Bathroom Remodel – Newtown, PA
This 50-square-foot bathroom in Newtown converted a dated tub-and-surround layout into a walk-in shower. The original bathtub was removed, the shower was built from the tile substrate up, and the rest of the bathroom was updated to match. The project ran two weeks and came in at $9,300.
Removing the Tub: The Decision That Shapes the Project
A tub-to-shower conversion starts with a decision that is worth making deliberately: once the tub is out and the shower is built in its place, the bathroom will not have a tub. In a second bathroom or a bathroom that is not the only tub in the house, this trade is often the right one. In this Newtown bathroom, the original bathtub was dated, the surround was showing the wear of daily use over many years, and the space it occupied was better served by a proper walk-in shower than by a tub that was rarely used.
Once the tub and its surround came out, the footprint that had been occupied by the tub alcove became available for the shower build. In a 50-square-foot bathroom, that footprint is essentially the full width of one wall — the shower takes the space the tub used to hold, which is why the finished enclosure can be a proper walk-in rather than a narrow stall.
Building the Walk-In Shower
The shower was built from the substrate up. Cement board or a comparable moisture-resistant backer was installed on the shower walls before any tile went up — this is the layer that the tile adhesive bonds to and that prevents moisture from reaching the wall framing behind it. The shower base was built with the correct slope to direct water toward the drain. In a tub-to-shower conversion, the drain position from the original tub rough-in may need to be adjusted to center it correctly in the new shower footprint.
The shower walls were tiled to the ceiling or to a consistent full-height line, providing complete moisture protection across the wet zone. Full-height tile in a shower eliminates the transition between tiled wall and painted drywall that sits directly above a shower enclosure — that transition is where moisture infiltrates over time if it is not properly sealed and maintained. Full-height tile removes the problem by extending the waterproof surface the full height of the shower.
Two Weeks
This project ran two weeks from demolition to completion. For a 50-square-foot tub-to-shower conversion, two weeks is an appropriate timeline: the tub demolition and plumbing adjustment on day one, cement board and shower base on days two and three, tile on days four through nine, shower fixtures and vanity update in the second week, and final punch list at the close. Any one phase running long extends the schedule. Two weeks on this scope means the rough-in was correct and the tile work proceeded without rework.
What the Conversion Delivered
The finished bathroom in Newtown has a walk-in shower where the tub used to be. The space reads differently with a shower enclosure — the glass boundary keeps the visual field open in a way that a tub surround does not, and the tile that was selected for the shower sets the character of the room. At $9,300 for 50 square feet with a tub-to-shower conversion, this project reflects what a focused, correctly executed bathroom remodel at this size costs in Bucks County.
Bathroom Remodeling in Newtown
Newtown is a Bucks County borough with a mix of older and newer residential properties. Bathrooms in homes across the area often have tub configurations that homeowners no longer use — particularly in master bathrooms where the tub has given way to a shower as the primary daily fixture. A tub-to-shower conversion that uses the tub footprint correctly is the remodel that produces a bathroom that actually suits how the space is used. Belmax Remodeling works throughout Newtown and Bucks County. For more on our bathroom work, see our bathroom remodeling service page. Homeowners in Newtown can also visit our Newtown bathroom remodeling page for more completed local projects.
Considering a Similar Project?
Tub-to-shower conversions in the 50-square-foot range with tile throughout, updated fixtures, and a vanity update typically fall in the $8,000–$11,500 range in Bucks County. This Newtown project came in at $9,300, completed in 2 weeks in September 2022. To discuss what your bathroom would involve, request a free estimate.