Our Kronenwetter crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Marathon County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Are you tired of stepping over a giant porcelain wall every single morning just to wash yourself? This annoying physical barrier makes your bathroom feel cramped and unsafe for your aging joints. Fortunately, swapping that outdated soaking basin for a modern walk-in washing stall solves your daily struggles instantly.
That awkward heavy porcelain tub wastes valuable floor space in your cozy Wisconsin house. Removing it lets you enjoy a much safer bathing routine without any daily friction. Consequently, many homeowners decide to upgrade their washing setup for better daily convenience.
High-walled basins create massive slipping hazards when they get wet and soapy. Transitioning to a curbless or low-profile floor tray gives you total peace of mind. Therefore, you protect yourself and your family from nasty slips and falls.
Nobody wants to spend hours scrubbing stubborn soap scum off deep curved walls. Smooth acrylic panels wipe clean in mere seconds with a simple damp cloth. This massive time saver lets you enjoy your weekends instead of doing brutal chores.
First, local contractors carefully rip out your heavy cast iron or fiberglass tub without damaging your walls. Then, they inspect the subfloor for hidden water damage and rot. This crucial step ensures your brand-new shower pan sits on a rock-solid foundation.
Next, plumbers reroute the drain lines to match the center or side requirements of your new pan. Following that step, waterproof backer boards go up to stop mold from growing behind your tiles. Ultimately, these careful construction phases guarantee your bathroom upgrade lasts for decades.
Living right here in Marathon County means dealing with freezing winters and humid summers. Your home needs durable materials that handle extreme temperature shifts without cracking or warping. Selecting top-tier acrylic and solid surface walls keeps your investment looking brand new.
Properties in local communities feature a healthy median household income around eighty-five thousand dollars. Upgrading your bathing area boosts your property resale value if you ever decide to move. Buyers love seeing modern zero-threshold washing enclosures instead of bulky old tubs.
Our lovely municipality boasts a tight-knit population hovering around seven thousand six hundred residents. Neighborhoods featuring ZIP codes like 54455 see plenty of home renovation projects every single year. Because of this local demand, finding skilled tradespeople who understand regional construction needs is super simple.
Winter weather brings freezing temperatures that make slipping on ice a major concern outside. Bringing that same safety indoors by removing your slippery tub makes total sense for your daily health. Furthermore, younger families and older adults alike appreciate the easy floor-level access.
| Feature | Old Soaking Basin | New Walk-In Enclosure |
|---|---|---|
| Safety Level | High Fall Risk | Zero Threshold Access |
| Cleaning Time | Hours of Scrubbing | Minutes with a Squeegee |
| Floor Space | Cramped and Bulky | Open and Airy |
Remodeling your washing space requires careful budgeting and realistic expectations about material costs. Standard acrylic conversions cost significantly less than tearing down entire walls for custom tile work. Therefore, you get an upscale luxury look without emptying your savings account.
Cheap DIY kits often leak water into your subfloor and cause thousands of dollars in structural damage. Hiring experienced professionals ensures the waterproofing is done right the very first time. On top of that, professional installers back their craftsmanship with solid warranty protection.
Clear glass panels make small bathrooms look twice as big by letting natural light bounce around. Frameless designs offer amazing visual pleasure and unmatched modern beauty for your daily routine. Because of this sleek design choice, your morning routine feels like visiting a high-end luxury spa.
Choosing brushed nickel or matte black fixtures gives your upgraded washing area a custom designer touch. Matching your showerhead to your faucet creates a cohesive look that impresses every guest who visits. Moreover, modern pressure-balancing valves protect you from sudden scalding hot water surprises.
Installing sturdy grab bars right into the wall studs prevents accidental slips when the floor gets soapy. Fold-down teak seats give you a comfortable place to sit while washing your hair and legs. These thoughtful additions ensure you can age in place gracefully inside your beloved house.
Built-in corner shelves keep your shampoo bottles and soaps organized instead of cluttering the floor. Recessed ledges look exceptionally clean and prevent bottles from tumbling down onto your toes. Every single design choice works together to make your daily hygiene routine completely effortless.
Waiting another year to fix your broken or ugly washing space only leads to more daily frustration. Taking action today transforms your stressful bathroom into a relaxing personal sanctuary you truly love. Naturally, getting professional advice helps you figure out the best design layout for your exact room dimensions.
Local contractors near your zip code are ready to evaluate your bathroom layout right now. Reach out today to request your completely free quote and start planning your exciting renovation project. This quick message puts you on the fast track to enjoying a safer and more beautiful home.
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 Kronenwetter 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 Marathon County; the statewide picture lives on Wisconsin; 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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