Walk-in tub and tub to shower conversion questions

Some. DC's HAIP grant lists walk-in showers among the changes it pays for, DC Safe at Home lists bathtub cuts, and veterans can ask the VA about HISA, which covers roll-in showers. In Montgomery County, the Design for Life property tax credit is worth a call to the county. Our market research also notes that IRS Publication 502 treats a doctor-documented accessibility change as a medical expense to the extent it adds no value to the home, so ask a tax preparer before you file.

The walk-in shower, in most bathrooms. HomeGuide and Angi price a conversion from tub to walk-in shower somewhere between $2,000 and $15,000, and the published walk-in tub range on our comparison page starts higher and ends higher. A deep tub can also call for a bigger water heater, which a shower doesn't need.

Longer than a grab bar visit and shorter than a full remodel, and the number of days goes into your written scope before you sign. First the old tub is removed, then the drain and valve change, the floor gets built up or framed to slope to the drain, and tile goes on last. Rot or old framing under the tub can add days, and that change waits for your signature.

It turns mostly on the plumbing and the water heater. A tub that drops into the old one's spot with the drain where it was goes faster than one that needs the drain moved or a larger heater added. The scope states the days the bathroom will be out of use before you agree to it.

Some companies sell a one-day install of a ready-made base and wall panels. We don't promise that, because the time depends on what we find when the tub comes out and on how the drain and valve have to change. If speed matters because of a discharge, give us the date and the scope is built around it.

The tub drain becomes a shower drain, and the valve usually gets replaced too. An old valve that won't accept an anti-scald cartridge is swapped, and a handheld shower on a slide bar goes on the new one. For a curbless floor the drain may move, and the floor framing is checked so the new floor can slope to it.

Yes, and the bather sits inside the whole time, because the door can't open until the water is out. Deep tubs also use more hot water than an older heater holds, so check the heater before you choose a model. Ask the person who will use it whether they'll sit through that wait every time.

The shower with a seat, for most people with limited mobility. A curbless shower lets a person roll in on a shower chair or sit on a fold-down seat with a handheld shower, and a helper can stand right beside them. A walk-in tub still asks them to lift a foot over a low threshold and lower themselves onto a deep seat.

Convert the tub when the tub wall is the only real danger in the room. When the toilet is too low, the door is too narrow for the walker and the floor is slick as well, a full remodel handles them together and the room gets opened once. The assessment tells you which kind of bathroom you have.

The usual drawbacks are the wait and the step. The bather sits wet while the tub fills and again while it drains, and the door still has a raised threshold to cross. Price and a water heater too small for the tub come next. None of that makes a walk-in tub wrong, but it decides whether the person keeps using it.

A door on a level tub with a sound seal shouldn't. The seal is a rubber gasket that wears with time, so ask the maker how it gets replaced and whether the warranty covers it. A tub set out of level is the other usual cause, so the floor under it has to be level before it goes in.

Yes. It comes out like any tub, and a standard tub or a shower can go in its place. That is a separate job with its own price, so if a sale is a few years off, weigh it before choosing a walk-in tub over a shower any buyer can use.

Ask who does the plumbing and the tile, their own crew or someone else. Ask for a written scope that lists the drain, the valve, the floor and the wall finish, and a fixed price that won't move once work starts. Ask how many days the shower will be out of use, whether a permit is needed and what happens if they find rot when the tub comes out.

It should, because a conversion means plumbing, a new floor and sometimes a permit. Get the license number and a certificate of insurance before you sign. Ours is Home Improvement Contractor License No. 420226000078, and we hold DC home improvement and contractor licenses plus a Maryland contractor license.

The tub, the shower base and the valve each carry their maker's warranty, and the terms differ from brand to brand. Read them before you pick a model, especially what they say about the door seal and, on a jetted tub, the pump. Ask any installer to put a workmanship guarantee in writing too.

We convert tubs to walk-in showers across the close-in Maryland suburbs in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Depending on the address, the permit comes from Montgomery County's Department of Permitting Services or from Prince George's DPIE, and the scope names which one. The service area page checks your ZIP against our 30 miles from the US Capitol.

Sometimes in time, often not, and a full conversion is rarely the first thing to do. Give us the rehab discharge date. The first round makes the existing tub usable with a transfer bench, a handheld shower and grab bars, and the conversion follows on its own schedule if your parent still needs it.

The conversion gets a start date and a written scope after the assessment, and the time depends on the bathroom. What can happen sooner is the set of small fixes that make the tub safer while the conversion is planned. We don't do emergency or same-day work, and we're open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM every day to set it up.

Yes. A tub transfer bench sits across the tub wall so the person sits down outside the tub and slides over, and a handheld shower on a slide bar lets them wash sitting down. Grab bars at the tub edge and a non-slip mat finish the setup, and the bars stay useful after the new shower is in.