Keep at least one tub if your home would otherwise have none and you bathe young children or expect that future buyers will want one. If another bathroom already has a tub, converting this one is usually the better choice, especially when climbing over the tub wall has become difficult or the tub sits unused.
Start with how the household uses the room today. If nobody has taken a bath in years and everyone showers, the tub is taking up space that could hold a larger shower with a bench and a niche. If you bathe small children or soak regularly, a conversion takes away something you would miss. Think about the next several years as well as this one. Children grow up, and knees and balance change, so a tub that makes sense now may become the hardest thing in the room to use.
The rest of the house matters as much as this bathroom. When a hall bath keeps its tub, converting the primary bath gives you both options, and that is the arrangement many homeowners choose. If this is the only tub in the home, weigh the decision more carefully, because some future buyers with young families will look for one. Nobody can promise how a particular choice will affect your resale value, so we suggest deciding mainly on how you will live in the home.
Either choice works within the existing layout. A conversion puts a waterproofed walk-in shower in the tub's footprint at the existing drain, which typically costs $25,000 to $35,000 with a new vanity, tile and glass. Keeping the tub and replacing the surround, fixtures and finishes fits a hall bath refresh at $15,000 to $25,000. Fitting a separate tub and shower where only one exists usually means moving a drain, which requires a permit and is outside the projects we take on. We can talk through both options at a free in-home consultation.
Answered by Legacy Construction & Design · CA License #790442 · October 2026