Taking a bath out and putting a shower in its place is one of the most common single changes people make to an existing bathroom. It sounds like a swap. In practice it touches the waste, the water supply, the wall behind, the floor and often the heating, which is why quotes for it vary so widely.
Truscon works on bathroom installation and renovation across Caerphilly, and this sets out what actually changes, what is optional, and where the money tends to go.
The waste is the first question
A bath waste sits low and runs a short distance to the stack. A shower tray waste sits lower still and needs a consistent fall along its route. Where the existing bath waste happens to run in a convenient direction, the change is simple. Where it runs the wrong way or has almost no fall to work with, the floor may need lifting.
This is the single biggest variable in the job and the reason a fitter will want to look under the bath panel before giving a figure. It is also the reason a tray with a slightly raised profile is sometimes the sensible answer rather than a stubborn insistence on level access.
- Find out which direction the existing bath waste runs.
- Ask whether the floor needs lifting to achieve the fall.
- Accept that a low-profile tray may be simpler than a fully level floor.
Water supply and how the shower will perform
A bath tap does not care much about pressure. A shower does. Whether the house has a combination boiler, a vented cylinder with a tank in the loft, or an unvented cylinder changes what shower valve and head will actually work well, and it is far better to establish that before choosing fittings.
This is where people are most often disappointed. A large rainfall head on a system that cannot supply it produces a gentle drizzle. Matching the fitting to the supply is not a compromise, it is the difference between a shower you enjoy and one you replace.
- Identify the hot water system before choosing the shower valve and head.
- Ask what flow the chosen head needs and whether the supply provides it.
- Raise any plan to add a second shower elsewhere, as it affects the answer.
The wall, the floor and making good
A bath covers the bottom of the wall. Remove it and whatever was behind it becomes visible and has to be dealt with, usually with new board and a proper waterproof layer before tiling or panelling. The floor under a bath is often untouched original, so it may need levelling before a tray or a former can sit correctly.
This making-good work is real and is where two quotes for the same swap most often differ. It is worth asking directly whether it is included rather than assuming it.
- New backing board and waterproofing where the bath used to be.
- Floor levelling under the tray or former.
- Making good the wall above and beside the new enclosure.
Keeping your options open
If this is the only bathroom in the house, think about resale before removing the last bath. A property with no bath narrows the pool of buyers, particularly for family homes. That is not a reason to keep a bath you never use, but it is worth a moment's thought.
There is a middle route. A shower bath with a shaped end and a fixed glass screen keeps a bath in the room while giving a much wider standing area than a straight bath, and it avoids most of the waste and floor work described above.
Related pages
Questions customers ask
Is removing a bath cheaper than replacing it with a new one?
Not usually. A like-for-like bath replacement reuses the existing waste and wall line. A shower conversion changes the waste, the wall build-up and often the floor, so it involves more work even though it looks like a smaller change.
Do I need a bigger shower tray than I think?
Most people underestimate. Stand in the space with your elbows out before deciding. A tray that fits the footprint of the old bath is often available and gives a far more comfortable shower than a standard square.
Can the old bath taps be reused?
No, a shower needs its own valve and connections. The existing feeds can often be reused and extended, which is one of the parts of the job that stays straightforward.
The honest summary is that the shower is the easy part. The waste route, the water supply and the wall behind the old bath decide how straightforward the job is, and all three can be checked in a single visit.
Truscon can look at what is behind and beneath your existing bath in Caerphilly and tell you which of these applies. Photographs of the bath and the panel removed, if you can manage it, save a great deal of guessing.
