Bathrooms · Walk-in showers and wet rooms
Walk-in showers and wet rooms in Chicago.
The shower is the part of a bathroom that gets the most use and fails most often. Most of what makes a walk-in shower or wet room work is below the tile: the slope, the drain, the waterproofing and the structure. We design and build all of it, as part of a complete bathroom remodel.
At a glance
Shower remodel cost and schedule at a glance.
A tub-to-shower conversion is taken on as part of a complete bathroom remodel, which typically falls between $35,000 and $100,000 before selections with Lakefront Interiors. A curbed walk-in shower in the old tub's footprint sits toward the lower part of that range; a curbless shower with a recessed pan, a linear drain and large glass panels, or a full wet room, sits higher.
Construction typically takes three to five weeks when the drain stays where it is and five to eight weeks when it moves or the floor is recessed for a curbless entry. The waterproofing is flood-tested before tile, and the glass is templated only once the tile is done, so allow two to three weeks from template to installed glass.
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. This is not a cosmetic swap. Whether a shower lasts comes down to the pan, the membrane, the slope and the drain, and rebuilding those means opening up the room around them. That is why we only do this as part of a complete bathroom remodel.
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.
- 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 has to be planned into the framing and the waterproofing from the start.
- 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
- Free 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
- Free 3D design renders, a written scope and a free estimate
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.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| 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
We cannot promise anything about slope or drains from photographs. That gets settled at the visit.
- 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.
Get a free bathroom estimate, with 3D renders.
Your free estimate includes 3D design renders of your own bathroom, prepared after a free in-home design consultation. Have photos? Include them for free render previews within minutes.
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.
- Tile and backsplash installationMembranes, slope, large format and the flood test.
- Primary bathroom remodelingThe room the shower usually belongs to.
- Condo bathroom remodelingDrains, slabs and curbless entries inside a building.
- What a bathroom remodel costsWhere a curbless shower or wet room sits in the planning range.