Shower Remodeling in Avondale, AZ
Every shower we build, every material compared, and what each route actually costs — for Avondale homes and Avondale's very hard water.
Four routes to a new shower, and the right one depends on your bathroom, not your budget alone. Convert an unused tub ($8,000–$22,000), build a full custom walk-in ($10,000–$35,000), go curbless for step-free access ($6,000–$15,000), or keep the shower and change only the doors or the walls.
Below is every shower guide on this site, grouped so you can go straight to the decision you are actually making. All of it is written for Avondale — very hard water and a housing stock that is mostly 1990s and 2000s tract homes change the right answer more than most homeowners expect.
We have been remodeling showers since 2011. In that time the single most common thing we hear is that a homeowner has a tub nobody has taken a bath in for years, sitting in the only full bathroom, taking up the space where a proper shower should be. The second most common is grout that has stopped coming clean no matter what goes on it.
Both have good answers. Which answer is right for you depends on the size of the room, whether the drain has to move, how long you plan to stay in the house, and how much scrubbing you are willing to sign up for. Start with the group that matches your question.
Start Here: Choose Your Shower Type
The four routes, with what each one actually costs installed.
Custom Walk-In Showers
The full build — new pan, waterproofing, walls and glass, sized to your bathroom. $10,000–$35,000.
See the serviceTub-to-Shower Conversion
Reclaim the footprint of a tub nobody uses. Usually the fastest route to a shower you like. $8,000–$22,000.
See the serviceCurbless & Zero-Entry
No threshold to step over — for accessibility, and increasingly just for the look. $6,000–$15,000.
Read the guideSteam Showers
What a steam shower needs from the room, the enclosure and the ventilation before you commit.
Read the guideTile or Groutless: The Wall Decision
The choice that drives both the look and how much you will scrub.
Groutless vs. Tile Showers
The honest side-by-side: cost, lifespan, maintenance and resale. Start here if you are undecided.
Read the guideCustom Tile Shower Installation
How we waterproof and set a tile shower so it lasts — and why cure time cannot be compressed.
See the serviceGroutless Shower Systems
Solid-surface wall systems with no grout lines to clean. Our answer to Avondale's very hard water.
See the serviceGroutless Wall Materials
Acrylic, solid surface, cultured stone and large-format porcelain compared by cost and durability.
Read the guideTile Shower Ideas
Patterns, layouts and material combinations, with what each one costs to execute.
Read the guideShower Grout Guide
Choosing, cleaning and maintaining grout — plus how to tell a regrout from a rebuild.
Read the guideCosts & Comparisons
Real installed numbers before you talk to anyone.
Walk-In Shower Cost
What drives the number up or down — size, drain relocation, wall material, glass and valve work.
Read the guideTub-to-Shower Conversion Cost
Line-item cost, timeline, and what changes when the plumbing has to move.
Read the guideWalk-In Shower vs. Bathtub
Pros, cons and the resale question — including when keeping one tub is the smarter call.
Read the guideFrameless vs. Framed Doors
Framed $500–$1,200, frameless $1,000–$3,000. What you actually get for the difference.
Read the guideAccessibility & Choosing an Installer
For step-free bathing and for vetting whoever you hire.
ADA & Accessible Bathrooms
Clearances, grab-bar blocking, seat heights and controls — built to look like a normal bathroom.
See the serviceAging in Place
The whole-home view: bathing, thresholds, lighting and getting around safely.
See the serviceHow to Choose an Installer
The questions to ask, the license to check, and the answers that should worry you.
Read the guideFull Bathroom Remodeling
If the shower is one part of a bigger project, start at the bathroom pillar instead.
See the serviceWhy Avondale Changes the Shower Answer
Hard water is the single biggest factor. Avondale's tap water is a blend of city well water and Colorado River water, and the city's 2022 water quality report put city well water at about 21 grains per gallon — "very hard" on the report's own scale. It leaves residue on every surface it dries on. In a shower, the first place that shows is the grout, because grout is porous and slightly recessed, followed closely by clear glass and polished chrome. This is why a shower that was beautiful for three years can start looking permanently dingy in year four, and why so many homeowners ask about groutless systems specifically. A whole-house softener helps too.
