What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Gateway Actually Costs and Takes
A tub-to-shower conversion in Gateway, FL typically runs between $3,500 and $10,000 and most jobs take our crew three to five working days from demolition to the final silicone bead. That price covers pulling the old tub, prepping the floor and walls, installing a new shower pan or custom tiled base, waterproofing, tiling or solid-surface walls, and trimming out the valve and showerhead. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free on-site estimate with a real person, any time, day or night.
What Actually Happens When You Convert a Tub to a Shower
Homeowners who haven’t done this before usually picture a tile crew showing up and going to town. The reality is more sequenced, and each stage has a decision point attached. Here’s what the five days look like on a typical Gateway tub-to-shower conversion.
Day one: demolition and discovery. We pull the tub, cut back the wallboard to studs, and expose the subfloor. This is where we confirm whether the original 90s-era drain location works or needs to be moved. In Gateway’s concrete-slab-on-grade homes, moving a drain means cutting the slab, which adds a day and roughly $800 to $1,500 depending on how far the pipe shifts. You make the call on drain location right here before a single new board goes up.
Day two: rough plumbing and waterproofing. Our plumber sets the new shower valve and adjusts the drain. Then the critical layer goes in: a full waterproofing system, either a sheet membrane or a liquid-applied barrier with reinforced corners. Lee County inspectors verify the rough-in before we close the walls, so expect a brief visit sometime around this stage. You’ll choose your wall material now if you haven’t already.
Day three: shower pan and walls. For a custom tile floor, we build a sloped mortar bed that channels water precisely to the drain. Pre-fabricated acrylic or composite pans go in faster and cost less. Wall materials follow: large-format porcelain, ceramic subway tile, or solid-surface panels like Kohler’s Choreograph. Solid-surface walls go up in hours; floor-to-ceiling tile takes another day on its own.
Day four: tile and grout (when applicable). If you chose tile, our installer sets it on day three or four, then returns the next morning for grout. Every tile shower gets a perimeter silicone joint at the pan-to-wall transition, never grout, which cracks under slab movement. Nobody in Southwest Florida skips this on a concrete slab; we learned that the hard way two decades ago.
Day five: trim, glass, and final inspection. We install the showerhead, valve trim, and any handheld or rain-head accessories. If you’re doing a frameless glass enclosure, the glass contractor measures on day four or five and fabricates offsite, so the door install lands a week later. We walk the finished shower with you, explain the 730-Day Done Right Promise, and leave the bathroom broom-clean.
The Options You’ll Choose Between
Every Gateway tub-to-shower conversion comes down to a handful of material and configuration decisions. The right answers depend on who uses the shower, how long you’re staying in the home, and what the HOA requires (more on that below). Here are the choices with the trade-offs laid flat.
- Shower pan: prefabricated vs. custom tile. A pre-made acrylic or composite pan costs less, installs in hours, and won’t leak if the subfloor settles. A custom mortar-and-tile pan fits any footprint exactly and looks high-end, but costs $600 to $1,200 more and adds a full day to the schedule. For most of Gateway’s late-90s floorplans, a standard 60-inch pan drops right in.
- Walls: solid-surface panels vs. ceramic tile vs. porcelain tile. Solid-surface panels like the Kohler Choreograph system go up fast with no grout lines to scrub, running between $900 and $1,600 in materials for a standard shower. Ceramic subway tile is the budget-friendly classic, roughly $400 to $800 in material but labor-intensive. Large-format porcelain costs the most upfront, $1,200 to $2,800, but pays off in a near-seamless look and easier maintenance over the 15 to 20 years you’ll own it.
- Shower valve and trim. A pressure-balanced valve meets code and costs around $150 to $300. Stepping up to a thermostatic valve with separate volume control, which lets you set temperature once and never fiddle with it, runs $400 to $900. The trim finish (chrome, brushed nickel, matte black) is purely aesthetic and usually doesn’t move the labor number.
- Showerhead configuration. A single fixed head is standard. Adding a handheld on a slide bar, a rain head, or both requires additional plumbing in the wall, typically $300 to $700 in labor, and you’ll want to decide this before the rough-in on day two.
- Glass enclosure: framed vs. frameless. A framed sliding door runs $500 to $900 installed. A frameless heavy-glass enclosure, 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch tempered, runs $1,400 to $2,800 and takes a week longer because the glass is cut to order. In Gateway’s compact villa-style bathrooms, a frameless panel often makes the room feel twice as large.
What Tub-to-Shower Conversion Costs in Gateway, FL
A straight tub-to-shower conversion where the drain and valve location stay exactly where they are, with a prefabricated pan and solid-surface walls, typically lands between $3,500 and $5,500 in Gateway. The same job with a custom tile pan, floor-to-ceiling porcelain, and a frameless glass enclosure pushes toward the $8,000 to $10,000 range. Our written estimate breaks out every line item so you see exactly what drives the number. No change orders show up mid-job unless you ask for something new.
