Our Cottage Grove crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Washington County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Looking to trade your deep water tub for an easy walk in space? Local pros come directly to your house to give a free quote on transforming your washroom setup fast.
Maybe you are tired of stepping over high porcelain walls every single morning... Honestly, high tub sides are just asking for a bad slip on wet floor tiles. By choosing a fresh standing wash area, you instantly eliminate those awkward gym moves just to take a quick rinse.
Actually, thousands of neighbors in Washington County are making this exact home upgrade right now. Besides making your routine much faster, it turns a tiny washroom into what feels like a giant spa. Moreover, your home value usually gets a nice little bump from a modern bathroom remodel.
Naturally, clean glass panels and low threshold bases just look way better than an old moldy curtain. On top of that, cleaning a giant deep wall basin is probably the worst weekend chore ever invented. So shifting over to smooth wall panels saves your aching lower back muscles every single week.
When you decide to modernize your space, you get tons of cool design choices to think about. For example, acrylic wall sheets look super slick and they never trap nasty mildew in tiny grout lines. Meanwhile, natural tile gives you that rich, high end custom finish if you want to spend a bit extra.
Suddenly, you have choices for built in seating, custom grab bars, and recessed shelving for your shampoos. Check out this simple comparison below to see what material fits your daily life and budget best:
| Material Type | Cleaning Effort | Overall Longevity |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic Shells | Super Low | Decades of Use |
| Custom Ceramic Tile | Medium Effort | Lifetime Toughness |
| Composite Stone | Very Low | Ultra Durable |
Likewise, picking the right door style completely changes how big your room actually feels inside. Sliding barn style glass doors save heaps of floor space in smaller rooms... While frameless glass hinged doors deliver that pure luxury hotel vibe you usually see on television.
Plus, textured non slip flooring gives you complete peace of mind while rinsing off after a long work day. Therefore, combining safety upgrades with cozy layout designs turns out to be a massive win for everyone at home.
Houses around here vary quite a bit depending on when your neighborhood was built. For instance, homes in the 55016 ZIP code zone often feature specific plumbing setups hidden behind double stud walls. Knowing these exact regional building quirks keeps your home improvement job moving along smoothly without scary surprise costs.
Furthermore, with a regional median household income around $95,453, local homeowners really care about long term quality and lasting property value. So investing in a durable water barrier system makes total sense for your house budget. After all, nobody wants a hidden leak slowly rotting out floor joists downstairs without anyone noticing.
In addition, our frosty northern winters mean you really need proper insulation put behind those newly exposed outer walls. Otherwise, drafty corners will make your morning routine feel like a cold camping trip in middle of January... Trust me, proper wall insulation makes all the difference when freezing winds hit your neighborhood.
First off, a friendly technician comes over to measure your exact wash space to see what fits best. Next, they listen to what features you want, like rainfall showerheads, handheld sprayers, or shiny chrome hardware finishes. Shortly after that initial visit, you get an exact written estimate with absolutely zero pushy sales tactics.
Once the actual work begins, technicians carefully tear out your clunky old basin down to the exposed wall framing. Honestly, watching that heavy, scratched up old metal tub get hauled down the stairs is extremely satisfying. Afterward, team members inspect all visible drain pipes and fix any hidden water damage right on the spot.
Finally, installers seal up your fresh waterproof panels, mount your chosen glass doors, and test every single plumbing connection. As a result, you get a beautiful, fully functional wash stall ready for action in just a couple days.
Perhaps you are planning to age comfortably in place, or maybe you just hate balancing on one slippery foot. Luckily, low profile walk in bases lower your entry hurdle down to just a couple tiny inches from the floor. Consequently, stepping in and out feels totally effortless for grandparents, energetic kids, and everyone else living under your roof.
Additionally, heavy duty grab bars don't have to look like a boring hospital room anymore. Modern options double as stylish towel racks, so your washroom keeps its high end aesthetic while boosting overall safety. Therefore, adding smart support features early protects your family from scary, unexpected bathroom falls down the line.
To illustrate, check out these practical add ons that make your daily wash routine way easier:
Indeed, choosing the right safety add ons creates a super comfortable environment tailored specifically to your daily lifestyle.