The housing stock splits the decision too. Census figures put the median Avondale home's construction year at 2002, and about six in ten homes were built in the 1990s or 2000s. Most of those bathrooms still have a builder-grade tub/shower combination in an alcove, and those rooms convert beautifully — the alcove is already the right footprint for a walk-in shower, and the plumbing is usually where you need it. If your primary bath has both a garden tub and a small stall shower, combining the two into one larger walk-in is often the best use of the space. Older homes around Old Town and Cashion are a smaller share, and they are where we look hardest behind the walls.
Heat and monsoon humidity. Avondale sits in the low desert at about 1,000 feet. National Weather Service 1991–2020 normals for the area put the July average high around 106°F, and monsoon season runs June 15 to September 30. Bathrooms dry fast most of the year, but monsoon humidity is real and builder-grade exhaust fans are often undersized. We size the fan with the shower — see our ventilation and moisture guide.
Permits and rebates. Tile on its own needs no building permit in Avondale, but replacing the valve, moving the drain or rebuilding the pan is plumbing work the City of Avondale's Building Services Division reviews, and its inspection list includes a pre-slope and shower liner test. We pull the permit and meet the inspector (our Avondale permit guide has the detail). And if you are on City water, the city's Low Flow Plumbing Rebate pays $25 per showerhead under 2.6 gallons per minute — apply within a year with a dated receipt, first come, first served; check the city's rebate page for current terms.
And a practical note on scheduling: if the shower you are replacing is in the only full bathroom in the house, say so at the consult. It changes how we sequence the work, and in some cases it changes which wall system we recommend, because cure times differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a new shower cost in Avondale?
It depends on which of the four routes you take. A tub-to-shower conversion runs $8,000–$22,000. A full custom walk-in shower runs $10,000–$35,000 depending on size, wall material and whether the drain moves. A curbless or zero-entry shower runs $6,000–$15,000 because the floor has to be re-framed or the slab recessed. Swapping only the door is far cheaper — see framed vs frameless doors.
Tile or groutless — which should I pick?
Tile gives you unlimited design freedom and is the right answer when the look is what matters most. Groutless solid-surface panels give you a shower with no grout lines to scrub, which matters a great deal in Avondale: the city's 2022 water quality report put city well water at about 21 grains per gallon, "very hard" on the report's own scale, and grout is where hard-water residue shows first. We install both. The full side-by-side is on groutless vs tile showers.
How long is my bathroom out of service?
A straightforward tub-to-shower conversion is usually a few days to a week. A full custom tile shower takes longer because mortar, waterproofing and grout each need cure time that cannot be rushed without risking failure later. We give you a day-by-day schedule before demolition starts so you know exactly which days the bathroom is unusable.
Can you build a shower that works for aging in place?
Yes, and it is a large share of what we do. A zero-threshold entry, a bench, blocking behind the walls for grab bars, a handheld on a slide bar, and a slip-resistant floor can all be built into a shower that still looks like a normal beautiful bathroom rather than a hospital. See curbless showers, ADA bathrooms and our aging-in-place work.
Do I need to replace the shower or can it be refinished?
If the tile is sound and only the grout has failed, a regrout is often enough — our shower grout guide has the diagnostic for telling the two apart. If water has gotten behind the wall, the substrate is soft, or you see movement in the tile, that is a rebuild. We will tell you which one you are looking at during the in-home consult rather than after demolition.
Are you licensed to do shower and bathroom work in Avondale?
Yes. Infinity Kitchens and Baths is a licensed Arizona contractor, AZ ROC #339999, bonded and insured, and you can verify that anytime at roc.az.gov. Shower work involves waterproofing and often plumbing, which is exactly where unlicensed work causes expensive damage a year or two later.
Do I need a permit to replace a shower in Avondale?
Usually. Tile on its own needs no building permit in Avondale, but replacing the valve, moving the drain or rebuilding the pan is plumbing work, and the City of Avondale's Building Services Division reviews and inspects it, including a pre-slope and shower liner test before tile covers the pan. We pull the permit and meet the inspector as part of the job. If you are in an HOA, check its rules first; the city does not track them.
Not Sure Which Shower Is Right for Your Bathroom?
That is exactly what the free in-home consult is for. We come to your Avondale home, measure the room, look at what the plumbing will allow, and give you a fixed quote on the option that actually fits — with no obligation.