What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Buckingham Actually Costs and How Long It Takes
A tub-to-shower conversion in Buckingham typically runs between $3,500 and $10,000, with most jobs finishing inside five to seven working days. That range covers everything from a basic acrylic shower swap on an existing drain footprint to a fully custom tile shower with new plumbing, frameless glass, and built-in storage. The job itself is straightforward in concept: we remove the old bathtub, prep the subfloor and walls, and install a walk-in shower in that same space. Call (844) 638-7249 to get a fixed-price written estimate for your specific bathroom. You’ll know the exact number before you commit to anything.
How We Handle a Tub-to-Shower Conversion, Stage by Stage
Most homeowners haven’t watched this job get done before, so walking through the sequence helps. A tub-to-shower conversion is not a one-day cosmetic swap; it is a sequenced remodel that moves from demolition to dry-out to waterproofing to finish work. Here is how we run it, and what you will be deciding at each step.
Day 1: Demolition and subfloor inspection
The crew removes the existing tub, surround, and wall finishes down to the studs. This takes four to six hours in a standard five-foot alcove. Once the tub is out, we inspect the subfloor and floor joists directly beneath the drain. In Buckingham homes built before 1990, we regularly find subfloor rot around the old drain opening; southwest Florida humidity and decades of minor splash-out degrade plywood faster than most people realize. If we find damage, we discuss it with you on the spot, show you photos, and provide a change-order price before any new lumber goes in. This is the single most important checkpoint in the entire project, and skipping it is what causes tile cracks and leaks in cheap conversions.
Day 2: Rough plumbing and shower base
We relocate the drain from the tub position to the center of the shower footprint, adjust the water supply lines if you want a different valve height or rain-head location, and set the shower pan. The pan type depends on what you chose at the estimate stage: a pre-sloped acrylic base goes in fast and cures the same day; a mortar-bed base for tile floors needs 24 to 36 hours to cure before anyone walks on it. The plumbing rough-in gets inspected by Lee County at this stage if the job pulls a permit, which it nearly always does when we move drain lines.
Day 3: Wall board, waterproofing, and niche framing
We hang cement board (never greenboard; greenboard fails in wet Southwest Florida air within a few years), tape and mud the seams, and apply a full-coverage liquid waterproofing membrane across the entire shower footprint, floor to ceiling. Built-in niches for shampoo and soap get framed, waterproofed, and sloped at this stage so water drains out, not in. This day looks quiet from the outside: the crew is sealing the envelope and the real protection work is happening behind the wall.
Day 4-5: Tile, grout, and fixture trim
Tile goes up, grout goes in, and the shower valve trim, showerhead, and any hand-shower bar get installed. If you chose large-format tile (12×24 or larger), the installer needs a full day just for tile setting because those slabs are heavy and require near-perfect substrate flatness. Grout cures overnight. On day five, we install the glass enclosure, which in Buckingham is almost always a custom-measured frameless panel or door because standard framed bypass doors do not hold up well against the mineral content in Lee County well water.
Day 6-7: Final trim, caulking, and cleanup
We install the shower door seals, caulk all change-of-plane joints with 100% silicone, mount the shower controls, and run the water for a leak test. The bathroom gets a full job-site cleaning, the old tub and debris are hauled off, and we walk you through the finished shower in a five-minute handoff that covers care and maintenance. Your 730-Day Done Right Promise starts the day we finish.
The Options You’ll Choose For Your Shower
Every tub-to-shower conversion involves decisions that push the final look, durability, and price in different directions. Here are the real trade-offs, not a glossy catalog.
- Acrylic shower system vs. custom tile. A three-piece or four-piece acrylic wall-and-pan system costs less, installs in one day, and is virtually maintenance-free. The trade-off is fewer size and color choices and a simpler look. Custom tile (ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone) lets you pick the exact finish, pattern, and accent band, and it costs $1,800 to $4,500 more depending on tile grade and square footage. Tile showers also need annual grout maintenance; acrylic systems do not.
- Shower pan material. Acrylic pans are durable, non-porous, and easy to clean. A tile-over-mortar pan gives you a seamless floor that matches the wall tile, but it costs more in labor and requires careful slope work to drain correctly. We build mortar pans with a bonded waterproofing layer so water never reaches the subfloor, even if grout cracks.
- Glass enclosure style. Frameless heavy-glass panels and doors, typically 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch thick, give a clean sightline and are easier to squeegee. Framed or semi-frameless enclosures cost $400 to $800 less but have more metal track where soap scum collects. For Buckingham well-water homes, frameless is the more practical long-term choice: fewer crevices where iron and calcium deposits build up.
- Valve and showerhead configuration. A single-function pressure-balance valve with a fixed showerhead is the base spec. Adding a hand-shower on a slide bar, a rain head, or a diverter for multiple outlets increases the plumbing rough-in cost and your fixture budget. We rough the valve in for your exact trim kit during day two, so this decision locks in at the estimate stage.
- Built-in storage. Recessed niches are standard in our conversions. The question is how many and where: a single horizontal niche at shoulder height costs less than two vertical niches flanking the valve wall, but the second niche changes how the tile layout flows and adds a half-day of waterproofing and tile-cutting. We price niches as a line item so you see exactly what each one costs.
What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Costs in Buckingham, FL
Tub-to-shower conversions in Buckingham land between $3,500 and $10,000 on a written, fixed-price estimate. The spread is real, and it is driven by four variables that show up differently in every bathroom.
