Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Phoenix
If getting over the side of the tub has become the hard part of the day, the tub has become a place to store things, or the old tub and shower valve are both wearing out, you're on the right page. A conversion puts a walk-in shower in the space the tub used to occupy, and the plumbing determines how well it works.
Tub and shower installs are part of American Discount Plumbing's work. On a conversion, owner Pavel Farcas (Paul) takes care of the plumbing: the old tub's drain and valve on the way out, and the shower drain connection and new valve on the way in.
AZ ROC Licensed #150707
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Tub & Shower Installs
Grab Bars Planned With Tile
Google 5.0 Rated
Aging-in-Place Showers
Measured Against the Code Minimum
Thirty inches at the narrowest point and 900 square inches inside, counted after the tile thickness.The Drain Has to Move
A tub drain and a shower drain do not land in the same place, and that connection is the job.Anti-Scald Valve at Shower Height
The old tub valve comes out, and the new one goes in where a standing person reaches it.Grab Bars Planned With the Tile
Where one will go is settled while the wall is open, not after it closes.Tile and Drywall Referred Out
We do the plumbing side. The finishing goes to a contractor you hire directly.Any Fixture Maker
Valves, heads, and slide bars from any brand.AZ ROC Licensed #150707
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Tub & Shower Installs
Grab Bars Planned With Tile
Google 5.0 Rated
Aging-in-Place Showers
Measured Against the Code Minimum
Thirty inches at the narrowest point and 900 square inches inside, counted after the tile thickness.The Drain Has to Move
A tub drain and a shower drain do not land in the same place, and that connection is the job.Anti-Scald Valve at Shower Height
The old tub valve comes out, and the new one goes in where a standing person reaches it.Grab Bars Planned With the Tile
Where one will go is settled while the wall is open, not after it closes.Tile and Drywall Referred Out
We do the plumbing side. The finishing goes to a contractor you hire directly.Any Fixture Maker
Valves, heads, and slide bars from any brand.When a Tub Has Outlived Its Use
“Getting in and out of the tub isn't safe for me anymore.”
A high tub side on a wet floor is the hazard.
The side of a tub is a step up and over, onto a slick surface. A shower in the same alcove brings that down to a low curb. Our part is the drain connection and the valve, placed so the finished shower works for the person who uses it.
“Nobody has bathed in it for years. Is the alcove even big enough for a shower?”
The alcove is measured on the first visit, and the code sets the number it has to clear.
The code minimum for a shower is 30 inches in its narrowest direction and 900 square inches inside, measured after tile. A standard tub alcove is close to that width, so it is measured on the first visit, with the finished wall thickness included. Its length leaves room for a shower that's roomier than the tub ever gave you, often with a bench.
“The tub is chipped, and the shower valve drips.”
Two old parts failing together make the timing easy.
When the tub needs replacing, and the valve behind it is done too, a conversion handles both at once. The old valve comes out, and a new anti-scald valve goes in at shower height. Our shower valve page covers the valve work on its own, if you would rather keep the tub.
The Plumbing Side of a Conversion
Moving the drain to a new spot, or cutting a slab floor for a no-curb entry, is not part of our work. If your plan needs either one, we say so during the walk-through.
Coming out
Going in
At the valve wall
Handled by the tile trade
Drywall patching outside the shower is referred to a finisher.
How the Work Is Sequenced
Walk the bathroom
We look at the tub, the valve wall, and the drain, and ask who will use the shower and how.
Quote and plan
The quote covers the plumbing work and marks where the new valve goes.
Tub out, rough-in done
The tub comes out, the drain and valve are set, and the piping is checked while it is still open to view.
Tile goes on
The tile setter builds the floor, walls, and any bench around the plumbing. The valve body and drain stay open to view until the tile setter covers them.
Trim and first run
The handle, head, and drain cover go on, and the shower is run hot and cold with the drain watched.
Serving Phoenix From Our Phoenix Base
American Discount Plumbing is based in Phoenix and serves all of Phoenix.
What a Tub-to-Shower Conversion Costs in Phoenix
A conversion has no set price. The quote follows the walk-through, covers the plumbing, and is written down before the tub comes out. A visit that ends without work incurs a $75 service fee, which is waived when we do the job.
The plumbing qualifies for our discounts: 15% for veterans and anyone 55-plus, 10% for first responders, the military and seniors.
Insurance, Medicare and VA
If a program is paying you back for a mobility conversion, you handle the paperwork with them, and it helps to have its requirements ready when we see the bathroom, since they can shape the plan. We perform the work.
