in the most visible corner. Floor tile follows the walls so the wall tile laps over the floor. Grout gets packed and tooled. If you chose a built-in niche or corner shelf, it gets framed with a slight pitch so water drains - never pools. Once grout sets, we seal everything with a penetrating sealer rated for the specific tile material you selected.
Day 4 - Fixture trim-out and glass enclosure measurement (3 to 5 hours). The shower valve trim, showerhead, and any body sprays or handhelds get installed and tested. The glass company comes to laser-measure the enclosure opening. This is the single step that can stretch the calendar: custom glass takes 7 to 10 days from measurement to install in the Fort Myers-Naples market. We install a temporary curtain rod so the shower is fully usable while you wait.
Day 5 (or final visit) - Glass install and final inspection. The enclosure goes in, all seams get siliconed, we run the shower for 15 minutes to verify drainage and check for leaks, and the Collier County inspector signs off if a permit was required. Then we walk the job with you, point out the waterproofing warranty coverage, and hand over the care sheet for your grout and tile.
The Options You’ll Choose Between
Every tub-to-shower conversion involves a handful of decisions. These are the ones that shape the cost and the final look:
- Shower pan vs. tiled floor. A prefabricated solid-surface or acrylic pan runs $400-$800 and installs in a few hours with near-zero long-term maintenance. A tiled shower floor with a mortar bed costs more - typically $1,200-$2,200 - and needs annual sealing, but gives you a seamless look and lets you match the wall tile exactly. For Lely Resort homeowners who plan to stay five-plus years, the tiled floor is the more common choice.
- Wall surround material. Large-format porcelain tile, 12×24 or bigger, is now the standard pick here. It reduces grout lines, stays cleaner, and costs $6-$14 per square foot installed. Acrylic or solid-surface wall panels run lower up-front but limit design flexibility. Natural stone and glass mosaic fall at the top end and require more maintenance in Florida’s hard water.
- Enclosure type. Frameless glass with a single swing door and an inline panel is the most-requested option, and usually the right one for a standard 60-inch tub opening. Sliding bypass doors work better where floor space is tight. A fixed panel with a walk-in opening - no door at all - has become popular in master bath conversions but needs a longer footprint to keep water inside the shower.
- Shower valve and fixtures. A pressure-balanced single-handle valve is the code minimum. Stepping up to a thermostatic valve with separate volume and temperature controls gives you consistent water temp regardless of what else is running in the house. Add a handheld on a slide bar, and you have a setup that actually works for rinsing the dog or cleaning the enclosure walls.
- Storage and seating. A recessed niche between the studs is the most cost-effective add - $300-$500 and no floor space lost. A corner bench or a fold-down teak seat adds function in a smaller footprint, while a full built-in bench requires more square footage and pushes the job toward the upper end of the price range.
What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Costs in Lely Resort, FL
A straightforward tub-to-shower conversion in Lely Resort lands between $3,500 and $10,000. The typical job - standard 60-inch alcove, porcelain tile walls, prefabricated pan, frameless glass enclosure - falls right around $5,500 to $7,500. That includes the plumbing relocation, the waterproofing system, the tile, the glass, and the permit closeout. The variables that push a job toward either end of that range come down to five things.
A job where you keep the exact drain location, use a stock-sized shower pan, pick a mid-grade porcelain tile, and go with a standard single-handle valve will land in the $3,500-$5,000 zone. A job where the drain has to be moved across the slab, the walls get wrapped in large-format porcelain or natural stone, the enclosure is custom frameless glass, and you’re adding a thermostatic valve with multiple sprays can push past the $8,000 mark. Once the footprint grows beyond the original tub alcove - knocking a wall back or stealing space from an adjacent closet - you’re looking at $10,000 or more because the scope crosses into small bathroom remodeling territory.
Every estimate from us comes as a written line-item quote. You’ll see the tub demolition, the plumbing rough-in, the waterproofing system, the tile labor and material broken out by square foot, the fixture allowance, the glass enclosure, and the permit fee. What you won’t see is a vague “miscellaneous” charge that balloons after we start. And we don’t hand you a change order unless you ask to change the spec. For a broader look at what projects can run in this area, see our Bathroom Remodeling in Lely Resort page - that covers the full-room scope, while this page is specifically the tub-to-shower path.
