# Converting a bath/room to a walk in shower. Anyone done it?



## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Getting older with a dodgy back has caused us to make this decision. Bad planning as the bathroom was "new" 6 years ago (a lot can happen in 6 years).
Fortunately we can afford it** but there are problems/limitations to the challenge.
1. The door to the bathroom is central which means.... 
2. The bath is to the right as I walk in.
3. The bath takes up the full width from door to wall. Therefor the complete shower cannot be any wider........it can be as long as the bath but no wider. That means sliding doors but Im sure thats no problem.
**the room is tiled floor to ceiling so I want to avoid gutting it and starting again.
I will get people in for ideas but would be interested to hear your thoughts/experiences


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## sheddy (4 Nov 2019)

We went bath free when we moved house 2 years ago. No regrets.

A bath is essential for raising children.
A big bath (when teenagers are out) for Mum & Dad to get jiggy.

You may want to make sure your new shower can fit a stool or similar for advancing years.


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## cisamcgu (4 Nov 2019)

We have a walk in shower with no doors. A glass screen about 1.5m long on a shower tray that is 2m (same sort of size as a bath). Shower head at the far end and an overhead one as well .. If interested, I can try and draw a plan ?


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## Milkfloat (4 Nov 2019)

The big question is how big is the space behind the door to the wall? If you had a narrow bath then you might be pushed for a spacious shower.


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## Archie_tect (4 Nov 2019)

Is the bathroom upstairs Dave?
Can you get the waste pipe from the shower connected to the soil pipe stack?

You can get low lip access walk-in shower trays of just about any size- with a built in trap- though it might be easier to open up the ceiling below the bath plumb in the waste between the floor joists.

Don't go for a wet room- unless you strip all the tiles/ floor covering off and tank the weals and floor.


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## Phaeton (4 Nov 2019)

sheddy said:


> A bath is essential for raising children.


This is a consideration, if your house is a family house. then if/when you sell allowance will have to be made to replace it. 

However just to contradict myself, this is the current thinking, by daughter although having a bath never uses it for the kids as they are on a water meter & it costs them a fortune. If the grandkids want a bath they have to come to our house. So maybe it's not so important in the future


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

sheddy said:


> We went bath free when we moved house 2 years ago. No regrets.
> 
> A bath is essential for raising children.
> A big bath (when teenagers are out) for Mum & Dad to get jiggy.
> ...


Yes, Mrs D mentioned a seat. You think it will never happen to you and then


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Milkfloat said:


> The big question is how big is the space behind the door to the wall? If you had a narrow bath then you might be pushed for a spacious shower.


Standard bath (whatever size that is). We have a shower fitted and tbh I cant remember last time I had a bath.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Archie_tect said:


> Is the bathroom upstairs Dave?
> Can you get the waste pipe from the shower connected to the soil pipe stack?
> 
> You can get low lip access walk-in shower trays of just about any size- with a built in trap- though it might be easier to open up the ceiling below the bath plumb in the waste between the floor joists.
> ...


Thanks
Yes, bathroom is upstairs. That is plumbed into the stack.
Not going for wet room.....just a walk in shower


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Phaeton said:


> This is a consideration, if your house is a family house. then if/when you sell allowance will have to be made to replace it.
> 
> However just to contradict myself, this is the current thinking, by daughter although having a bath never uses it for the kids as they are on a water meter & it costs them a fortune. If the grandkids want a bath they have to come to our house. So maybe it's not so important in the future


Yes, the "selling" was what (wrongly) convinced me to have a bath fitted. Now, although I am quite fit, this bad back has forced a rethink.


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## Phaeton (4 Nov 2019)

Dave7 said:


> Yes, the "selling" was what (wrongly) convinced me to have a bath fitted. Now, although I am quite fit, this bad back has forced a rethink.


Sealing, not ceiling is the biggest issue, we keep looking at the idea, had a water jet bath fitted, complete waste of money, bet it's not been used 12 times. We had a walk in shower but put the bath back when the shower brought down the kitchen ceiling.


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## Archie_tect (4 Nov 2019)

Is the space at the end of the bath away from the door wider than the bath itself so you could put an 'L-shaped' shower tray in? - providing the shower head [and 'tap end' of the bath for the pipework and waste pipe] is away from the door to avoid having to change it all over.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Archie_tect said:


> Is the space at the end of the bath away from the door wider than the bath itself so you could put an 'L-shaped' shower tray in? - providing the shower head [and 'tap end' of the bath for the pipework and waste pipe] is away from the door to avoid having to change it all over.


Sadly not. If the bath is to the right.....adjacent to it at the far end is the pedastal sink, left of that is the toilet. Everything is 'built in'.......another "seemed like a good idea at the time".


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## Archie_tect (4 Nov 2019)

Ah! 

Could you post a photo of both ends of the bath so we can consider a solution?


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## Mo1959 (4 Nov 2019)

Sounds exactly like what I am hoping to get done if I can ever find a tradesman around here! My bath is on the left rather than right as you go in and it’s a small room, so taking in advancing age and freeing up a bit of space, I’m thinking about a walk in shower too. My walls are tiled, but it is ancient little square tiles, but I have been told you can put wet wall on top which would freshen it up and cause less upheaval.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Archie_tect said:


> Ah!
> 
> Could you post a photo of both ends of the bath so we can consider a solution?


Will do.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

@Archie_tect . Didn't want to frighten you so waited till Mrs D got out


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## Archie_tect (4 Nov 2019)

The waste from a walk-in low threshold shower tray will be fitted under the floor [below the bath outlet connection to the soil stack] unless you go for a raised shower tray to use the existing bath connection, stepping up onto the shower tray by 100mm or so? The setting out of the tiling round the bath looks like the bath is a standard 1700x700 bath- you can get a shower tray that size.

