Tub-to-shower conversion
Tub to shower
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Bathroom Remodeling in Frederick & Central MD
Bathtub replacement
Taking out one bath and putting in another, with the wall behind it rebuilt properly rather than tiled back over whatever was there. The connections are made by a licensed plumber; the room is rebuilt by us.
Licensed & insuredFree written estimatesFrederick-based crewClean-site guarantee
Quick answer
What does bathtub replacement cost in Maryland?
A bath replaced with the surround retiled runs $4,500 to $9,500. Where the framing behind has got wet and needs repair, $6,500 to $13,000. The bath itself is separate and ranges from around $650 for an acrylic unit to $3,400 and up for cast iron or freestanding, which also needs more support under the floor.
The work
What bathtub swaps actually involves.
A bath swap looks like the simplest job in the bathroom and is the one most often done badly, because the temptation is to lift one bath out, drop the next one in and tile the three walls back. That works if the old surround was sound, and the reason most baths get replaced is that it was not.
What is usually behind a failed bath surround is water: a soft stud at the mixer wall, swollen board along the bath edge, sometimes a stain on the ceiling below that nobody connected to the bathroom. So the first job is to open it up and find out, and the quote has to allow for the possibility that the answer is worse than it looks.
The split of work on this page is worth stating plainly. The supply and waste connections, the trap and the mixer are performed by the licensed plumber on the job, because MHIC does not authorise plumbing and we do not claim it. What we do is everything around them: the strip out, the framing repair, the cradle and levelling, the waterproofing, the tile and the make-good. That is why this page does not carry the self-performed badge the rest of the site does.
Surround rebuilt, not patched
Wet area re-waterproofed
Plumbing by a licensed trade
What bathtub swaps costs in Maryland
Frederick and Central Maryland. Priced as a rebuild of the bath wall rather than a swap, because a swap alone is rarely what the room actually needs.
- Bath replaced, surround retiled
- $4,500 – $9,500
- Bath and surround, framing repair needed
- $6,500 – $13,000
- Acrylic bath, supplied and set
- $650 – $1,900
- Cast iron or freestanding, set
- $1,200 – $3,400
- Tile surround, three walls
- $1,800 – $4,200
- Ceiling repair below, patch and paint
- $450 – $1,200
Ranges, not quotes. Real numbers come from a walkthrough — access, condition, height and finish level move a price more than square footage does. Estimates are free and in writing.
Get your numberFull bathtub swaps cost guide for MarylandPrefer to just talk?
Call and describe the job. You’ll get a straight answer on whether it’s something we do and roughly what it runs.
(301) 524-1729
With a licensed plumber
Bathtub replacement
What’s included
Everything the bathtub swaps scope actually covers.
Written into the estimate, not assumed. If something on your job is not on this list, it gets priced and named before anyone starts.
Open up and assess before committing
01The surround removed and the framing and subfloor inspected, with anything soft reported to you with a price before it is covered back up.
Framing and subfloor repaired
02Rotten studs sistered or replaced, the subfloor made sound, and the bath wall brought plumb so the new surround has something straight to sit against.
Bath set level and supported
03The tub bedded on a mortar cradle or its own feet as the type requires, levelled along the rim rather than the base, and supported so there is no flex underfoot.
Supply and waste by a licensed plumber
04The trap, waste, supplies and mixer connected by the licensed plumber on the job. We cut the penetrations accurately, set the bath and coordinate the schedule around their visit.
Wet area waterproofed again
05Cement backer and a bonded membrane over the full splash zone, detailed at the bath-to-wall joint, rather than relying on sealant and new grout to do the work.
Tiled, sealed and closed out
06Surround tiled with the layout set out dry, flexible sealant at every change of plane, and any ceiling repair below made good by the same crew.
On the job
Bathroom Remodeling work across Frederick & Central MD.
What the trade looks like at each stage. Photos of our own recent jobs come out at the walkthrough, on the actual house.
Straight answers
Bathtub swaps questions
Not covered here? Call and ask — you’ll get a real answer, not a “depends on the job”.
Occasionally, and only where the surround is genuinely sound and the new bath is the same size and profile as the old one. In practice the tile along the bath edge almost always has to come off to get the old unit out, and if the surround were in good condition you probably would not be replacing the bath. We will look and tell you honestly which case it is.
If the house has only one full bathroom, keep a bath in it. If there is a second bath elsewhere and nobody has used this one in years, a shower conversion is almost always the better use of the space and the money. The conversion costs more because the drain usually has to move, so it is a real decision rather than an obvious one.
A licensed plumber, every time. MHIC licenses home improvement contractors and does not authorise plumbing work, so we set the bath, cut the penetrations, rebuild the wall and coordinate the schedule, and the licensed plumber makes the supply, waste and mixer connections. If a contractor offers to do all of it themselves, ask to see the plumbing licence.
Same crew, same visit
The rest of the bathroom remodeling work.
Most bathroom remodeling jobs are two or three of these at once, which is why they are priced and scheduled together rather than as separate call-outs.
From the field
Read up before you book.
Longer answers than a quote page has room for — how the work fails, what putting it right actually involves, and when waiting is the honest call.
Sources worth your time
Check us, and check the work
None of these are ours. They are the offices and standards bodies that set the rules we work to, so you can verify what we say rather than take it.
Maryland Home Improvement Commission
Check any Maryland contractor's licence before you sign. Ours is on file with the Commission.
OpenTile Council of North America
Publishes the TCNA Handbook, the installation-method standard that tells a tiler which membrane, backer and mortar a wet area actually calls for.
OpenEPA WaterSense
Flow rates for taps, showerheads and cisterns, and what the WaterSense label on a fixture actually certifies. Useful before you buy, not after.
Open
Talk to the people doing the work
Get a straight number for the whole job.
Tell us what needs doing. We’ll walk it with you, sequence every trade it touches, put the price in writing, and leave you to decide.
Get a quote
Let’s price your project.
Two short steps. No obligation, no pressure — just a clear number and a straight answer about what the job involves.
Tick as many as you like. Most jobs are two or three of them at once, and I sort out the detail when I come and look. Nobody gets turned away for choosing the wrong box.