What Lely Resort Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Lely Resort’s housing stock - concrete block stucco construction built in phases from the mid-1990s through the 2010s - means the tub alcove you’re converting sits on a concrete slab, not a wood-framed floor. That’s good news structurally: there’s almost never rot or deflection to remediate. But moving a drain across a slab takes saw-cutting, and that’s a line item a contractor working in a wood-framed community wouldn’t need to write. The slab also transmits sound and vibration, so we set the shower pan in a mortar bed even when the pan manufacturer says it’s optional - it eliminates the hollow drumming sound that echoes through the block walls.
Permitting is the other Lely Resort factor that shapes the timeline. Collier County requires a plumbing permit for any shower valve relocation or drain modification, and the inspector will want to see the rough-in before the walls close. That’s straightforward. What catches some contractors off guard: if your sub-association’s Architectural Review Board classifies the conversion as a plumbing alteration - and some of the Lely Resort neighborhood associations do - you need ARB sign-off before the county permit can be closed. We handle that paperwork. It’s a bureaucratic step, not a construction delay, but only if the contractor knows to file it at the start. Our Lely Resort crew files these routinely.
The humidity here also drives a material choice that sounds small but matters: we specify epoxy grout on shower floors and urethane grout on walls, not standard cementitious grout. Cement grout wicks moisture in a coastal environment and develops efflorescence - that white chalky bloom - within the first year. Epoxy grout is impervious. It costs about $2 more per square foot and it’s worth every penny in a home a few miles from the Everglades fringe. Some homeowners in the community pair a bathroom update with exterior work - if you’re also considering the roofline, our Tile Roofing in Lely Resort and Metal Roofing in Lely Resort pages cover the ARB-approved roofing paths.
Serving Lely Resort, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lely Resort area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked - Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Lely Resort
The construction phase runs 3 to 5 working days. Demolition and plumbing rough-in take one day, waterproofing and tile installation run another 1 to 2 days, and fixture trim-out with glass measurement takes a fourth day. The glass enclosure itself adds 7 to 10 days for fabrication - the shower is usable during that wait with a temporary rod and curtain, so you’re not out of a bathroom. Call (844) 638-7249 and we can map the exact timeline for your job after a quick walkthrough.
Yes. Collier County requires a plumbing permit when the shower valve is relocated or the drain position changes - which happens on nearly every tub-to-shower conversion. The permit includes a rough-in inspection before the walls close and a final inspection after the fixture trim is complete. If your sub-association’s ARB also requires approval, we submit both applications at the same time so there’s no gap in the schedule. We pull the permit and coordinate the inspections; you won’t have to chase anyone.
The drain can often stay in its original position if the new shower pan is designed for a left- or right-hand drain location. The shower valve always moves up - it sits at roughly 48 inches off the floor, compared to the 24-to-30-inch height of a tub spout and handles. This is standard and doesn’t add significant cost. If you want the drain centered for a symmetrical look, that means cutting into the slab, which adds $500-$1,200 depending on how far it travels.
The range is $3,500 to $10,000, with most conversions landing between $5,500 and $7,500. The biggest cost drivers are whether the drain stays put or gets relocated, the grade of wall tile you choose, the shower pan material, and the glass enclosure configuration. A budget-friendly job with a stock acrylic pan, a single-handle valve, and standard porcelain tile starts around $3,500. A high-end version with a tiled floor, a thermostatic valve with multiple sprays, floor-to-ceiling tile, and a custom frameless enclosure reaches the top of the range. Our bathroom remodeling crew provides a line-item written estimate before you commit to anything.
We cover the workmanship under our 730-Day Done Right Promise - if something isn’t right, we make it right, full stop. The waterproofing system carries a manufacturer’s warranty that extends well beyond that, and the tile, fixtures, and glass enclosure each have their own manufacturer coverage. You’ll get the warranty documentation for every product we install, and we walk you through what’s covered under each one at the final walkthrough.
Get a Written Estimate for Your Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Lely Resort
Every estimate starts with a free on-site visit where we measure the alcove, discuss the options that fit your budget, and put everything in writing - no verbal ballpark, no surprises later. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule yours. You’ll get a live person on the phone, not a voicemail tree. We’ll set a time that works, walk the job with you, and hand you a quote that shows exactly what the number covers.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., bringing Bathroom Remodeling precision to Lely Resort homeowners since 2014.