Two Situations That Change the Plan
American Discount Plumbing vs. the big national chains
The only tub in the house
A home with one bathtub, where the owner wants that tub turned into a shower.
It can be done, and it is a fair question to ask first: a household with small children, or a future buyer who wants a tub, may miss it. When there is a second bathroom, converting one tub and keeping the other covers both needs.
A shower planned around a walker or a wheelchair
Here the questions change: how wide the way in is, whether there is room to turn around, and whether the person showers seated.
Those answers determine where the controls and the handheld sit, so they are asked during the walk-through before the plumbing layout is drawn.
Shower Size, Clearances and Older Homes
Raising the valve
A shower valve sits higher on the wall than a tub valve, so raising it counts as moving it; our remodel plumbing page explains what that means for the job in Phoenix.
How the shower's size is measured
The code's 30-inch and 900-square-inch minimums are measured from the finished interior of the shower, after tile, and the valve, showerhead, soap dishes, and grab bars do not count against them. A grab bar or a valve trim that protrudes into the space does not reduce the shower area in the code's eyes.
When the toilet sits beside the tub
In many small bathrooms, the toilet is right next to the tub. Code in Phoenix sets a 15-inch minimum between a toilet's centerline and any wall beside it, and a new shower wall built thicker than the old tub surround can take some of that. We measure it at the walk-through so the new wall does not leave the toilet short of its clearance.
Homes built before 1978
Tub alcoves are framed by painted walls, and a conversion opens them. In homes built before 1978, we only take on work that leaves painted surfaces undisturbed. If a repair would need a painted wall opened, that part goes to a lead-safe certified contractor you hire directly; we do not perform or arrange it.
Four Choices That Shape Your New Shower
01 How high should the curb be?
A low curb keeps water in with a small step. A no-curb entry on a slab floor means cutting concrete and moving the drain, which we do not do, so settle this before anything else is planned.
02 Fixed head, handheld, or both?
A handheld on a slide bar lets someone shower seated. Having both means a diverter in the valve. Pick the head before ordering the valve; our shower valve page explains why.
03 Where do the controls go?
A valve placed near the entry lets you turn on the water and wait for it to warm without standing in the spray. Placement is easy to change at rough-in and hard to change after the walls are finished.
04 Bench and grab bars now, or later?
Both go into the walls during the finish work. Adding blocking now is a small step. Adding it after the tile is done means opening the wall again.
Tub-to-Shower Conversion FAQs
Still have a question? Call Pavel (Paul) directly and get a straight answer, no phone tree.
It can. The new valve has a limit stop the code requires, and an older tub valve may never have had one. If full hot feels mild, that stop is doing its job; our shower valve page explains the limit.
Sometimes. If it is a code-listed anti-scald valve in good shape and it can sit at a workable height, it stays, and the spout outlet is capped. An old valve that does not meet those tests is replaced as part of the job.
For someone who wants to keep soaking, it can be. Heated and jetted walk-in tubs also need an outlet, which is electrician work. Our walk-in tubs page compares the two.
On many showers, yes. A slide bar and handheld can be added to an existing shower, with a diverter where the valve needs one, and no conversion at all.
Yes. Tell us the tallest user's height when we see the bathroom. If two people of very different heights share the shower, a handheld on a slide bar can sit higher or lower for each of them without moving the arm.
That depends on the finish work that follows the plumbing rough-in. You will know the order and the timing when the plan is written up.
What Our Phoenix Customers Say
Before you trust us with a bathroom, read what Valley homeowners wrote after we worked in theirs.
Tub Getting Hard to Use? Call American Discount Plumbing
The sooner we see the bathroom, the sooner the side of the tub stops being the hard part of the day. While we are there, we measure where the new valve can sit.
Plan a Tub-to-Shower Conversion ->
The drain lands where the new shower needs it, and the valve sits where the person using it can reach it, and both are settled before a tile goes up.
Need Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Phoenix? Call American Discount Plumbing
The sooner we see the bathroom, the sooner the side of the tub stops being the hard part of the day. While we are there, we measure where the new valve can sit.
The drain lands where the new shower needs it, and the valve sits where the person using it can reach it, and both are settled before a tile goes up.
A real person answers, usually Pavel (Paul), with a fast callback and same-day help when it is urgent.
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Honest plumbing done right, across Phoenix and the Valley. That is the American Discount Plumbing difference.
