How Long Did a Carrollwood Walk-In Shower Conversion Actually Take From Demo to Final Caulk?
The situations described here are composites drawn from the types of jobs and decisions we encounter regularly. Names and specific figures are illustrative.
The Carrollwood owners had been talking about converting the master tub to a walk-in shower for about three years. The trigger was a slow leak around the tub spout that had started staining the drywall on the back side of the wall in the closet. By the time we walked in for the estimate, the question wasn’t really about the shower — it was about the tub being a recurring problem and whether it was worth keeping. Five days later, the conversion was done.
Why this kind of project usually starts in the right place
A tub-to-shower conversion in a master bath rarely starts as a remodel project. It starts as a problem — a tub that’s not used, a slow leak, water staining on a wall behind the tub, a step-over that’s getting harder for an aging homeowner. The Carrollwood project was triggered by a spout leak that had soaked the drywall in the adjacent closet over about a year. The repair conversation became the conversion conversation because the owners realized they hadn’t used the tub in five years. For most bathroom remodeling in Tampa, FL projects in this category, the same pattern shows up — the tub itself is the friction the homeowners have been living with.
What we found behind the wall on day one
Demolition revealed three things. The supply lines to the tub spout were original 1990s copper that had developed a pinhole leak where the spout fitting met the wall. The drywall behind the tub flange was soft to a depth of about 24 inches at the bottom, where water had been wicking down the studs. And the tub-to-wall connection had no real waterproofing — just caulk on top of cement board on top of stud framing. None of that was visible from the outside. We replaced the bottom 24 inches of drywall behind the new shower, installed a proper waterproof membrane on the new shower walls, and re-piped the supply with new copper from the valve location. About $600 of that scope was unbudgeted.
How long the actual install took once the rough-in was done
Day one: demo and rough-in. Day two: framing the curb, mortar bed for the shower pan, waterproofing membrane on walls. Day three: shower pan completed, wall tile setting begins (12×24 porcelain in the field, mosaic accent in a horizontal band). Day four: tile setting completes, grout. Day five: shower door measured, fixtures set, plumbing trim, final caulk and clean. The shower door (frameless glass) was measured at the end of day five and fabricated over the next seven business days. The owners were able to use the shower with a temporary curtain rod during that window.
What the final cost came to
Total project: $11,800. Breakdown: demo and removal $400, plumbing rough-in (including the supply repair) $1,400, shower pan and waterproofing $1,200, tile materials $1,100 (porcelain field, mosaic accent), tile setting labor $1,800, fixtures (rainhead, handheld, valve, drain) $850, frameless glass enclosure $2,200, vanity and counter (replaced at the owners’ request during the project) $1,800, plumbing trim labor $400, miscellaneous (transitions, paint touch-up, baseboard) $250. The original quote had been $9,400. The overage was the supply line repair, the additional drywall behind the wall, and the vanity that the owners decided to swap during week one.
What homeowners ask at this stage
The questions we hear most on these conversions are about resale, layout, and timing. Resale: in a Carrollwood-style home with at least one other tub, removing a master tub typically helps resale rather than hurts it. Layout: the shower can be the same footprint as the tub (60 inches by 32 inches) or larger, depending on what’s behind the back wall. Timing: a clean conversion runs 4-6 working days for the install, plus 7-10 business days for the glass enclosure if a frameless system is selected. For broader context on what a full master bath project looks like, see the bathroom remodeling in Tampa, FL walkthrough on the deeper bathroom remodel post.
Where to take this from here
If you’re considering a similar update and want a second look at scope, materials, or the order of operations, the conversation usually starts with an on-site walkthrough. For broader context, the full bathroom remodeling in Tampa, FL pillar covers the larger walkthrough on a full bathroom remodel, and the kitchen remodeling notes apply when both rooms are part of the same project. Our full service detail lives on the bathroom remodeling service page.
If you’re looking for bathroom remodeling in Tampa, you can reach out here.
