Ask a Canadian contractor which bathroom job they quote most often and the answer is usually the same: pull out the old alcove tub, put a walk-in shower in its place. It makes sense — most households shower daily and bathe rarely, and the whole conversion happens inside the existing footprint. No walls move, no window relocates, no floor plan changes. Done properly, a tub to shower conversion turns the least-used fixture in the house into the most-used one. Here's how the job unfolds, what has to change behind the wall, and what to buy before demolition day.
Why the 60 × 30 footprint makes this conversion straightforward
Nearly every alcove tub in Canada sits in a standardized nook: 60 inches wall to wall, and 30 or 32 inches front to back. The shower industry builds directly to those dimensions. A 60 × 30 or 60 × 32 shower base drops into the exact space the tub vacated, matching wall systems are sized for the same three-walled opening, and 60-inch sliding doors close it off. You aren't customizing anything — you're swapping one standard for another.
Confirm your dimensions before ordering. Measure wall to wall at the back of the alcove, and the depth from the back wall to the outer edge of the tub apron. Sixty by thirty and sixty by thirty-two are both common, and bases are not interchangeable between the two. If your alcove turns out to be 54 inches — common in wartime-era houses — the conversion is still possible, but base and door options narrow considerably.
What changes behind the wall
This is what separates a real conversion from a cosmetic one. Two plumbing changes are non-negotiable.
The drain moves. A tub drains at one end through an overflow-and-shoe assembly; a shower base drains wherever its moulded opening sits, often centred. Your plumber opens the floor, relocates the trap under the new drain location, and connects a proper shower drain. Just as important: Canadian plumbing codes require a 2-inch drain line for a stand-alone shower, while older tubs were routinely plumbed in 1½-inch. Budget for the drain to be upsized back to the stack, not simply shifted sideways. With an unfinished basement below, this is quick work; over a finished ceiling or a slab, it's more invasive.
The valve moves up — and usually gets replaced. A tub/shower valve sits low, roughly 28 inches off the floor, so it can be reached from a seated soak. A shower-only valve is typically set between 38 and 48 inches so you can operate it standing. The tub spout disappears entirely, so the old three-port valve generally comes out and a shower-only pressure-balanced or thermostatic valve goes in — anti-scald protection is a code requirement, and with the wall open there's no cheaper moment. Riobel and Kalia both make complete shower systems where valve, trim, showerhead and hand shower come as a matched set, which removes the finish-matching guesswork.
The product checklist
Order everything before demolition starts. The most common delay in this job is a base or door arriving after the plumber has already been and gone.
| Item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Shower base | 60 × 30 or 60 × 32 to match your alcove; drain position that suits your plumbing plan; low-threshold if mobility is on your mind |
| Wall system | Acrylic or composite panel kits sized for a 60-inch alcove (Maax and Kohler both build these), or tile over waterproofed backer if you'd rather go custom |
| Door or enclosure | A 60-inch sliding bypass door is the standard fit; browse shower doors for framed, semi-frameless and frameless options, and check glass height against your wall panels |
| Valve and trim | Shower-only, pressure-balanced or thermostatic; buy the rough-in valve before plumbing day — it goes into the wall first, the trim goes on last |
| Showerhead and hand shower | A hand shower on a slide bar earns its keep in a converted shower — wall-rinsing duty plus seated use |
| Drain assembly | A 2-inch shower drain compatible with your base material — OS&B makes drains for most acrylic and composite bases |
| Extras | A recessed niche, in-wall blocking for future grab bars, and a fold-down or built-in seat are all far cheaper to add now than after the walls close |
The blocking deserves emphasis: solid lumber screwed between the studs costs almost nothing now and means a grab bar can be mounted securely at any point in the next thirty years. Skipping it is the most regretted omission in this renovation.
Keep one bathtub in the house
The standard advice from real-estate agents holds up: keep at least one tub in the home. Families with young children expect one, and a house with no bathtub at all shrinks its buyer pool. Most conversions happen in homes with two or more bathrooms, so the tub survives elsewhere. If that surviving tub looks rough, replacing it with a new alcove bathtub is a far smaller job than the conversion itself. If yours is a one-bathroom home, think harder before removing the only tub; a deep soaker with a good glass screen may serve daily showers and resale better.
While the room is torn open, it's also the natural moment to replace a tired toilet — just measure the rough-in before you buy so the new bowl fits the existing drain location.
A realistic timeline
For a straight swap — acrylic base, panel walls, stock sliding door — a competent crew typically needs about a week of working days:
- Day 1: demolition. Tub and surround out, wall opened to the studs, subfloor inspected. Hidden water damage shows itself here, so leave contingency in the schedule.
- Day 2: plumbing rough-in. Drain relocated and upsized, trap set, valve mounted at shower height. Where a permit applies — for drain work, it usually does — inspection happens before anything closes up.
- Day 3: base and walls. Base set level and bedded, wall panels installed and sealed.
- Day 4–5: finishing. Trim, showerhead, door installation, silicone — then a full 24 hours of cure time before the first shower.
Two things stretch that schedule honestly: tiled walls add several days of setting and grouting, and custom frameless glass is templated only after the walls are finished, then takes a week or two to fabricate — plan on a temporary curtain rod in the interim.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for a tub to shower conversion?
Usually yes, for the plumbing portion. Relocating a drain and replacing a valve is plumbing work, and most Canadian municipalities require a permit and inspection for it. The cosmetic side — base, walls, door — typically doesn't need one on its own. Rules vary by city, so check with your local building department.
Can I reuse my existing tub/shower valve?
Rarely worth it. The old valve sits too low for standing use, has a third port for the tub spout that would need capping, and older valves often lack modern pressure balancing. With the wall already open, a new shower-only valve is a small cost against a large regret later.
What if my alcove isn't exactly 60 inches?
Measure first, then shop. Bases come in other lengths, and a slightly oversized alcove can be furred in to fit a standard base. What you should not do is order a 60-inch base on faith: a base even half an inch too long will not go in, and freight returns on bases are painful.
Will removing the tub hurt my home's resale value?
Not if at least one tub remains somewhere in the house. A dated, little-used tub converted into a clean modern shower generally shows better, not worse. The caution applies to one-bathroom homes: removing the only bathtub narrows your buyer pool — a trade-off to make deliberately, not by accident.