Our Island Lake crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Lake County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Now, dealing with a clunky old soaking basin brings constant daily headaches. This lets you trade that dated hurdle for a sleek open washing zone without any hassle.
Eventually, every homeowner gets tired of stepping over high edges just to wash up. Therefore, upgrading this space makes your morning routine much safer and vastly more fun.
Today, stepping into a deep porcelain tub invites nasty slips and painful falls. Instead, a low-threshold basin keeps your feet firmly planted on textured non-slip tile floors.
Meanwhile, this clever change saves you from emergency room visits down the road. Which means you can age in place gracefully right inside your beloved home.
Right now, your cramped washing room probably feels tiny and suffocatingly small. However, removing that bulky basin instantly opens up the entire floor plan for better movement.
On top of that, your bathroom suddenly looks twice as big to visiting guests. This gives you extra room to breathe while brushing your teeth every morning.
Right here in Lake County, homes deal with heavy seasonal humidity shifts. Because of this, using mold-resistant grout during your bathroom overhaul is absolutely crucial.
Furthermore, local housing data shows that median household income sits around seventy-seven thousand dollars. Consequently, smart remodeling projects protect your property value and investment wisely.
Truthfully, upgrading your washing area requires a fair bit of upfront cash. However, financing options let you spread those payments out into manageable monthly chunks.
Plus, energy-efficient fixtures lower your water bills over the next few years. Which means the project actually pays for itself slowly through utility savings.
Acrylic pans offer incredible durability against heavy daily foot traffic and dropped shampoo bottles. Meanwhile, tiled bases give you endless custom design choices for your aesthetic.
| Material | Durability | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | High | Low |
| Tile | Medium | High |
| Stone | Very High | Medium |
Choosing the right material ensures your new washing station lasts for decades. Therefore, picking sturdy components prevents costly repairs later on.
First, contractors tear out the old porcelain monster to inspect the framing underneath. Sometimes they find hidden water damage that needs immediate attention before proceeding further.
Naturally, handling these hidden issues right away stops bigger structural disasters from happening. This protects your framing from rotting away silently behind the drywall.
Next, plumbers relocate the drain to match the center of your new enclosure. Because older homes have quirky pipes, this step requires serious professional precision.
Meanwhile, modern mixing valves go into the wall for precise temperature control. Which means you never have to suffer through freezing water shocks again.
Frameless glass doors make your bathroom feel remarkably open and completely luxurious. However, wiping them down after every shower takes a tiny bit of extra effort.
Alternatively, water-repellent curtains offer a budget-friendly way to keep rogue splashes contained. Selecting the right option depends entirely on your personal cleaning tolerance.
Rainfall showerheads deliver a soothing drench that washes away all daily stress instantly. On the other hand, multi-setting handheld wands let you rinse hard-to-reach spots easily.
Combining both options gives you the best of both relaxing worlds. This upgrades your simple hygiene routine into a spa-like daily escape.
Building codes in ZIP code six zero zero four two require proper permits for plumbing changes. Ignoring these rules can cause massive headaches when you try selling your house.
Therefore, hiring licensed professionals ensures every single local code gets met without fuss. This keeps your home project completely legal and stress-free.
Usually, professional crews finish the entire transformation within three to five working days. This means you will not have to live in a messy construction zone forever.
Furthermore, temporary sealing keeps your home clean while workers are away. Which keeps your daily family life running smoothly despite the remodeling chaos.
Modernized bathrooms rank high on every home buyer's wishlist across the region. Consequently, upgrading your washing space yields a solid return on investment.
Plus, homes featuring accessible features sell much faster than outdated fixer-uppers. This gives you a massive advantage if you decide to move later.
Stop struggling with that archaic tub every single morning of your life. Instead, take control of your living space and build the open washing area you deserve.
Reach out today to request your free estimate for this amazing home upgrade. Our local crew serves the population of eight thousand fifty-six residents with pride.
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 Island Lake 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 Lake County; the statewide picture lives on Illinois; the wider region is the Midwest; background reading sits on Wikipedia.
One three-day job stands between this bathroom and its best fixture.
Get my free quote