How Much Does It Cost to Convert a Tub to a Walk-In Shower in Melbourne?

Plan on about $4,500–$12,000 to replace an alcove tub with a tiled walk-in shower in Melbourne, based on our Florida planning range, which includes waterproofing and a new drain. Frameless glass adds about $1,000–$4,000, and moving the drain to a new spot in the slab adds about $1,000–$5,000. We didn't find any published tub-to-shower prices for Melbourne or Brevard County, so treat these as statewide planning estimates, not local quotes.

This page covers the conversion on its own: what a complete quote includes, why national figures look cheaper and how each choice changes the total. If you're remodeling the whole room, see our Melbourne bathroom remodel cost guide. If you're still deciding whether to give up the tub, start with walk-in shower vs. bathtub.

Tub-to-shower conversion cost in Florida

The first row is the conversion itself: a tiled walk-in shower built in the space of a standard alcove tub, with a waterproofing system behind and under the tile and a new shower drain. The glass, drain-move and floor-tile rows are the extras that most often go with it.

The ranges cover installed materials and labor. Leave room outside them for permit fees, any condo or HOA application fee, separately charged sales tax and repairs to damage found once the old tub is out. See how we estimate costs.

Why national cost guides show lower prices

We found no recent Melbourne or Brevard price data for this job. The closest published figures are national:

The gap has several likely causes:

• Shower type. The national ranges cover different kinds of shower. The guides say a prefabricated stall costs least and a custom tiled shower can run $10,000 or more. Our range covers tiled showers only, so its floor is higher.
• Scope. Our range includes waterproofing and a new drain. We couldn't confirm what the national averages include.
• Labor markets. The guides list local labor rates as a price driver, and one says labor makes up about 40% to 60% of the total. A national average blends many markets.
• Dates. Neither national page showed a date in our research, so we can't say how current they are.

If you're pricing a prefabricated stall, the national figures are the closer guide, because our Florida tables don't have a separate range for it. If you want tile, use our Florida range. The top of the national ranges, about $7,500–$8,000, falls inside it.

What a complete conversion quote includes

A conversion pulls several trades into a small space. Ask for each of these as its own line, so you can compare quotes on the same scope:

• Demolition and disposal. Removing the tub, the old surround and any damaged wallboard, and hauling it away. The national guides list how hard the tub is to remove as a price driver.
• Plumbing. A new shower drain, plus a new valve and trim if the old ones are replaced or moved.
• Shower floor. A tiled floor sloped to the drain, or a solid shower base. Ask how it will slope and how high the curb or threshold will be.
• Waterproofing. A tiled shower needs a waterproofing system behind and under the tile. You can't see it once the tile is up, so ask each contractor to name the system.
• Walls and glass. Tile or a prefabricated surround, and a curtain, a framed door or frameless glass. Framed doors cost less than frameless.
• Extras. A niche, a bench, a handheld sprayer and grab-bar blocking, each priced separately.
• Hidden damage and permit. How the contract prices damage found behind the old tub, and the permit and inspections, whose fees aren't in our ranges.

What moves the price

Glass

A frameless single door sits at the low end of our $1,000–$4,000 glass range, and fixed panels plus a door at the high end. Custom glass can take weeks to arrive, so ask when it will be measured and ordered.

Where the drain goes in the slab

Most Florida homes sit on a concrete slab, with drain lines beneath it. If the new shower drain lands close to the old tub drain, our conversion range covers it. If it has to move, the floor is saw-cut, the new line run and the concrete patched, which adds about $1,000–$5,000 per fixture in our ranges. A curbless entry may need more slab work than a standard conversion, and our ranges don't price that separately.

The valve

Moving the valve is one of the price drivers the national guides name, so ask whether yours stays on the same wall. If you're getting a new valve, ask what type it is and how its maximum water temperature is set.

Blocking and accessibility features

Grab-bar blocking is simplest to add while the walls are open, before the tile goes up. The National Association of Home Builders' aging-in-place checklist recommends wall bracing for grab bars around the tub, shower, seat and toilet. Our tables don't price blocking, a bench, a niche or a handheld sprayer, so ask for each as its own line.

For curbless entries, seats, scald safety and other design choices, see walk-in shower vs. bathtub. We haven't confirmed how the Florida Building Code treats shower thresholds, so ask the building department that will issue your permit before you settle on one.

What's behind the old tub

Water that has leaked past an old tub surround can rot framing or damage block walls, and you often won't see it until demolition. Keep a contingency on top of your estimate, and see change orders and hidden damage.

Low-cost, standard and premium conversions

• Low cost. A prefabricated base and surround, a framed door or a curtain, the drain near the old tub drain and the valve on the same wall. The national guides put prefabricated stalls at the low end, and our Florida tables don't have a range for them.
• Standard. A tiled shower in the old tub's footprint over a named waterproofing system, a new valve and trim, one niche and a curtain or a simple frameless door. Expect the lower to middle part of our $4,500–$12,000 range, plus any glass.
• Premium. Floor-to-ceiling, mosaic or large-format tile, all of which add labor, plus fixed glass panels and a door, a bench, a handheld sprayer, grab-bar blocking and a low threshold, sometimes with the drain moved. Expect the upper part of our range, plus the glass and drain-move extras.