You can also get shower trays with a curved front edge on the shower head end which will give you a bit more space - the door doesn't need to open fully but that won't matter too much as few people open the door into a room out to 90 degrees anyway [you'd need a door stop on the floor to stop the door's handle smashing the glass. [Mira one 1700x710 - link attached: https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/mira-flight-right-hand-walk-in-shower-tray] Click on the product dimensions to see the 1700x710 purchase code- this one's from Victoria Plumb but you can shop around for the cheapest supplier. They'll do a matching shower screen- you won't need a door in or out as the screen will enclose it well enough so splashes won't clear the walk-in part. You can fix a seat to the back wall providing you insert a bracing ply panel behind the plasterboard if it's timber stayed partition before you put the tiles on below the bath edge. If it's a solid wall even better!

Probably worth checking that you can still get the same tiles!

Good luck!


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## BoldonLad (4 Nov 2019)

cisamcgu said:


> We have a walk in shower with no doors. A glass screen about 1.5m long on a shower tray that is 2m (same sort of size as a bath). Shower head at the far end and an overhead one as well ..



Yes, we have this solution too. 

When we decided to have bathroom refitted, we went "bathless" on basis that advancing years would eventually mean using bath dangerous and/or impossible. Have not missed bath personally, always used shower anyway. Mrs @BoldonLad occasionally waxes lyrical about having a bath, she has to visit one of daughters....


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## slowmotion (4 Nov 2019)

You really must take tanking the walls and floor deadly seriously. Even the slightest leak will lead to some giant fruiting body of a dry rot fungus lurking in the timbers below somewhere down the line.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

Archie_tect said:


> The waste from a walk-in low threshold shower tray will be fitted under the floor [below the bath outlet connection to the soil stack] unless you go for a raised shower tray to use the existing bath connection, stepping up onto the shower tray by 100mm or so? The setting out of the tiling round the bath looks like the bath is a standard 1700x700 bath- you can get a shower tray that size.
> 
> You can also get shower trays with a curved front edge on the shower head end which will give you a bit more space - the door doesn't need to open fully but that won't matter too much as few people open the door into a room out to 90 degrees anyway [you'd need a door stop on the floor to stop the door's handle smashing the glass. [Mira one 1700x710 - link attached: https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/mira-flight-right-hand-walk-in-shower-tray] Click on the product dimensions to see the 1700x710 purchase code- this one's from Victoria Plumb but you can shop around for the cheapest supplier. They'll do a matching shower screen- you won't need a door in or out as the screen will enclose it well enough so splashes won't clear the walk-in part. You can fix a seat to the back wall providing you insert a bracing ply panel behind the plasterboard if it's timber stayed partition before you put the tiles on below the bath edge. If it's a solid wall even better!
> 
> ...


Really good that......many thanks 
The wall is solid brick (ex MOD and everything is solid)
If we cant get the exact same tiles we can use some border tiles.
Good point about the waste. It may HAVE to be a raised base as the conservatory roof will make it difficult to lower access to the stack.
Thanks again**.....some really good points there.
**thanks to all for your ideas.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

slowmotion said:


> You really must take tanking the walls and floor deadly seriously. Even the slightest leak will lead to some giant fruiting body of a dry rot fungus lurking in the timbers below somewhere down the line.


Thanks.... we wont be going down that route.


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## Dave7 (4 Nov 2019)

MODS... .this is a backward step.
I really like CC but really, who is going to come on Cycle Chat then look for home improvements and gardening.
Get it back to what it was when people could choose what/what not to click on.


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## classic33 (7 Nov 2019)

Bi-folding door in place of the current door?


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## newts (9 Nov 2019)

1700 x 700 walking tray with 900mm glass panel may not keep the water in. A 300mm swivel panel attached to the fixed panel would improve water retention. The 300mm deep run of units at the opposite end reduces access. How about boxing off across the basin end floor to ceiling & 1400 x 700 shower tray with sliding door. You could have inset tiled shelving within the boxing area.


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## Bonefish Blues (9 Nov 2019)

I think that even though you're keen not to disturb what you did relatively recently it might actually be more economical to start again and re-plan the whole room. I'd take a floorplan to a bathroom supplier and get their thoughts. It would definitely be easier to tank part of the room, and in our experience, very effective and economical.


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## cyberknight (10 Nov 2019)

Im considering going the other way 
looking to move and one property we lke has done the w room but we have young kids so would like a bath put back in


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## derrick (10 Nov 2019)

1/4 plate glass with a small return. Works well for us.


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## midlife (10 Nov 2019)

Had to double take.... Thought I saw a "soap on a rope".


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## neil_merseyside (11 Nov 2019)

My father in law had a bath lift (scissor jack + swivel seat) he had it 5 yrs, an aunt has it now, it'll be about 12 years old now and only its second set of NiCd batteries. Needs lifting out occasionally to clean bio film - or the bath water nuking with suitable 'spa/pool' cleaner. Much easier option as it saves the problem of having to try and seal an after fit tray without tanking and tiling.


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## Mart44 (16 Nov 2019)

We converted to a wet-room for disability reasons. I know you say this is decided against but it might be worth reconsidering. if there are already floor to ceiling tiles in place, then all that would be needed is a continuous sealed floor. This might mean taking the bottom row of tiles off so that the floor covering can go beneath the tiles and the tiles then re-fixed over the top the covering (to get a water seal) .

An advantage might be that measurements of the shower area become unimportant because the whole room is a shower. Mrs Mart44 has a curtain that she pulls across but i don't bother with using it. Just use the whole room. No banging of the elbows either because a screen isn't necessary.


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