What You’ll Pay for a Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Iona and How Long It Takes
A tub-to-shower conversion in Iona typically runs $3,500 to $10,000, with most standard replacements landing around $6,000. The job itself takes 3 to 5 working days once materials are on site. That number climbs when we have to move a drain, reframe a wall that sat behind the old tub, or bring waterproofing up to Lee County’s current code. Call (844) 638-7249 and we’ll walk through your bathroom’s actual footprint and give you a fixed price, not a rough guess.
How We Take a Tub Out and Put a Walk-In Shower In, Step by Step
The sequence matters. Rushing demo before the shower base is on site is how a bathroom sits unusable for two weeks. Here’s how we run it from the first morning to the final walkthrough.
Day 1 - Shut-off and demolition. We kill water to the bathroom, pull the old tub, and open the wet wall to expose the plumbing. This is when we confirm whether the existing drain location, valve height, and supply lines work for the new shower configuration. If the tub sat in a 60-inch alcove and the new shower base uses the same footprint, we stay on schedule. If we find water damage in the subfloor or a cast-iron drain that needs replacing, we stop and give you an exact change-order number before proceeding, never after the fact.
Day 2 - Rough plumbing and waterproof substrate. The valve gets moved or upgraded, the drain is centered for the new shower pan, and we install cement backer board on every wall surface that will see tile. Lee County inspectors want to see the waterproofing membrane and the pan set before we close the wall, so we schedule that inspection now. Homeowners in Iona who are part of a larger Bathroom Remodeling in Iona scope often add niche framing and bench blocking at this stage since the wall is already open.
Day 3 - Waterproofing and tile substrate. We roll on a liquid-applied membrane over the entire shower area, including seams and fastener heads. This is where cheap conversions skip steps: a properly waterproofed shower in Iona’s humidity needs the membrane to extend at least to the showerhead height and to wrap the curb or threshold. Once it cures, tile setting begins. Wall tile goes up first, then the shower floor, then grout the following morning.
Day 4 - Grout, fixture trim, and glass measure. Grout gets packed and tooled, and we install the shower valve trim, showerhead, and any body sprays or handhelds. If you chose a framed or frameless glass enclosure, our glass subcontractor comes to laser-measure the opening. Glass fabrication takes 7 to 10 days, so we install a temporary rod and curtain so the shower is fully usable that evening.
Day 5 - Final trim and punch-out. Once the glass arrives we set it in place, silicone all joints, and run the shower to check drainage and pressure. We walk the job with you and hand over a written care sheet for the tile and glass finish you selected. The whole process, start to finish, rarely exceeds two weeks even with the glass lead time baked in.
The Decisions You’ll Make Before We Start
A tub-to-shower conversion isn’t one product. It’s a stack of choices, and each one changes the final number and how the shower holds up in Iona’s humidity. Here are the ones that matter most.
- Shower base vs. tile floor. A solid-surface or acrylic shower pan costs less, installs in hours, and never needs resealing. A tile floor with a mud-set slope feels custom underfoot and lets you pick a mosaic that matches the wall tile. The trade-off is maintenance: grout lines on a shower floor in Iona’s climate need annual sealing or they’ll eventually wick moisture.
- Wall surround material. Acrylic or cultured-marble panels are the most budget-friendly and the easiest to clean, but your color and pattern options are limited. Glazed ceramic or porcelain tile gives you full design freedom, and large-format tiles mean fewer grout lines. Natural stone looks beautiful but demands more upkeep in hard water. We source tile through brands our Bathroom Remodeling crew uses daily, not whatever is on sale at a big-box store.
- Valve and showerhead configuration. A single-handle pressure-balance valve and a fixed showerhead get the job done. Adding a handheld on a slide bar, a rainfall head, or body jets means a larger valve with volume controls and more plumbing in the wall. The upgrade is genuinely useful, but it adds $400 to $900 in parts and labor before you pick the first finish.
- Glass enclosure style. Framed glass costs less and is more forgiving of slightly out-of-plumb walls, which we see often in Iona’s older concrete-block homes. Frameless heavy-glass doors look cleaner and show off the tile, but the panels are heavier, the hardware is pricier, and the install tolerances are tighter.
- Storage and accessories. A recessed niche for shampoo bottles, a corner bench, a grab bar blocking - all easier to frame during the rough-in than to add later. We recommend at least one niche and blocking for a future grab bar in every shower we build.
What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Costs in Iona, FL
You’ll see $3,500 on the low end and $10,000 on the high end for a tub-to-shower conversion in Iona. Most of our work falls between $5,500 and $7,500 for a standard 60-inch alcove conversion with a new acrylic pan, tile surround, valve trim, and a framed glass door. Here’s what pushes the number in either direction.
Size and configuration are the biggest levers. A standard 30-by-60-inch alcove is the least expensive footprint because the drain and supply lines stay where they are. Widening the opening or converting a corner tub into a walk-in shower means reconfiguring the floor framing, moving the drain, and often relocating a vent stack, all of which add $1,200 to $2,500 in plumbing and carpentry.
