Should You Convert Your Burbank Tub to a Walk-In Shower?
A tub nobody uses is wasted space. Here is how to decide whether a tub-to-shower conversion is right for your Burbank bathroom — and what the project really involves.
One of the most common requests we get in Burbank is some version of "can we get rid of this tub?" Often the answer is a clear yes — a tub that nobody actually bathes in is taking up the room a generous walk-in shower could fill. But the decision deserves a little thought, because in some homes keeping a tub is the smarter move. Here is how we help homeowners decide, and what the conversion actually involves.
When converting makes sense
A tub-to-shower conversion is usually the right call when the tub is rarely used, when the household wants a larger, more accessible shower, or when the bathroom is the primary bath and comfort matters more than resale flexibility. A walk-in shower opens the room visually, suits how most adults actually bathe, and — done with a low or curbless entry — is easier to step into as people age.
- The tub is used for storage, not bathing
- You want a larger, more open shower experience
- Stepping over a high tub wall is becoming a concern
- It is a primary bath where daily comfort outweighs resale flexibility
- The existing tub-shower combo is cramped and dated
When to keep a tub
Conversion is not always right. If the bathroom is the only full bath in the Burbank home, keeping at least one tub is wise for resale and for families with young children — many buyers want a tub somewhere in the house. In that case, the better move is often to remodel the tub and surround rather than remove it, or to convert a secondary bath while keeping the main one intact. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in.
What the conversion actually involves
A tub-to-shower conversion is more than pulling out the tub and dropping in a shower. The plumbing usually has to move — the drain location changes and the valve often does too. The new shower needs a properly sloped, leak-proof pan and full waterproofing on the walls before any tile goes up. Done right, it is a real build, which is exactly why the waterproofing and the pan are where you never want a crew cutting corners.
Remodeling a bathroom changes a Burbank home in two ways: it upgrades the space you live in and it strengthens the property itself. Both depend on quality. A remodel built on careful prep and proper waterproofing keeps performing and keeps its value for decades. One built on shortcuts looks fine for a year and then starts failing in the places nobody can see. The investment is real — but only when the work behind the finishes is done right.
Curbless and accessible options
If aging in place is on your mind, this is the moment to consider a curbless or low-threshold entry. A curbless shower has no lip to step over, which is both a sleek modern look and a genuine accessibility feature. Pair it with a built-in bench, a handheld shower, and grab bars (or blocking in the walls so bars can be added later) and you have a shower that works now and adapts as needs change. These details have to be planned into the framing, so it is far cheaper to decide now than to retrofit later.
The Burbank angle
Many Burbank bathrooms still have the original builder-grade tub-shower combo with a fiberglass surround, and those are ideal conversion candidates. Removing that dated unit and building a custom-tiled walk-in shower is often the single change that modernizes the whole bathroom. Because these homes were built around standard plumbing, the conversions are usually straightforward for a crew that knows the local construction.
Most Burbank homeowners only remodel a bathroom every decade or two, which makes them easy targets for the lowball-then-upcharge end of this industry. Serenity Bathroom Remodelers refuses to work that way. We quote the real scope honestly, we explain where your money goes, and we hold to the number unless you ask for a genuine change. An honest estimate up front is worth more than a cheap one that grows.
What a finished, well-built bathroom feels like
There is a real difference between a bathroom that was decorated and one that was built. A well-built Burbank bathroom works the moment you walk in — the storage holds what you own, the light is right for both grooming and unwinding, the shower drains properly, the surfaces wipe clean, and nothing about it fights you. That feeling comes from decisions made early and craftsmanship applied throughout, not from any single splurge. It is the difference between a room that looked good in photos on day one and one that still feels great after years of daily use.
The cost of cutting corners
Almost every regret in a bathroom remodel traces back to a corner cut on something invisible. Skipped waterproofing that lets water into the wall. A substrate that was not flattened, so the tile cracks. Plumbing reconnected to failing old valves. None of these show on day one, which is exactly why a cheap crew cuts them — and exactly why they fail a year or three later, when the fix means tearing out the work you just paid for. The pattern is consistent enough that we tell every Burbank homeowner the same thing: the cheapest remodel is the one built right the first time.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
It helps to step back and see a bathroom as a system rather than a collection of fixtures. The layout, the plumbing, the waterproofing, the tile, the vanity, the lighting — they all depend on each other, and a decision in one ripples through the rest. Moving the shower changes the plumbing; choosing large tile changes the substrate prep; adding storage changes the layout. The Burbank homeowners who get a remodel they love are the ones who treat it as the connected project it is, planning the whole thing up front rather than deciding piece by piece as the work goes.
If you have a tub you never use and a shower you wish were bigger, a conversion might be exactly right — or it might not, depending on your home. <a href="tel:+17472091731">Call 747-209-1731</a> for a free consultation and we will give you a straight answer and a written estimate.