Believe it or not, filling up a massive soaking basin wastes a ridiculous amount of hot water every week. Alternatively, switching over to an efficient standing spray system uses a fraction of that total gallon volume per use. Ultimately, that means lower monthly utility bills and more hot water left over for your morning laundry loads.
What is more, modern low flow spray nozzles generate incredible water pressure without burning through precious natural resources. So you still get that invigorating, high pressure wash experience while saving money on your monthly bills.
Besides, spending less time waiting for a huge basin to fill up gives you extra minutes back every morning. Over a full year, those saved minutes really add up into hours of free time you get to keep.
Sometimes, eager homeowners try tackling a major plumbing swap as a DIY weekend project after watching quick internet videos. However, moving heavy iron basins and working inside tight plumbing walls almost always leads to crazy frustration and leaks. Frankly, one tiny mistake with an unsealed drain line can ruin your living room ceiling down below.
Another mistake is forgetting to check if your house exhaust fan pushes enough air out during hot showers. Without proper ventilation, heavy steam settles on painted surfaces, which creates unpleasant mildew growth behind wall corners over time.
Instead, working with trained installers guarantees your water lines, subfloors, and wall studs stay completely protected from moisture damage. Which means you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your brand new space without stressing about hidden structural disasters.
Ready to drop the high step barrier and upgrade your boring wash area into something truly awesome? Our team is right here in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, serving all 36,221 residents across the whole area with top quality craftsmanship.
Why keep struggling with an outdated, hard to clean basin when your dream setup is just one click away? Contact us right now to set up your easy, no pressure home consultation completely free of charge. You will get clear pricing, great design ideas, and expert advice tailored specifically to your house layout.
Count the baths your household actually ran last year. In most homes we visit, the honest number is somewhere between zero and three, and yet every single morning somebody swings a leg over fifteen inches of porcelain rim to stand up and shower inside a fixture built for lying down. The tub charges rent daily and works a few evenings a year.
Nothing dramatic follows from that. Nobody is in danger because a bathtub exists, and if long soaks are part of your week, keep the tub and enjoy it with our blessing. The case for the conversion is plainer: when the tub has become a shower tray with high sides, you are paying, in caution and in cleaning, for a feature you retired years ago.
The swap itself is smaller than most people picture. The supply lines, the drain and the alcove walls are already exactly where a shower wants them, which is why this is a job measured in days. We are not building a new bathroom; we are letting the one you have stop pretending it still gives baths.
The same alcove, photographed the way the week actually unfolds. Weather never delays this one; it all happens indoors.
Floors along the hallway get covered, the water goes off for a few hours, and the bathtub is cut free and carried out, tile flange and all. With the alcove stripped, the plumber moves the drain to where the new pan wants it and sets the new valve at shower height. By supper the room is bare, clean and ready.
The base arrives first: an acrylic pan set dead level on a mortar bed, or a sloped, waterproofed floor when the plan says curbless. Then the walls close in, either grout-free panels bonded in a single afternoon or backer board ready for tile. Everything from here on is watertight before it is pretty.
The glass panel or door is drilled, hung and plumbed straight, the trim goes on, and the silicone lines are drawn last. Silicone wants a day to cure, so the first shower usually happens the following morning, which is exactly how we schedule the walkthrough.
Both are real showers in the same alcove. The difference is the entry, and what has to happen under it.
| What you weigh | Low curb | Curbless |
|---|---|---|
| What stands at the entry | A tidy threshold about 3 to 4 inches tall | Nothing. The bathroom floor rolls straight into the shower |
| Cost, installed | The friendlier bracket, most jobs land here | Roughly a third to a half more, the floor is rebuilt |
| What the crew rebuilds | The alcove only; the bathroom floor stays shut | Part of the bathroom floor, sloped and waterproofed |
| Water containment | The curb and glass do the holding | The slope and a linear drain do the holding |
| Suits best | Straight swaps on a budget and upstairs bathrooms | Wheels, walkers, and anyone planning to stay put for decades |
Undecided is a fine answer on the form. The site visit settles it with a tape measure, not a sales pitch.
