What a tub-to-shower conversion in Tice actually costs and how long it takes
A tub-to-shower conversion in Tice runs between $3,500 and $10,000 for most homes, and the work takes three to five working days once the permit is issued. Cost and timeline both hinge on what we find when the tub comes out: whether the drain location works for the new shower pan, whether the subfloor has water damage, and whether the existing plumbing needs to be relocated rather than simply adapted. Call (844) 638-7249 for a free on-site estimate with a written line-item price, not a ballpark that drifts upward later.
How we take a Tice bathroom from tub to shower, step by step
The job always follows the same sequence. What changes is what we discover when we open the wall, and that is where the price moves. Here is the five-stage process we work through on every tub-to-shower conversion in Tice.
Stage 1: Demo and discovery (day 1, most of the morning). We pull the tub, the surround, and the first few feet of drywall or backerboard. On older Tice homes, this is when we learn whether moisture got behind the original installation. If the subfloor is soft or there is mold inside the wall cavity, we stop and show you exactly what we found and what the fix requires before we proceed. You decide that day whether to approve the additional scope. No one keeps working while you wonder what the bill looks like.
Stage 2: Rough-in and waterproofing (day 1, afternoon, through day 2). The plumber moves the drain to center the new shower pan when needed, and we set the new mixing valve and showerhead at the height you choose. On a straightforward conversion where we keep the same footprint, this goes fast. When the drain stack is in the wrong place or the existing valve does not meet current code, this stage eats the extra hours that separate a $3,500 job from a $7,000 one. We then hang cement board, tape the seams, and apply a full waterproofing system that will outlast the tile.
Stage 3: Tile and pan (days 2 through 4). The shower pan goes in first and needs to cure before tile work begins. Our crew sets the wall tile next, then the floor tile, then grout. At the end of day 4, the tile is up and curing. The homeowner makes two decisions before this stage starts: the tile itself, and the grout color. We bring samples to the estimate so those choices are settled before we order materials.
Stage 4: Glass, trim, and fixtures (day 4, afternoon, or day 5). While the grout cures, we install the shower door or glass panel, the showerhead, the valve trim, and any niche trim. If we are doing a frameless glass enclosure, the glass is measured on day 2 and fabricated off-site, so it arrives ready to hang. Curved or custom glass adds a few days to the back end.
Stage 5: Final walkthrough and the Done Right Promise (day 5). We silicone the seams, test the shower, and walk you through everything: how to care for the tile, what products to use and avoid, how to operate the valve. If anything is not right, we fix it then. And because Groundwork Construction Co. backs every tub-to-shower conversion with our 730-Day Done Right Promise, if something we installed fails workmanship in the next two years, we come back and make it right.
The options you’ll choose between for your Tice shower
Every tub-to-shower conversion in Tice lands on a handful of real decisions. There is no one-size setup, and the right choice depends on who uses the shower and how long you plan to stay in the home. Here are the main choices, with the honest trade-offs.
- Shower pan material. A prefabricated acrylic or composite pan runs $300-$600 and installs in hours. A custom tile pan with a mortar bed costs more in labor but allows you to match the floor to the wall tile and adjust the slope precisely. Tile pans are better for larger footprints; prefab pans make sense on a tighter budget or a guest bath that sees light use.
- Wall surround vs. full tile. A solid-surface surround costs less and cleans fast, and it is a smart pick for a rental or a bath where resale is not the priority. Full ceramic or porcelain tile costs more, lasts decades, and gives you far more design control. Most homeowners in Tice who plan to stay five years or longer choose tile.
- Shower door style. Framed doors are the budget option and work fine. Semi-frameless doors look cleaner and cost a few hundred more. A fully frameless glass enclosure with heavy tempered glass is the premium choice: it opens up a small bathroom visually, but it costs more and the glass needs more attention to keep water spots off in Tice’s hard water.
- Niche and bench configuration. A single recessed niche adds storage without eating floor space. A corner bench or a fold-down seat makes the shower usable for someone with mobility limits. Both are easier to add during a conversion than to retrofit later. We rough them in during stage 2, so you need to decide the layout before the backerboard goes up.
- Valve and showerhead type. Pressure-balance valves meet code at the base price point. Thermostatic valves keep temperature steady even when someone runs the washing machine or flushes a toilet, a real quality-of-life upgrade. A fixed showerhead is standard; a handheld on a slide bar adds flexibility for rinsing off or washing the dog.
What a tub-to-shower conversion costs in Tice, FL
A tub-to-shower conversion in Tice typically lands between $3,500 and $10,000, and most jobs we bid fall in the $5,000 to $7,500 range. That is a real spread, and it exists because the variables below push the number in one direction fast. We write every estimate as a line-item price, not a bundled lump sum, so you see exactly what each choice costs.
