A warm shower is a great way to start a day…but wouldn’t it be even better in a nicer, newer shower? Bathroom remodels are a perennially popular, though pricey, home improvement project. Having just the shower redone can be a more cost-efficient alternative for homeowners who don’t want their budget to take a bath.
“I get a lot of requests just for the shower to be updated,” says Blake Becker, owner of Becker Custom Builders in Naples, Florida. Becker, who also provides remodeling guidance on his Built By Becker YouTube channel, shares what homeowners need to know about shower remodels.
How Much Does a Shower Remodel Cost?
The price of a shower redo can be tricky to pin down—costs vary substantially depending on local labor rates, shower size, materials and components selected, and whether the project is a full remodel or a simple refresh.
Many estimates place the nationwide average cost for a full walk-in shower remodeling in the neighborhood of $10,000, but homeowners in high-cost areas or with high-end tastes should anticipate quotes well above that figure.
For example, South Florida homeowners should expect to spend $12,000 to $16,000 for an upscale remodel of a 3’x5’ shower, according to Becker, or more for a larger shower.
If that seems like a steep price tag for such a small space, consider the number of skilled tradespeople involved in the project—everyone from tile pros to plumbers and more. “A bathroom shower has almost as many subcontractors as a whole-house renovation,” notes Becker. Prices can climb especially rapidly if the footprint of the shower is altered, and/or mold is discovered when the existing shower is removed.
If you’re searching for an upgraded shower experience, but unwilling to pay those prices, a qualified general contractor is unlikely to take on a significantly smaller job…but a tile contractor might be willing to retile your shower for a few thousand dollars, giving it a fresh new look, and you could replace the showerhead for a few hundred dollars or less.
If even hiring a tile contractor stretches the budget too far, Becker notes that DIY epoxy systems designed specifically for repainting bath and shower tiles are available for under $100.
How to Plan Your Shower Remodel
Among the keys to successful shower remodeling: Decide precisely what you want before the work begins. Rethinking shower design ideas while remodeling is already underway can drive up costs dramatically.
Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to make renovation decisions in advance. Historically, homeowners have had to trust guidance from interior designers, or seek out design ideas in showrooms and magazines, then hope those ideas would translate well to their own homes.
Now, homeowners can discover design ideas and see whether those ideas truly work for their own shower using little more than their phone. “AI has changed the construction industry and the design industry overnight,” says Becker. “Take a picture of your shower with your phone and use ChatGPT to say, ‘Hey, give me three different options of what I could do with a shower renovation’.”
If you don’t like the initial suggestions, add a few details about your preferences and priorities and try again. Create a budget for your project in advance, too, in order to target appropriately priced components.
Which shower features are worth their price? Personal showering preferences are paramount with these decisions, says Becker—if you like to use a shower spray wand or sit on a shower bench, then by all means include these in your new shower, but if you don’t use a particular shower feature, don’t include it just because it seems like it might be appealing.
That said, if you intend to age in place in your current home, do consider including grab bars, curbless shower entries, benches, or other features that you might find increasingly helpful as you age, even if you don’t use such things now.
Shower features especially likely to be money well spent or money wasted, in Becker’s experience…
- Money well spent: Steam showers. “People who like steam showers don’t just like them, they love them,” says Becker. “If you like a really hot, enclosed, spa-type feeling, this is a great upgrade.”
- Money wasted: Wall jets. “It’s a great upsell—it’s an addition of $4000 in plumbing,” says Becker. “But the reality is after a couple weeks, they’re just using the shower head or spray wand and not bothering with their wall jets.”
Choosing the Right Shower Size and Layout
Expanding the size of a shower is, unsurprisingly, likely to expand shower remodeling costs. The 3’x5’ shower size cited above is just a starting point for modern American homes—it’s increasingly common to find showers that are 4’x6’ or larger.
How big of a shower is big enough? That’s a question a luxury-home contractor might have a hard time answering. “Personally, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a big enough shower,” Becker says.
Homeowners hoping for a spacious shower do, however, need to know that upsizing a shower’s footprint will almost certainly upsize the project’s cost.
If the bathroom isn’t especially roomy, adding to the size of the shower also might require sacrificing some other bathroom fixture to find space. If the bathroom currently has a rarely used tub as well as a shower, that tub will often be what’s removed.
Even repositioning a shower to a different spot in the bathroom without expanding its size is likely to drive up costs considerably. Some good news: Repositioning drains, valves, and/or showerheads should not dramatically add to the bill if the shower’s footprint isn’t moved.
Becker notes that there’s one shower hardware repositioning request that’s particularly popular: “‘Can you move this valve so I don’t get wet turning on the shower?’” He begins, “That’s the number one request in all bathroom renovations.”
Best Shower Materials to Consider
Many homeowners lean towards large shower tiles because they provide a modern look and are relatively easy to clean. But the top priority when selecting tile for shower floors should be slip reduction, and small tiles are the better choice for that.
