Tub to Shower Conversion in Riverside Tract Homes

Nothing about pulling a tub out of a postwar bathroom is as simple as it looks from the doorway, and the order the crew follows (the notes at riverside kitchen and bath remodeling touch diva keep to it) decides whether the new shower drains or pools. A tract home in Riverside, CA gives a predictable starting point: an alcove just over five feet long, a drain tucked into one corner, and a kitchen and bath plumbing wall that shares one stack.

What comes out first

The water is shut off, the faucet, valve trim and spout come off, and the tub is cut or lifted out. In many mid-century houses the tub sits on a mortar bed or tight against the slab edge, so the floor underneath is rougher than it will be in any other room. The wall tile and the old plaster or board behind it come down to the studs, because a walk-in shower needs new waterproofing from the floor up and nothing old should stay behind it.

Moving the drain

A tub drain sits off to one side, toward the plumbing wall. A shower base wants its drain near the center, or against the back wall if a linear drain is chosen. On a slab foundation that means saw cutting the concrete, trenching to the line, setting the new trap and pipe at the right fall, and patching the slab flush. Houses on a raised floor are easier, since the trap and waste arm are reached from below. Either way the new pipe is tested with water before anything is closed over.

Curb or curbless

A curb is a small wall that holds water in. Building one is the usual approach when the floor cannot be lowered. A curbless entry needs the shower floor recessed so the slope toward the drain starts below the bathroom floor height, which on a slab means more concrete work and on a wood floor means notching or dropping the joists between the supports. Curbless looks clean and helps anyone with a walker or a cane, though it takes more planning than a curb.

Framing and walls

With the tub gone, the old wall framing is checked for rot at the base and for studs that run straight. Blocking goes in now for a bench, a niche and any grab bars. Cement board or another backer board goes on the walls, the seams are taped, and a membrane is applied over everything, across the shower pan and up the walls well past the showerhead height. Waterproofing is the layer that keeps water out of the wall. Tile only decorates it.

Testing before tile

Before any tile is set, the pan is plugged and filled with water for a full day and marked at the waterline. A level that has not dropped means the pan is sound. Riverside's dry air makes a small leak vanish from sight, so the test, not the eye, is what tells the truth.