Our Rake crew pulls the idle tub, keeps the alcove, and hands back a shower anywhere in Winnebago County within days.
Written quote at no cost, one callback, no chasing afterwards.
Now you can finally ditch that giant porcelain basin that takes up half your bathroom. This upgrade gives you more floor space and modern convenience in your home.
Eventually every homeowner gets tired of stepping over a giant tub wall. Luckily you can swap that heavy cast iron for a sleek walk-in shower enclosure.
Most folks never actually take baths anymore anyway. That means your old basin just collects dust while wasting precious square footage.
Instead you get a roomy stall that lets you wash up quickly and safely. This means you avoid slips and falls on slick wet ceramic surfaces.
Life in our tiny Winnebago County town comes with its own unique charm. With a cozy population of 164 residents sharing a median household income of $24844, every home improvement dollar counts big time.
Folks living around ZIP codes 50465 know the value of smart updates. Upgrading your hygiene zone adds real market value to your property without breaking the bank.
Acrylic wall surrounds keep cleaning chores down to a bare minimum. You never have to scrub stubborn grout lines for hours on end again.
Tempered glass doors give your bathroom a rich look while keeping water contained. This lets you enjoy a spa-like vibe right inside your own house.
Heavy-duty shower heads deliver strong water pressure for a truly refreshing rinse. Meanwhile single-lever handles let you control water temperature with just one finger.
Brass valves prevent annoying leaks behind the tile walls. Such durable parts guarantee your investment stays dry and functional for decades.
Quick wipe-downs with a squeegee keep glass sparkling clean every single day. Therefore you spend less time working and more time relaxing.
Mild soap and warm water are all you need for routine maintenance. This saves you money on harsh chemical cleaners that damage finishes.
First the old tub comes out through careful demo work by local pros. Then workers inspect the subfloor for any hidden water damage or rot.
Next custom plumbing adjustments reroute the drain to match the new pan layout. Finally the waterproof base goes in level and secure.
Most projects wrap up in just a few days of active labor. Consequently your daily routine faces minimal disruption while the crew works their magic.
Dust barriers keep the rest of your house clean during the messy phase. That means you can live normally while your bathroom gets a total makeover.
| Feature | Old Bathtub | Walk-In Shower |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | High step-over risk | Low profile curb |
| Cleaning | Hard to reach corners | Fast wipe down |
| Space | Bulky footprint | Open room feel |
Looking at this chart helps you see the clear advantages of making the switch. Your daily routine becomes much safer and easier immediately.
Financing options make these upgrades accessible for every local household budget. You can spread payments out over time without feeling pinched.
A free estimate lets you know the exact cost before anyone starts swinging hammers. This means zero surprise bills when the job finally wraps up.
Buyers love modern bathrooms when houses hit the real estate market. Upgrading now pays off handsomely if you decide to sell later down the road.
Even if you stay put forever, your personal daily joy is worth every penny.
Many homeowners worry about losing their only bathtub if small kids live there. However most families realize kids actually love showers once they get used to them.
Another common concern involves plumbing layout changes behind the walls. Experienced local contractors handle all pipe relocations smoothly without drama.
Compact bathrooms benefit enormously from clear glass panels that bounce light around. This visual trick makes tiny rooms feel twice as big.
Corner caddies and built-in niches keep all your shampoo bottles neatly organized. Consequently your floor stays completely free of clutter.
Ready to modernize your outdated wash area with a gorgeous new shower setup? Reach out right now to schedule your no-obligation consultation with our local crew.
We come right to your door to measure everything and discuss your design choices. Claim your free quote today and start enjoying a better bathroom tomorrow.
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 Rake 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 Winnebago County; the statewide picture lives on Iowa; 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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