Bathrooms · Walk-in showers and wet rooms
Walk-in showers and wet rooms in Chicago.
The shower is the most used and most failure-prone part of a bathroom. A walk-in shower or a wet room done properly is a construction project below the tile: slope, drain, waterproofing and structure. We design and build the whole assembly, as part of a complete bathroom remodel.
Is this you?
Is a walk-in shower or wet room right for your bathroom?
This page is for homeowners who want to replace a tub with a real shower, open up a cramped stall, or build a wet room where the shower and tub share one waterproofed floor. It is not a cosmetic replacement. A shower that lasts depends on the pan, the membrane, the slope and the drain, and those are rebuilt with the room around them. That is why we take this on as part of a complete bathroom remodel rather than as an isolated swap.
A good fit when
- A tub nobody bathes in, in a room that would gain a generous shower
- A shower stall you have to sidle into, or one with a step you would rather not have
- A wish for a curbless entry, for a walker, a wheelchair or simply a cleaner floor
- A primary bathroom where a wet room would let a shower and a tub share the space
- A shower that leaks or grows mildew no matter what is done to the grout
If you want a new shower door on an existing enclosure, a tub refinished or a prefabricated unit dropped into the same spot, we are not the right fit.
Decisions
What a good shower depends on.
- 01
Walk-in, curbless or wet room
A walk-in shower has a low curb and glass. A curbless shower has no threshold, which needs the floor to slope from further out or the pan to be recessed into the structure. A wet room waterproofs the entire floor and often the walls, so a tub, a shower and sometimes the whole room share one drain plan. Each is a different build.
- 02
Shower sizing
A comfortable shower starts around 36 by 36 inches and improves quickly with length. Two people, a bench or a hand shower want more. We size it to the room and to how you use it, not to the smallest enclosure that fits.
- 03
Drain placement and floor slope
A linear drain at the wall or the entry lets the floor slope in one direction with large tile. A center drain needs the floor to slope from four sides, which limits tile size. Slope, drain location and the door position are decided together.
- 04
Waterproofing system
A bonded sheet membrane or liquid membrane over a pre-sloped pan, sealed at every corner, niche, bench and curb, and flood-tested before tile. We build it as one system from one manufacturer and photograph it for your records.
- 05
Glass, niches, ledges and benches
Fixed panels instead of doors where the layout allows, a niche at the right height, a ledge for a razor, a bench where there is room. Each is planned into the framing and the waterproofing, not cut in afterward.
- 06
Hand showers, heat and slip resistance
A hand shower on a slide bar suits everyone from a child to a person who sits to bathe. Heated floors take the chill off tile in winter. Floor tile is chosen for grip when wet, with smaller formats or textured surfaces in the shower itself.
What is included
The shower, and the bathroom it sits in.
In planning
- Complimentary render previews from your photos, if you include them
- Field measurement of the room and inspection of the floor structure, the drain and the vent
- Shower sizing, drain location and slope drawn with the door and glass positions
- Waterproofing system, tile, fixture, glass, bench and niche selections
- Accessibility options such as a curbless entry, blocking for grab bars and a hand shower, where they fit
- Detailed renders, a written scope and a priced proposal
In construction
- Tub removal, demolition of the old shower and repair of the subfloor and framing
- Plumbing rough-in for the new drain, valve and fixtures, and new venting where required
- Pre-sloped pan, waterproofing membrane, curb or curbless entry and a flood test before tile
- Tile, glass, fixtures, heated floor and lighting
- The rest of the bathroom remodel: vanity, toilet, ventilation, paint and trim
- Permits and inspections where the scope requires them
Decision aid
Walk-in shower, curbless shower or wet room?
Three ways to build a shower without a tub in the way. The floor structure and the room size usually decide.
| Aspect | Walk-in with curb | Curbless shower | Wet room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Threshold | Low curb, usually 2 to 4 inches | None; floor is continuous | None; the whole floor is one wet zone |
| Floor work | Sloped pan within the shower footprint | Pan recessed into the structure, or the bathroom floor built up to meet it | Entire floor sloped to a drain and waterproofed |
| Glass | Door or fixed panel | Fixed panel or none, depending on size | Often a single fixed panel or none |
| Accessibility | Step over a low curb | Roll-in or walk-in with no step | No step; most flexible for a caregiver |
| Tub | Usually removed | Usually removed | Can share the space with a freestanding tub |
| Best when | A standard framed floor and a modest budget for the shower | A framed floor that can be recessed, or a slab that allows build-up | A primary bathroom with room for both, or a small room that gains space by losing the enclosure |
Which options your floor allows is confirmed during the visit; in condominiums the slab often decides.
Cost and schedule
What moves the number and the calendar.
The build below the tile and the size of the glass set most of it.
- Curbless or wet-room floor work
- Recessing a pan or sloping a whole floor involves structure, more waterproofing and more labor than a curbed pan.
- Drain relocation
- A linear drain at a new position means new drain runs through the floor, and in a slab building, concrete work.
- Glass
- Large fixed panels, low-iron glass and custom sizes cost more than a standard door. Fewer, larger panels are often the better-looking and simpler choice.
- Tile
- Large-format tile suits a linear drain; mosaics or textured tile in the shower floor add cutting and labor. Full-height tile on every wall adds material.
- Tub removal and the rest of the room
- Removing a tub usually exposes subfloor, plumbing and wall repair that belong in the scope from the start.
- Heated floor and lighting
- Each adds a circuit and a thermostat or switch, planned with the electrical work.
Stage two
What the in-home visit establishes
Nothing about slope or drains can be promised from photographs. The visit is where the shower becomes real.
- 01Floor construction: framed joists or concrete, and whether a pan can be recessed
- 02Where the existing drain and vent are, and where a linear drain can go
- 03Whether the tub removal exposes damage, and what the walls behind it hold
- 04Door swing, window position and where glass panels can land
- 05The exhaust fan route, because a larger shower needs proper ventilation
- 06Who uses the shower and how, so the size, bench, hand shower and entry fit the household
Questions
Common questions about walk-in showers and wet rooms.
Can you just replace my tub with a shower and leave the rest?
We take tub-to-shower conversions on as part of a complete bathroom remodel, because removing the tub exposes the floor, the walls and the plumbing, and the new shower's waterproofing has to tie into the rest of the room. An isolated swap is not something we offer.
Does removing the only tub hurt resale?
It depends on the house. Many buyers want a good walk-in shower in the primary bathroom and a tub somewhere else in the home. If the house has only one bathroom, we usually recommend keeping a tub or building a wet room that holds both.
Is a curbless shower possible in an older Chicago house?
Often, by recessing the pan between the joists or building up the bathroom floor to meet it. The visit confirms the joist direction, depth and condition. In slab condominiums the answer depends on the building.
How do you make sure the shower will not leak?
A pre-sloped pan, a continuous waterproofing membrane sealed at every corner and penetration, a flood test before tile, and a proper exhaust fan so the room dries. We photograph the waterproofing before tile so you have a record of what is behind it.
Let’s plan your bathroom.
Have bathroom photos? Include them with your inquiry for complimentary render previews within minutes. Photos are optional.
Prefer to talk first? Call or email during business hours.
- Call
- (312) 210-0016
Related
- All bathroom remodelingPrimary baths, condo baths, showers and wet rooms, and how the process works.
- Primary bathroom remodelingThe room the shower usually belongs to.
- Condo bathroom remodelingDrains, slabs and curbless entries inside a building.
- Questions to ask a remodeling contractorIncluding who is responsible for the waterproofing.