The smaller the tiles, the more grout lines there are per square foot, and those grout lines provide traction. “For a shower floor, go with a selection that’s going to give you the most amount of grout lines possible because the grout lines have that grit,” says Becker. “My suggestion is three-inch by three-inch mosaic or smaller.”
It’s also prudent to choose a tile type that has a “Dynamic Coefficient of Friction” (DCOF) rating of 0.5 or above. The higher the tile’s DCOF, the lower its slip risk, all else being equal. Tile stores, product packaging, and manufacturer websites should provide DCOF data.
It’s fine to prioritize aesthetics and ease of cleaning when it comes to shower walls. Many homeowners opt for larger tiles here, though homeowners with big budgets also could consider large stone slabs for a distinctive look and easy-to-clean surface.
“I’m going to do a primary bath in a home where we’re using full-slab granite on the walls,” says Becker. “There’s a lot of different, cool stuff out there.”
Waterproofing: Why It Matters
If the waterproofing under or around a shower is poorly installed, moisture could get into walls or floors, leading to expensive mold problems or water damage. Multiple layers of moisture protection are typically custom-installed to create a reliable waterproof barrier—there’s often a copper pan, mortar bed, waterproof membranes, and more.
Alternatively, a prefab waterproofing system could cut down on installation costs. Example: Schluter-Systems’ KERDI waterproofing products are “kind of the standard in waterproofing,” says Becker.
These prefab systems are neither better nor worse than built-on-site waterproofing, according to Becker. Either can work well or poorly, depending on whether it’s put in properly. “There are wonderful waterproofing systems for every budget,” says Becker. “Just make sure you have the right installer doing the job.”
Shower Doors and Enclosures
Shop for shower components these days, and you’re likely to encounter a wide range of doors and enclosures, including doors that swing, doors that slide, doors that fold, humble shower curtains, and more.
There’s also the option of doing without a shower door or enclosure of any sort—with a “wet room,” the shower is not walled off from the rest of the bathroom at all, creating an open feel.
Any of these door (or doorless) options is perfectly fine, says Becker, and largely a matter of personal preference. But he does caution that no door will work well if not properly installed…and that building codes in some areas can restrict door choices based on door clearance rules and other issues.
Warning: Opting for a “wet room” likely will inflate costs even though it avoids the cost of an enclosure—the entire bathroom floor will probably have to be modified and waterproofed.
Shower Fixtures and Features
When selecting showerheads, valves, spray wands and other shower hardware, the safe strategy is to stick with big-name brands, such as Delta, Moen, and Kohler, cautions Becker. “They’re good companies,” he says. “They’re not going to make junk.”
Becker advises that where you purchase shower components matters, too. Even the reliable companies listed above tend to offer lower-quality products at big-box stores than at plumbing supply stores. “There’s nothing wrong with the one at Home Depot,” says Becker. “But its parts are probably going to wear out before the one from the plumbing supply store.”
Design Ideas to Improve the Look of Your Shower
An attractive shower isn’t just a more pleasant space to spend a few minutes every morning; it can help a home seem modern and well-maintained, which could improve the price the home fetches when sold.
What shower styles are considered modern and appealing these days?
- A mosaic tile floor that extends a few inches up the shower walls. It’s common to have small tiles on shower floors for safety and large tiles or other materials on shower walls for aesthetic reasons…but rather than have the tile transition occur right at the intersection between wall and floor, shift it a few inches up the wall for a less-visually jarring result.
- Creative tile arrangements for large wall tiles. “The old stacked-brick pattern of tile is kind of being replaced,” says Becker. “We’re using a lot of larger format tiles and stacking them directly on top of each other without the staggered patterns. There’s also the chevron style that’s a bit more artistic.”
- Stone slab walls. As noted above, homeowners with big budgets can select large granite, marble, quartz, or other stone or engineered stone-like slabs for their shower walls.
When it comes to shower fixture finish, trends are cyclical. “For a while everything was brushed nickel, then we got into the gold, then everything was black fixtures,“ says Becker. “Now we’re coming back to chrome.”
Common Shower Remodel Mistakes to Avoid
When shower remodel projects go badly, wrong, or overbudget, it’s often because…
The wrong contractor or subcontractors
You probably already know that it’s important to choose your general contractor with care. But shower remodeling requires work from numerous subcontractors, so savvy homeowners should also confirm that their general contractor is hiring trustworthy subs.
“Vet your subcontractors,” says Becker. “Ask them first and foremost: do they have insurance, are they licensed? Do they have previous clients you can call for a reference, and do they have multiple pictures of different jobs that they have done recently?”
Mold is revealed when the old shower is ripped out
Build a financial cushion of several thousand dollars built into your budget in case mold remediation is needed. “You never know what’s behind the wall,” says Becker. “You might have had a shower in your house for 20 years and never known there’s mold growing. It’s something we find quite often.”