Example budgets

These estimates use only our Florida planning ranges, rounded the way our calculators round. They're illustrations, not quotes.

How the extras add up

Assumptions:

• A standard alcove tub in a hall bath is replaced by a tiled walk-in shower in the same footprint
• The valve stays on the same wall, and no hidden damage turns up
• The vanity and toilet stay
• Each row adds one item to the row above it

The last high end works out to $21,600, rounded to $21,500. The calculator below reproduces the first three rows; it doesn't include floor tile.

A dated hall bath: conversion or full remodel?

Assumptions:

• A standard 5 × 8 ft hall bath where the vanity, toilet and floor are also dated
• Option A: convert the tub to a tiled shower with frameless glass, keep the drain near the old tub drain, retile about 30 sq. ft. of floor, and keep the vanity and toilet
• Option B: our standard full remodel, which keeps roughly the same layout, with a tiled walk-in shower where the tub was, plus frameless glass

Option A estimate: $5,800–$16,500. That's $4,500 + $1,000 + $300 = $5,800 at the low end, and $12,000 + $4,000 + $600 = $16,600, rounded to $16,500, at the high end.

Option B estimate: $16,000–$34,000. That's our standard full remodel range of $15,000–$30,000, plus $1,000–$4,000 for glass.

The top of option A reaches the bottom of option B. If the vanity, toilet and lighting will need replacing soon anyway, price both before you decide.

Real quotes depend on your bathroom's condition, what's behind the walls, where the drain can go and the products you choose.

Need a contractor for this project?Request a bathroom remodel estimate

Permits for a tub-to-shower conversion

A conversion usually replaces the drain and often the valve, so it's plumbing work, which generally needs a permit. Who issues it depends on where the home sits, not on your mailing address.

• City of Melbourne. Applications go to the city's Building Section through its EnerGov portal. Because the city requires a permit for plumbing work even on a job under $7,500, Florida's small-project exemption won't cover a conversion. Fees are set by the city's fee schedule in effect since August 7, 2026.
• Unincorporated Brevard, including Viera, Suntree and Merritt Island. The county has a Residential Renovation permit for interior remodels and a separate Residential Plumbing permit, so ask which one your conversion goes under. Licensed contractors apply online through the county's BASS system, and owner-builders apply in person. A single condo unit goes through the county's Multi-Family Renovation permit.
• Beach towns and nearby cities. Melbourne Beach's Building Official handles permits in the town. Indian Harbour Beach runs its own building department and publishes residential checklists, including one for plumbing. Palm Bay and West Melbourne issue their own permits. Satellite Beach's Community Development Department handles permits; ask it about the process. In Indialantic and elsewhere, ask city or town hall who reviews permits for your address.

On a direct contract over $5,000, Florida also requires a recorded Notice of Commencement, filed with the building department before the first inspection. Most of the estimates above are over that amount. For each office's process, see our Brevard County permit guide and Florida bathroom permit guide.

Who can do the plumbing

Brevard County says there's no handyman license in the county and that a handyman can do only unregulated specialty work. The plumbing in a conversion needs a licensed contractor, unless you do it yourself under Florida's owner-builder rules. Check contractors on the state's MyFloridaLicense.com and on Brevard County's Licensed Contractor Search.

Space Coast factors

• Condos. Associations usually require approval before bathroom work, and their rules are often stricter for plumbing, so a drain move may need the association's sign-off. Get approval in writing before you sign a contract. See HOA and condo approval in Florida.
• Flood zones. On the barrier island or near the Indian River Lagoon, check your flood zone if the conversion is part of a larger renovation. In a flood hazard area, when improvements reach 50% of the building's market value, the whole building generally has to meet current flood rules, and the whole project's cost counts. See the FEMA 50% rule.
• Your only tub. Some households want to keep one tub, for bathing small children for example. That's a household choice. We found no reliable data on how removing a home's only tub affects resale, in either direction.

Estimate your conversion

Under "Type of remodel," choose "Tub-to-shower conversion only." It's priced as one job, so there's no room size to pick. Then tick frameless glass or a slab drain move if your plan includes them. To price option B above, choose "Standard full remodel" at the standard size and tick frameless glass.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Comparing a tile quote with a national average. National figures include prefabricated showers. Compare tile quotes with tile quotes, and see why contractor quotes differ.
• Not asking where the drain goes. A drain move in the slab can add as much as the glass. Get the location and the price in writing.
• Accepting "waterproofing included" without a name. Ask which system goes behind and under the tile.
• Tiling the walls without blocking. Adding grab-bar blocking later means opening finished tile.
• Assuming the $7,500 exemption applies. It doesn't cover plumbing work.
• Pricing the conversion alone when the room needs more. If the vanity, toilet and floor are near the end of their life, compare a full remodel too.

Next steps

1. Decide between tile and a prefabricated shower, and whether you want glass.
2. Ask where the new drain can go, then set a budget range with the calculator and add a contingency for what's behind the tub.
3. Confirm who issues your permit. If you're in a condo or HOA community, get the association's approval in writing.
4. Ask for itemized written quotes for the same scope, using the quote list above.
5. Before you sign, confirm the contractor's and the plumber's licenses and insurance, using our guide to hiring a contractor in Melbourne.