Removal
Cut free, hauled out and off to recycling, with floors and doorways shielded on the way. The loudest hour of the conversion, and it wraps before most jobs have begun.
Plumbing
Tub drains sit at one end; showers drain where the pan says. We move what needs moving and swap the old valve for a pressure-balanced one.
The base
A level acrylic pan for most swaps, a mortar-built sloped floor for curbless plans. Either way it is tested with water before anything covers it.
The walls
Grout-free panels go up in an afternoon and wipe clean forever. Tile takes longer, costs more, and looks like whatever you can imagine.
The glass
A fixed panel keeps things open and easy to clean; a hinged door closes the warmth in. Both are tempered, both are set dead straight.
The finish
Shelving, the hand shower, clean caulk lines and a walkthrough. We leave the cure time in writing so the first shower is not a gamble.
| The job | Usual range | Inside the number |
|---|---|---|
| Standard tub-to-shower conversion | $3,100 - $5,600 | Tub out, low curb pan, wall panels, new valve, glass panel. |
| Curbless conversion | $4,900 - $8,800 | The floor is rebuilt flush and sloped to a linear drain. |
| Glass: fixed panel or hinged door | $450 - $1,400 | A single panel sits at the low end, a framed door at the top. |
| Walls: PVC panels or tile | $1,100 - $3,900 | Panels finish in a day; tile adds days and takes any look you want. |
| Tear-out only | $450 - $950 | The tub gone and the alcove left clean for another trade. |
| Small job minimum | around $2,400 | Even the simplest swap books a licensed plumber and a full crew. |
Wall condition, drain position and the glass you choose move every line. The visit pins the figure down, and the figure then holds.
A bathtub drains at one end through its own trap; most showers want the drain nearer the middle, or along one edge when the plan is curbless. Sometimes the existing trap is close enough to reuse and sometimes it has to travel a foot or two, which means opening a strip of floor. We can usually tell which from the basement or the crawl space during the visit, and the paperwork you sign already names which one you are getting.
Houses older than the seventies like to add a surprise: galvanized supply lines rusted nearly shut, a cast iron trap that crumbles at a touch, or framing that got damp decades ago and kept it quiet. None of it is rare and none of it is ruinous, but it is your call, not ours. When something like that turns up, work pauses, you get photographs and a price for the fix, and nothing is billed until you have said yes to it. A conversion should never be the job where the invoice writes itself.
QIs losing the only bathtub a resale mistake?
AAgents around Cottage Grove repeat one rule: a family house shows better with a tub somewhere in it. If this is your only tub and small children are in your plans, we put that on the table during the visit and you decide with open eyes. If another bathroom keeps its tub, or the buyers you expect are shower people, the argument evaporates.
QHow long do we go without washing?
AThe toilet and sink stay usable every evening, and the water is only off for stretches on day one. The shower itself is ready once the silicone cures, so figure on missing roughly three days of showers at home. Plenty of clients time the job before a weekend away.
QDoes all the old tile come off the walls?
AOn the alcove walls, yes, because the new waterproofing needs to start from the studs, not from forty-year-old grout. Tile outside the alcove stays put, and we cut a clean line where the two meet.
QCan the new shower use the tub drain?
AThe pipe itself is nearly always reusable; the position is the question. A low curb pan can often sit its drain within reach of the old trap. Curbless floors want a relocated or linear drain, and that difference is priced before demo, never discovered after.
QDo we need a permit for the swap?
AA like-for-like fixture swap usually rides on a simple plumbing permit, and moving the drain can add an inspection. We file whatever your jurisdiction wants and fold the cost into the written price.
QWhat if there is rot behind the tub?
AIt happens, mostly around the old tile flange. You get photographs the hour we find it, a firm price for the repair, and the choice to proceed or pause. The framing fix is usually a morning, not a remodel.
The map carries the geography; the link lists underneath spell out every town our crews can reach from this one.
For the bigger map: county seat pages start at Washington County; the statewide picture lives on Minnesota; the wider region is the Midwest; background reading sits on Wikipedia.
One three-day job stands between this bathroom and its best fixture.
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