What moves the price. The biggest variable is whether we can reuse the existing drain location. Moving the drain means cutting into the slab, and that alone can add $800 to $1,500. Subfloor repair is the next wildcard: a rotted subfloor under an original 1960s tub is common in Tice homes and adds $400 to $900. Material grade is the third lever: a basic acrylic pan with a surround lands near the bottom of the range; a custom tile pan with floor-to-ceiling porcelain and a frameless glass door pushes toward the top. Permitting through Lee County adds $200 to $400 depending on the scope. Finally, relocating the valve or upgrading from a single-handle to a thermostatic system adds plumbing hours.
What is included in our written estimate. Every quote covers demolition and debris disposal, the shower pan, waterproofing, wall and floor tile or surround, the mixing valve and showerhead, the shower door or curtain rod, and all labor. The quote also includes the permit application fee and scheduled county inspections. What is not included is anything we cannot see until the walls are open: water-damaged framing, a cracked drain pipe, or corroded supply lines. When those show up, we walk you through the finding and the fix before we touch it.
What Tice homes specifically do to this job
Tice is unincorporated Lee County, which means every tub-to-shower conversion permit runs through the county building department in Fort Myers, not through a municipal office. Post-Ian permit backlogs have stretched inspection queues, so we pre-schedule the rough-in and final inspections when we file the permit application. If a contractor waits to call for inspection until the plumbing is roughed in, the job can stall for days or weeks waiting for a county inspector. We do not let that happen.
The housing stock here matters too. Most Tice homes are concrete-block construction from the 1950s through the 1970s, and the bathrooms were built with the materials and drainage logic of that era. The tub drain is often 1-1/2-inch galvanized pipe, not the 2-inch PVC a modern shower requires. That means a tub-to-shower conversion in Tice frequently triggers a drain-upgrade scope before the shower pan goes in. The sustained humidity in Lee County also means moisture that seeped behind a 50-year-old tub surround has had decades to degrade the wall cavity. We plan for subfloor and framing repair on roughly half the older Tice bathrooms we open, and we price the estimate so you are not blindsided if we find it.
For homeowners tackling a broader update, a tub-to-shower conversion often fits inside a full Bathroom Remodeling in Tice scope. Our Bathroom Remodeling crew handles the whole job end to end. Some clients in Tice pair the shower conversion with exterior work like Metal Roofing in Tice or Tile Roofing in Tice when they are upgrading the whole property. We coordinate the trades so the interior and exterior schedules do not fight each other.
Serving Tice, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
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Frequently asked: tub-to-shower conversion in Tice
Three to five working days after the permit is issued. Day 1 is demo and rough-in. Days 2 through 4 are waterproofing, tile, and pan installation. Day 5 is glass, trim, and final walkthrough. The Lee County inspection queue can add a day or two between the rough-in inspection and the tile work, but we pre-schedule both inspections at permit filing to keep the gap as short as possible.
Yes. Lee County requires a plumbing permit for any shower-pan and drain work, and the building department inspects both the rough-in and the final installation. We pull the permit as part of every conversion. Skipping the permit is illegal and risks a failed home inspection when you sell.
Often, yes. If the existing drain is centered in the tub footprint at 1-1/2 inches and the trap is in good condition, we can adapt it to the new shower pan with minimal plumbing work. But on many of the older Tice homes, the drain is offset, the pipe is undersized galvanized instead of PVC, or the trap is corroded, and that means cutting the slab to move and upsize the drain line. We will know which scenario you are in once the tub is out. Call (844) 638-7249 and we can talk through what your bathroom layout suggests before we even open a wall.
The most budget-conscious tub-to-shower conversion in Tice uses a prefabricated acrylic pan, a solid-surface surround instead of tile, a framed shower door, and keeps the existing drain location and valve position. That setup typically lands between $3,500 and $4,500. It gets you a functional, watertight shower without the labor cost of full tile work or slab cutting. The trade-off is fewer design choices and a shorter material lifespan compared to tile. For an exact price on your bathroom, call (844) 638-7249 and schedule a free estimate; we give you numbers for both the budget path and the tile path so you can decide.
Groundwork Construction Co. backs every tub-to-shower conversion with our 730-Day Done Right Promise. If a workmanship issue surfaces in the two years after we finish, we fix it. The tile, shower pan, valve, and glass also carry their own manufacturer warranties, which we walk you through at the final walkthrough. No fine print. No arguing about who is responsible.
Get a free, line-item estimate for your Tice tub-to-shower conversion
We will come to your Tice home, look at the bathroom, take measurements, talk through your options on tile and glass and hardware right then, and hand you a written price with every line broken out so you know exactly what you are paying for. No pressure. No number that changes when the crew shows up. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule your free estimate. A live person answers, day or night.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Tice and Lee County.