The condition of what is behind the old tub matters. Iona homes built in the 1970s through early 1990s often have drywall behind the original fiberglass tub surround, not cement board. Once we open that wall, any sign of mold or rot means we replace the affected studs and sill plate. That discovery adds $400 to $1,100 and a day on site. We show you what we found before we touch anything, and the number doesn’t change unless you approve it.
Material grade drives the rest. Builder-grade ceramic tile and a basic chrome valve trim keep costs down. Stepping up to large-format porcelain, a frameless glass enclosure, and a thermostatic valve with a rain head moves you toward the upper end. Every written estimate from Groundwork Construction Co. has line-item pricing, so you see exactly what each choice costs and what’s included: demolition and disposal, rough plumbing, waterproofing, tile and setting materials, fixture installation, glass, and a final inspection.
What is rarely included in a bare-minimum bid and always included in ours: a building permit pulled through Lee County, floodplain verification if your Iona lot requires it, a waterproofing warranty that means something, and a cleanup that doesn’t leave tile scraps in your driveway.
Why Iona Homes Change the Way We Approach This Job
Iona sits on finger canals off the Caloosahatchee River estuary, and the housing stock reflects it: mostly 1970s-to-1990s concrete-block homes on slab, many of them at elevations that Hurricane Ian exposed as too low. That changes what we find when we pull a tub. The original slab-on-grade bathrooms in Iona often have plumbing chases that run through the floor rather than the wall, so moving a drain isn’t just cutting a hole - it can mean core-drilling through concrete and re-routing below the slab, which takes longer and triggers a Lee County plumbing inspection.
Permitting runs through Lee County Building Department, not a city municipality. Post-Ian, the department is still processing a backlog of substantial-improvement reviews, so we file early and factor the inspection schedule into our timeline. If your Iona property is in a flood zone and the conversion triggers the threshold for a substantial-improvement review, we coordinate with a marine engineer for the seawall certification that Lee County now requires on many canal-front lots. We’ve done it enough times that it is part of our pre-construction checklist, not a surprise that delays the job by three weeks.
The humidity here is relentless, and bathrooms that were originally built with a tub and a small exhaust fan often trap moisture against the drywall behind the old surround. We spec a waterproofing system designed for this climate every single time, because a shower that passes inspection but fails two wet seasons later is not a job we want our name on. Homeowners in Iona who are also planning exterior work sometimes pair this conversion with a Metal Roofing in Iona upgrade or a Tile Roofing in Iona replacement - when the house is getting hardened top to bottom, the bathroom scope often expands with it.
Serving Iona, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Iona area and know this community well, serving Iona, FL. 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 Iona
Yes. Lee County requires a plumbing permit any time a fixture is replaced or a drain is relocated. If we move a wall or alter the floor structure, a building permit is also required. We pull both and handle the inspections from rough-in to final. Unpermitted shower conversions are a problem when you sell the house, and in Iona’s post-Ian market, buyers and insurers are checking for exactly that.
Three to five working days for the construction, plus 7 to 10 days for glass fabrication if you choose a custom enclosure. The shower is fully functional the day we set the temporary curtain, so you are never without a working bathroom. Permitting and material ordering add about two weeks on the front end, which is why we recommend calling (844) 638-7249 at least three to four weeks before you want the job finished.
In most standard alcove tubs, yes. The drain and supply lines stay in their existing locations if the new shower base uses the same footprint. The tub spout gets capped, the valve height is often adjusted for a shower-only setup, and the drain is reconfigured from a tub waste-and-overflow to a shower drain. This is the most affordable and fastest version of the job. Call us for a free on-site measure and we’ll tell you within 30 minutes whether your layout is a direct-fit conversion or needs plumbing changes.
$3,500 to $10,000, with $5,500 to $7,500 covering a well-appointed conversion with tile, a new valve, and glass. The low end reflects a direct-fit acrylic pan, simple wall panels, and a curtain. The high end covers custom tile work, a frameless glass enclosure, plumbing relocation, and higher-end fixtures. Our estimate is line-itemed so you see exactly where every dollar lands, and it’s a fixed price - the number we quote is the number you pay.
Every conversion we do in Iona is covered by our 730-Day Done Right Promise. If something is not right with the installation, the waterproofing, or the tile work, we make it right at no charge. That is one of the longest workmanship guarantees you’ll find on a residential bathroom job in Lee County, and it is backed in writing. The materials and fixtures carry their own manufacturer warranties, which we register for you at completion.
Get a Fixed-Price Quote for Your Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Iona
The fastest way to get a real number is to have us come see the bathroom. We’ll measure the alcove, check what is behind the tub access panel, and give you a written estimate that lays out every line item. No rough ranges and no surprise change orders. Call (844) 638-7249 and you’ll reach a live person who can book a walkthrough in Iona, usually within a few days. The estimate is free, the advice is honest, and the work comes with a guarantee that actually means something.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Iona, FL.