Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Glendale, AZ
Converting an original tub-shower combination into a proper walk-in shower for Glendale homeowners — same footprint, far easier to use.
Quick answer: Infinity Kitchens and Baths converts tubs to walk-in showers throughout Glendale, AZ. The usual job replaces a builder tub-shower combination inside the existing alcove, which keeps plumbing moves small. We reframe the alcove, set a new pan, waterproof, add blocking for grab bars, and tile.
Part of our tub-to-shower conversion work — see every service and city on the West Valley hub.
Cast iron, and what it means for a Glendale conversion
In older housing the tub is often cast iron, and a five-foot cast iron tub weighs enough that removing it whole is frequently impossible through a standard doorway. The usual answer is to break it up in place, which is loud, messy, and requires protecting everything between the bathroom and the door.
That is a real line item and an honest contractor will say so. It is not a reason to avoid the conversion — it is a reason the conversion in a 1960s house costs more than the identical conversion in a 2005 house, and a quote that prices them the same has not looked at your tub.
What you get in exchange is usually a better wall to build on. Older framing is often full-dimension lumber, and once the tub is gone there is real material to fasten blocking to.
The plumbing behind an older alcove
The other variable is what the supply and waste are made of. Galvanised supply that has been in the wall for decades narrows from the inside, and you often only discover how badly when the new shower runs at half the pressure the old tub did.
Because the wall is already open for the conversion, this is the cheapest moment in the life of the house to address it. We will tell you what we find and what we would do, and we will not quietly tile over a problem to keep a number down.
Venting is the same story. Older bathrooms were sometimes vented in ways that no longer meet code, and a conversion that changes the drain is exactly the point at which an inspector will look at it.
Asbestos, lead, and the tests worth doing first
In housing built before the late 1970s, two things are worth checking before demolition rather than during it: asbestos in sheet flooring, mastic or joint compound, and lead in older paint layers.
Neither is common in every house and neither is a reason to abandon a project. Both are a reason not to have a crew put a reciprocating saw through a wall on the assumption it will be fine. Testing is inexpensive relative to the cost of handling a positive result badly, and a contractor who waves the question away is telling you how they handle the things they cannot see.
Where a test comes back positive, the work is done by a licensed abatement contractor before we start. That adds time and cost, and it is not optional.
Permits for this work in Glendale
Glendale issues a specific residential addition and remodel permit covering remodels, room additions, patio enclosures, carport-to-garage conversions and detached structures. Construction documents go to the Development Services Center and are reviewed electronically.
Accessibility work touches plumbing and often framing, so it is squarely the kind of job that gets reviewed. Moving a drain, recessing a floor for a curbless entry, or widening a doorway all change things an inspector cares about. We pull the permit and meet the inspector ourselves.
Glendale Building Safety, Codes & Services publishes the current requirements.
The Glendale homes this work happens in
Glendale has the deepest housing history of the ten. Neighbourhoods near downtown and Catlin Court date to the early twentieth century, mid-century tracts fill the central city, and the Arrowhead area north of the 101 is largely 1990s and 2000s.
The practical consequence is that Glendale is the city where we most often open a wall and find something we have to solve — cast-iron drain lines, undersized panels, a bathroom that was reworked once already without a permit. We plan for that in older Glendale homes rather than discovering it on day three.
Scheduling tub-to-shower conversion work in Glendale
Glendale sits on the eastern edge of the area we cover from Avondale. The free consultation comes to you — we measure in your home and quote from those measurements, not from a phone call.
We group work by area so crews are on site in continuous stretches rather than appearing for a morning and disappearing. Materials are ordered and staged before demolition, which keeps the disruptive part of an accessible-bathroom project as short as it can be — and that matters more than usual when the person living with the work is the person who needs the bathroom.
Call 602-885-6998, or read our aging-in-place guide first if you are still deciding what the house needs.
Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Glendale — Common Questions
What does a tub-to-shower conversion involve in a Glendale home?
Removing the tub and its surround, resetting the drain for a shower pan, reframing the alcove and adding blocking for grab bars, waterproofing the whole assembly, then tiling and fitting the door or panel. Because it stays inside the existing alcove, plumbing moves are usually minimal.
Will the shower be bigger than the tub it replaces?
In footprint, no — a standard alcove is a standard alcove. In usable space, yes, noticeably, because you are no longer stepping over a 15-inch wall and the whole area becomes floor you can stand on. If you want genuinely more room, that means taking in adjacent space and is a different scope.
Can you keep the tub in one bathroom and convert another?
That is usually what we recommend in a two-bathroom house. Convert the one that is used daily, leave a tub in the secondary bathroom, and the house keeps both options. We will walk both rooms during the free in-home consultation and tell you which we would convert.
What might you find behind the walls in an older Glendale home?
Most often: supply lines that have narrowed with age, venting that no longer meets current code, blocking that is absent or in the wrong place, and evidence of an earlier remodel done without a permit. We check what we can before quoting and tell you what we would address while the wall is open, rather than tiling over it.
Is testing for asbestos or lead necessary?
In housing built before the late 1970s it is worth doing before demolition rather than during. Neither is present in every home, and a positive result is manageable — it means licensed abatement before we start, which adds time and cost. It is not something to find out about by cutting into it.
Check this yourself
- Glendale Building Safety, Codes & Services — permit requirements for Glendale.
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design — the dimensions referenced above (§304.3.1, §404.2.3, §609.4).
- U.S. Access Board — plain-language guidance on those standards.
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors — verify any contractor's licence, ours included (AZ ROC #339999).
Permit authorities and ADA section numbers were confirmed against the sources above in August 2026. The ADA standard governs public accommodations, not private homes.