First, the existing drain location. If the new shower pan can reuse the tub drain with a simple adapter, plumbing cost stays low. If we have to cut the slab or open the floor joists to move the drain, labor jumps and the permit scope changes. Second, the wall condition after demo. Water-damaged studs or termite-compromised framing, which we encounter in older Buckingham mobile and manufactured homes more often than in newer site-built houses, add a day of carpentry repair before waterproofing begins.
Third, the material tier. An acrylic direct-to-stud system with a standard valve trim is the low end of the range. Porcelain large-format tile, a mortar pan, a frameless glass enclosure, and a high-end fixture package from a brand like Kohler push toward the upper end. Fourth, accessibility features. If the conversion includes a curbless entry, grab-blocking behind the walls, or a fold-down seat, those add materials and one to two days of framing and waterproofing detail that a standard curb shower does not need.
Every estimate we write in Buckingham is a fixed line-item price. You see the cost for demolition, plumbing, waterproofing, tile or acrylic system, glass, fixtures, and cleanup separately. The number you sign is the number you pay. No change order gets written without your approval, and every change order is priced before work continues.
What Buckingham Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Buckingham is not suburbia, and its bathrooms do not remodel like a Cape Coral tract home or a Buckingham Wood Fence install. The community sits on large-acreage lots in unincorporated Lee County, with a housing stock that spans custom equestrian estates, ranch-style homes from the 1980s, and older manufactured homes on wells and septic. That mix creates a practical reality for tub-to-shower conversions that a contractor only learns by doing the work here.
First, permitting runs through Lee County directly, not through a municipal building department. That means the plumbing inspection for a drain relocation follows county workflow timelines and requires the same wind-mitigation awareness that the rest of the structure already lives under. Second, roughly half of the bathrooms we convert in Buckingham are on private well water. Wells in this part of Lee County pull from the water-table aquifer, which is moderately hard and carries dissolved iron. That iron stains acrylic and grout over time, so material choice matters here more than it does on municipal water: glass enclosures benefit from a protective coating, and epoxy grout is worth the upcharge for tile showers because it resists iron staining far better than cementitious grout. Third, older manufactured homes often frame bathroom walls with 2×3 studs instead of 2×4, which changes how we mount grab-blocking and shower valve rough-ins. We adjust the framing detail on day one so the finished valve trim sits flush against whatever wall assembly the home has.
We also see homes off Orange River Boulevard and along Buckingham Road where the original tub was installed before modern waterproofing standards existed, and the subfloor beneath the drain shows exactly what decades of slow seepage do to plywood in this climate. That is not a Buckingham problem alone, but the age of the housing stock here concentrates it. We budget for subfloor repair on any conversion in a home built before 2000, and we show you the subfloor before we cover it back up.
Serving Buckingham, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Buckingham 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 Questions About Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Buckingham
Five to seven working days from demolition to final walkthrough. The exact duration depends on whether we are doing a direct-to-stud acrylic system or a full custom tile shower with a mortar pan. Tile showers need cure time for the pan and grout; acrylic systems do not. Permitting with Lee County can add a day or two to the schedule for the plumbing rough-in inspection, and we build that buffer into the timeline we give you at the estimate.
In unincorporated Lee County, a tub-to-shower conversion requires a plumbing permit if we move the drain or alter the water supply lines inside the wall. A simple direct-replacement acrylic system that reuses the existing drain location may not trigger a permit, but we default to pulling one whenever the plumbing changes because the inspection protects you and documents that the work meets code. We handle the permit application, schedule the inspection, and walk the inspector through the job.
Yes, in many Buckingham homes the existing tub drain can be adapted to a center-drain shower pan with a code-compliant offset fitting, and the valve can stay at its current height with a new trim kit. This keeps the plumbing cost down and often shortens the job by a day. We evaluate this during the on-site estimate and tell you whether your specific bathroom can avoid a drain move before we write the price.
Every tub-to-shower conversion we complete in Buckingham is covered by our 730-Day Done Right Promise: if it is not done right, we make it right, for two full years. That covers workmanship on the shower pan, waterproofing, tile setting, grout, glass installation, and plumbing connections. Fixture manufacturers carry their own warranties (Kohler, for example, covers valves and trim finishes under their standard terms), and we register those warranties for you at completion. If water ever leaks from the shower into the wall or floor cavity within the warranty period, we fix it on our dime.
The only reason a price changes is if we open the wall or floor and find damage that was not visible during the estimate: rotted subfloor, termite-compromised studs, or plumbing that violates current code. If that happens, we stop work, show you photos, and hand you a written change order with a fixed price before we touch the problem. We do not send surprise invoices at the end. Most Buckingham conversions finish at the original estimate number.
Get a Fixed-Price Estimate for Your Buckingham Tub-to-Shower Conversion
If you are ready to turn a tired bathtub into a walk-in shower that fits how you actually live, call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free on-site estimate. We will measure the bathroom, walk through the options for acrylic or tile, rough-in the plumbing scope, and hand you a written line-item quote, usually within 48 hours. No obligation, no pressure, and a live person answers the phone when you call. This is part of what we do inside a full Bathroom Remodeling in Buckingham, and our bathroom remodeling crew runs these conversions year-round across Buckingham.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co. of Fort Myers, serving Buckingham homeowners with fixed-price remodeling since 2014.