What happens on installation day
A tub-to-shower conversion takes one to two days on site, and most of what makes those days easy or hard is settled before the crew arrives. This is what to expect from the first knock to the walkthrough: what to clear, what stays usable, what is loud, where the old tub goes, and what you are asked to do at the end. Written so the first morning holds no surprises.
Last updated September 2026 · Your proposal carries the schedule with real dates on it; the Estimate Builder carries the prices · Part of the knowledge base
Before the crew arrives
- Empty the bathroom of everything that is not fixed down: towels, mats, whatever lives on the tub ledge, and the contents of any cabinet close to the work.
- Clear the path from your front door to the bathroom. A tub comes out along it and pans and wall panels come in along it, and the floor protection goes down its whole length, so it needs to be free of rugs, cords and furniture.
- Leave room for a truck near the door if you can. The old tub and everything else that comes out leave in it.
- Decide where pets and children will be. The barrier wall at the bathroom door keeps dust in; it does not keep a curious cat out.
- If it is the only bathroom in the house, say so when the schedule is set rather than on the morning, and we plan the days around that.
- Somebody has to let us in on the first morning. After that, whether you stay is up to you, until the walkthrough at the end.
How the house is protected
Taped rigid floor protection goes down the whole path from your door before anything else happens, rather than a drop cloth that slides and lets grit underneath. A zippered plastic barrier wall closes the bathroom doorway. HEPA air scrubbers run through demolition and through any tile work. The registers are covered so nothing ends up in your ductwork. The site is left tidy at the end of every day, and the room gets at least two full professional cleanings before we hand it back, rather than one at the end. None of it is an upgrade line on your proposal.
Day one: out, and the floor
The loud part is the first hour or two. The tub, the old surround and the wall material behind them come out, and they leave in our truck rather than sitting on your curb. With the wall open, whatever is behind it can be seen for the first time. Most of the time it is sound framing and a sound subfloor, and the work carries straight on. If it is not, we stop, show you what is there, price it, and you approve it in writing before that work happens, which is the only way a guaranteed price can move.
Then the plumbing. A scald-safe Delta valve goes into the wall where the old one was, and the drain is set, both usually staying where they already are, which is the single biggest reason a conversion is measured in days rather than weeks. Then the pan goes in, set level and fully bedded so it never flexes or creaks underfoot, and the waterproofing goes on around it. Day one usually ends with a finished floor and open walls.
The water is off for part of the first day. To the bathroom certainly, and usually to the house for a short while, because the valve is changed on the supply lines. Ask the crew lead when, so nobody is caught mid-shower or mid-laundry elsewhere in the house.
Day two: the walls, the door and the clean
The wall system goes up against a pan that is already set: groutless panels cut to your alcove, seams sealed, corners closed. Then the shower head and the valve trim, then the door or the curtain rod, and anything you added as a priced option, such as grab bars, a fold-down seat, a hand sprayer on its magnetic dock or a diverter. Then the room is cleaned and the protection comes up on the way out.
Some jobs finish on the first day: an acrylic kit in a straightforward alcove with the plumbing staying put often does. A groutless stone composite or solid-surface wall and a properly waterproofed pan usually want the second day. The schedule in your proposal says which yours is, and the timeline page explains what moves it.
The glass door, on four of the six packages
Two of the six wall systems, the Acrylic kit and Castico, ship with their own door, and it goes in with the walls. On the other four a glass door is a priced upgrade over the standard curtain and rod, and because it is made to fit your opening it cannot be ordered off a drawing: the walls go in, the opening is measured, and the glass follows on a short return visit. The shower is finished and usable behind the curtain and rod in the meantime. It is the most common reason a finish date moves, and the least alarming one.
The walkthrough
At the end we walk the finished bathroom together, in daylight, with an hour set aside and a roll of blue tape. You mark anything you want us to look at, and every taped item goes onto one written punch list with an outcome recorded beside it. You get a copy before we leave. It gives you the first word on what is unfinished rather than the last, and the office checks in afterward rather than waiting for you to find something.
Who to talk to while we are there
One named person is responsible for your project. Day-to-day questions go to the crew lead on site. Anything about money, schedule or scope goes to the office in writing, so it never depends on somebody remembering a conversation. Crews are on site Monday through Friday, and if the calendar would put a weekend in the middle of your job, that shows on the schedule you approved rather than turning up as a surprise on a Saturday morning.
After we leave
The guarantee starts the day we finish: lifetime on the waterproofing we built, five years on the workmanship and on finish and adjustment items. Two things are worth knowing on day one rather than in year three. Caulk and grout are maintenance items that are yours to keep up, and water getting through a joint that was left unmaintained is not a waterproofing failure. And nothing should be drilled or screwed through the new walls by anyone but us, because a screw through the waterproofing is a hole in it; if you want a bar or a shelf later, ask us to add it.
Common questions
What should I do before the crew arrives for a tub-to-shower conversion?
Empty the bathroom of everything that is not fixed down, clear the path from your door to the bathroom so the floor protection can go down and a tub can come out along it, and decide where pets and children will be while the work runs. If it is the only bathroom in the house, say so when the schedule is set rather than on the morning. Somebody needs to let the crew in on the first morning; after that you can be home or not as you prefer, until the walkthrough at the end.
Will the water be shut off while you work?
To the bathroom, yes, and usually to the whole house for a short while, because a new scald-safe valve goes into the wall where the old one was on the first day and it is changed on the supply lines. Ask the crew lead when that will be so nobody is caught mid-shower or mid-laundry. The rest of the house has water for the rest of the job, and the bathroom being worked in is out of use for the whole one to two days regardless.
How loud and how dusty is a tub-to-shower conversion?
Demolition is the loud part, and it is an hour or two on the first morning: the tub, the old surround and the wall material behind it coming out. After that it is ordinary working noise. Dust is kept in the room rather than left to find its way through the house: a zippered plastic barrier wall at the bathroom door, HEPA air scrubbers running through demolition, covers over the registers so nothing reaches the ductwork, and taped rigid floor protection along the whole path. The room gets at least two full professional cleanings before it comes back to you.
Where does the old bathtub go?
Into our truck on the first day, along with the old surround, the wall material behind it and everything else that comes out. Haul-away is part of a conversion rather than a line to negotiate, so nothing sits on the curb or in the driveway waiting for somebody to collect it, and nothing is left for you to arrange.
What is the blue-tape walkthrough?
The last hour of the job. We walk the finished bathroom together in daylight with a roll of blue tape, and you mark anything you want us to look at. Every taped item goes onto one written punch list with an outcome recorded beside it, and you get a copy before we leave. It gives you the first word on what is unfinished rather than the last, and the office checks in afterward rather than waiting for you to find something.
When is the glass door installed?
On the two packages that ship with their own door, the Acrylic kit and Castico, it goes in with the walls. On the other four a glass door is a priced upgrade over the standard curtain and rod, and because it is made to fit your opening it is measured after the walls are set rather than off a drawing, then fitted on a short return visit. The shower is finished and usable behind the curtain in the meantime, and this is the most common reason a finish date moves and the least alarming one.
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