The single most requested bathroom project in the Charleston area right now is taking out a tub and building a tiled walk-in shower in its place. It makes a small bathroom feel larger, it is easier to use as people age in their homes, and it is the change that most clearly separates a dated bathroom from a finished one. Here is how a conversion actually goes, from the first visit to the last bead of silicone, based on the way we build them.
Is a conversion the right call for your house?
Two questions first. Is this the only tub in the house? Real estate agents in Charleston will tell you a home with no tub at all can be harder to sell to families, so if the house has one bathroom, we talk it through. Second, what is the drain situation? A tub drain and a shower drain are in different places and sometimes different sizes, and moving a drain on a slab is more work than moving one over a crawlspace. We check both before we quote.
Day one: demolition
The tub, the surround, and the wall material around it come out. In a 1960s West Ashley ranch that usually means a cast iron tub, which is heavy, and tile set on mortar, which is slow. In a newer house in Wescott or Carolina Bay it is a fiberglass unit that comes out in an hour. Either way, demolition is the moment we learn what the walls have been hiding: soft framing near the drain, an old leak, a subfloor that has been wet. We stop, show you, and price any repair before it happens.
Day two: framing, plumbing and the pan
The shower footprint is framed, the valve is set at the right height, and if the design includes a niche or a bench, they are built now, because they have to be waterproofed as part of the assembly rather than cut in afterward. Then the pan goes in: a sloped base that directs every drop to the drain. This step is where cheap conversions fail. A flat pan, or one sloped the wrong way, means standing water and a shower that never fully dries.
Day three: waterproofing and the flood test
Cement board or a foam board system goes on the walls, and a bonded waterproofing membrane goes over the walls, the pan, the corners and every penetration. Then we plug the drain and flood the pan. It sits overnight. If the water line has not moved by morning, we tile. If it has, we find the leak now, while it costs an hour, not in year three, when it costs a bathroom. In Charleston humidity, this is not an optional step.
Days four and five: tile
Wall tile is laid out from the focal point so cuts land in the corners, and the floor mosaic is set with the slope. Large-format porcelain is the most common request for walls, with a porcelain mosaic on the floor for grip. Grout follows once the thinset has cured, then the change-of-plane joints get silicone rather than grout so they can move without cracking. Our tile installation page goes into the materials in more detail.
Day six: glass, fixtures and handover
The shower head, controls and trim go in, and the glass is measured for a frameless door, which typically arrives a week or two later because it is cut to the finished opening. We walk the bathroom with you, explain how to care for the grout, and put the warranty in writing.
How long a conversion takes and what changes it
A straightforward conversion in the same footprint runs three to five working days of on-site labor, plus the wait for glass. Moving the drain, replacing rotted framing, or enlarging the footprint into a closet can add one to three days. We give you a day count in the proposal and tell you before anything changes it.
Details worth deciding early
Curb or curbless. A curbless shower is beautiful and is the right choice for aging in place, but it requires the floor to be recessed or built up, which is easier over a crawlspace than on a slab.
Niche placement. A niche should sit where the studs allow and where it will not be visible from the door. Deciding this on day one saves rework.
Bench. A built-in bench is worth the extra tile. It is waterproofed with the walls and sloped so it drains.
Ventilation. If the bathroom fan is undersized or vents into the attic, this is the time to fix it. A tiled shower in a badly vented Charleston bathroom will show it in the grout within a couple of years.
Where we build them
We do tub-to-shower conversions across the metro, including Mount Pleasant, Summerville, North Charleston, West Ashley, Johns Island and Daniel Island. Start with our bathroom remodeling in Charleston page or request a free consultation.
WS Flooring is a licensed and insured bathroom remodeling and tile contractor in Charleston, SC. Every remodel includes waterproofing, a flood-tested pan and a 1-year labor warranty.