Five variables move the price more than anything else. First, drain relocation on a concrete slab: cutting the floor and tying into the existing drain line adds $800 to $1,500. Second, moving the valve to a different wall, which runs $600 to $1,200 in a Gateway slab home where the plumbing is buried in concrete. Third, the wall material: tile is labor-heavy and adds $1,500 to $3,000 over solid-surface panels. Fourth, a frameless glass enclosure adds $1,400 to $2,800 over a curtain rod and a couple of shower hooks. Fifth, waterproofing scope: a full floor-to-ceiling membrane system costs more upfront but meets Lee County’s current code without question. The 730-Day Done Right Promise covers every inch of work, so you don’t pay for callbacks if something isn’t right.
We offer upfront pricing with no hidden surprises, and qualifying projects over $10,000 can combine 0% financing for 18 months with $1,000 off the total. For a standalone tub-to-shower conversion under $10,000, you still get the free on-site estimate and the same background-checked crew in uniform every morning.
What Gateway Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Gateway isn’t unincorporated Fort Myers. It’s a Community Development District with its own architectural review process, and that matters for a tub-to-shower conversion when the work touches anything visible to the outside or affects in-slab plumbing. The Gateway Architectural Review Committee requires approval before Lee County pulls the permit if the project changes the home’s footprint, exterior appearance, or drainage. A tub-to-shower swap inside an existing bathroom footprint rarely triggers a full ARC review by itself. But if your plan involves expanding a shower into closet space or moving a wall, even by a foot, you’re in review territory. Contractors who don’t know the CDD workflow submit to the county first, get flagged, and lose two weeks sorting it out. We file the right direction every time because we’ve done it here on Treeline Avenue, in Stoneybrook, and throughout the Gateway corridor.
The housing stock also shapes the job. Most Gateway bathrooms we open up were originally built between 1995 and 2005 with Carlton or Eljer fiberglass tubs set directly on the slab. The tub surrounds were often installed without a full waterproofing layer behind them, just moisture-resistant drywall. That was to code then. It isn’t now. When we strip those old surrounds, we’re frequently the first people to apply a real waterproofing membrane to those walls in 25 years. If that original drywall shows any mold from a slow showerhead leak that nobody noticed for a decade, remediation adds a few hundred dollars and a half-day, and we show you photos before we cover anything up.
Lee County building code governs the plumbing and waterproofing inspection, and inspectors here look specifically at the shower pan flood test and the valve pressure test before signing off. We schedule those inspections so they don’t delay your job. After Hurricane Ian, permit turnaround times in Lee County stretched out, and while they’ve improved since 2023, we still build a two-day cushion into every project timeline for the inspection call. Nobody likes a finished shower they can’t use while waiting on a green tag.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Gateway
Three to five working days for the construction itself, plus up to a week if you’re adding a custom frameless glass enclosure that requires fabrication. Lee County plumbing inspection scheduling adds roughly one to two days to the total timeline for most Gateway projects. Call (844) 638-7249 with your target start date and we’ll map a schedule around it.
Yes. Lee County requires a plumbing permit any time the shower valve or drain piping is altered, which happens on virtually every tub-to-shower conversion. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and close it out. If the project expands the bathroom footprint, the Gateway Architectural Review Committee may also require approval before the county permit is issued, and we handle that paperwork as well.
In most Gateway bathrooms with a standard 60-inch tub alcove, the drain and valve can remain in their original positions. The tub drain is already at the correct location for a shower pan; we simply convert it from a 1-1/2-inch tub waste to a 2-inch shower drain per current code. If you want the valve moved to an adjacent wall for better access, that requires cutting the slab and adds to the cost. We’ll confirm during the free on-site estimate.
Between $3,500 and $10,000 depending on materials and whether any plumbing moves. A straightforward job with a prefabricated pan and solid-surface walls stays on the lower end. Custom tile and frameless glass push it higher. Every estimate is a written, line-item quote, not a vague range. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule yours.
Every tub-to-shower conversion we complete in Gateway is backed by our 730-Day Done Right Promise, one of the longest workmanship guarantees in residential construction. If something isn’t right two years out, we make it right. Manufacturer warranties on shower pans, valves, and tile vary by brand and are detailed in your estimate.
Start Your Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Gateway with a Free Estimate
You’ll get a real person on the phone at (844) 638-7249, day or night, who can book an on-site walkthrough at your Gateway home. We’ll take measurements, talk through your options, and hand you a written, line-item estimate before we leave. No vague numbers and no pressure. If you’re planning a larger project alongside the shower, our team also handles full Bathroom Remodeling in Gateway and can coordinate everything from tile to vanities in one scope of work. Some homeowners in Gateway pair a bathroom update with exterior work our crews handle as well, including Metal Roofing in Gateway and Tile Roofing in Gateway, so whatever your home needs, our Bathroom Remodeling specialists and the broader team here at Gateway are ready to walk you through it from foundation to finish line.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Gateway, FL homeowners with upfront pricing and a 730-Day Done Right Promise.