Replace the Tub with a Shower: What Could Go Wrong?

Would you like to hear a tragedy? A simple project, replacing a tub with a shower, spiraled into an ordeal without a happy ending.

How hard could it be? There was already a tub, just replace it with a shower. And replace the hard-to-clean tile around the tub with shower wall panels.

They ran into one problem after another. They smashed the tub and got it out. But when they put the shower base in, the drain was in the wrong place. So they had to figure out their own method to make the drain in the tub reach the pipe in the floor. Then the shower floor was smaller than the tub had been, so they had to find a way to cover up the area between where the tile ended at the edge of the old tub and the new narrower shower. They didn’t want to replace the tile, because they had only installed it a few years before. They hadn’t saved the leftovers and Lowes didn’t have it in stock anymore. So they found a similar tile on clearance. Then the shower side walls they were going to put in didn’t fit, so they had to tile the walls. There wasn’t enough of the clearance tile, so they found another tile that matched to finish the job.

The project cost about three times what they expected and now the new shower doesn’t drain well. I did not ask to see photos.

Measure First

Start by measuring. It is too late for them, but if it’s not too late for you, MEASURE FIRST!

Before you buy anything, measure and plan.

It’s not complicated. If all you want to do is replace a tub with a shower, find a shower that matches the dimensions of the tub you are replacing. Measure the width, length and drain location.

If you find that what you picked up doesn’t fit. STOP WORKING! Return it and find one that fits. Even if you have to spend twice as much and special order and wait and make an extra trip…. It is still a lot less effort than trying to make the wrong thing work.

Shower Pan  Sizes

Shower pans come in different materials. All of them come in different sizes. A LOT of different sizes.

Lowes website has shower pans in 30”, 32” 34” 36” 42”, 48”, and 60” by 36”, 42”, 48”, 60” and 72”. Kohler shows even more  shower base sizes available on their website.

Getpro Acrylic Shower Pans on Amazon

Shower Pan Materials

Acrylic

My friends had picked up an acrylic shower kit. Acrylic isn’t expensive. It’s durable. If it scratches, you can buff it out. The kit came with the shower base, walls and door. They said it only came in two sizes, 30” x 60” or 32” x 60”.

Lowes website says the exact same kit can be ordered in 36” x 60”. It may not have been in stock and it cost a little more, but worth it. So worth it. They come with right, left or center drain location. I would be surprised if the correct size shower base with the correct drain configuration didn’t solve the whole problem with the drain.

Acrylic Shower Kits on Amazon

Solid Surface, Engineered Stone, Stone Resin

Solid surface, like Corian) and Stone Resin Engineered Stone, like quartz are made from acrylic resins, minerals, and pigments. Engineered stone is made from natural stone and looks like stone.  These might be available in even more sizes than acrylic. The Onyx Collection has 89 standard sizes.

Cast Iron

I was surprised to find that Kohler still makes Cast Iron shower bases. The rectangular enameled cast iron shower base sizes come in 30”, 32”, 34” or 36” x 60”.  Other companies make it, but I did not find any other sizes.

Cut-to-Fit Shower Base

If none of these fit, or if the drain is still going to be in the wrong place, you can get a pre-sloped shower pan that can be trimmed on-site. They are available in Acrylic and Solid Surface or Stone Resin. They have a few inches of cut-able zone along the outer edge.

Trimslate Shower Bases “can be trimmed in the field to provide solutions to many custom applications. Once the base has been trimmed or ready for installation without modification, the flanges can be attached using screws and either silicone or epoxy to attach to the back and sides of the base.”

Tile Ready Base comes in a lot of different sizes, and you can buy cut-to-fit field-modifiable shower bases. They are sloped trays that can be cut to the exact size, then tiled.

Before you go to buy a shower (or tub)

You know how a remodel costs twice as much and takes twice as long? It really doesn’t have to.

Measure width, depth at the floor, where the pan will go.
Measure the drain location.
Measure the finished walls, not the studs.

And the walls? Tile was not the only choice. Solid surface and engineered stone panels, acrylic panels and laminated waterproof panels can all be cut to fit.

Featured images; left American Standard, right Kohler