CRF Services Ltd
Walk in shower installation and bath to shower conversions
A walk in shower replaces a bath, an old cubicle or a cramped corner with a low tray or level floor, a fixed glass screen and a shower you can step straight into. Most enquiries Danny receives are bath to shower conversions, where the bath comes out and a walk in shower is built in the same footprint. Done properly, it is a plumbing, waterproofing and tiling job rather than a quick swap, and that is how CRF Services Ltd plans it for homes across Rochester and Medway.
Replacing a bath with a walk in shower
Converting a bath to a walk in shower starts with taking out the bath, the panel and the tiles around it. The wall behind a bath was never meant to take water at head height, so it is checked, and loose plaster or old board is stripped back. The floor where the bath stood is inspected too, because joists under a long leaking bath seal are sometimes soft.
The biggest practical question is the waste. A bath drains from a low outlet at one end; a shower tray needs a trap beneath it with enough fall to the soil pipe for water to clear as quickly as the shower delivers it. Where the run is short and straightforward, the new waste follows the old route. Where it is longer, the tray may need raising slightly or the pipe rerouting, and that is decided at the quotation visit rather than on the day.
- Bath, panel, tiles and old sealant removed and taken away
- Wall and floor in the shower area checked and repaired
- Waste reworked so the tray drains with a proper fall
- Walls boarded and waterproofed before tiling
- Tray or level floor, screen and shower valve fitted
- Tiling, sealing and a full water test with you
Tray, screen and shower: choosing the parts
Most walk in showers use a low profile stone resin tray, which is rigid, quiet underfoot and sits only a short step above the floor. The alternative is a level floor former tiled to match the room, which turns the space into a wet room; the wet rooms page explains when that suits a house and when a tray is the safer choice.
Screens are usually a single fixed panel of toughened glass, sometimes with a short return or a hinged deflector at the end. A larger shower area lets you leave the screen open without water reaching the rest of the room. Thermostatic valves keep the temperature steady when someone runs a tap elsewhere in the house, and a riser rail with a handset makes cleaning the tray easier. You can buy the parts yourself or talk them through with Danny first so the tray size, screen height and valve position all suit the room.
Who walk in showers suit
Walk in showers are popular with people who find climbing over a bath side harder than it used to be, households where nobody uses the bath, and landlords who want a shower room that is quick to clean between tenants. A low tray, a fixed screen with a wide opening and a fold down seat or grab rail on a solid wall are practical additions, and the backing for rails is best planned before the wall is tiled.
Where somebody has specific mobility needs, it is worth describing them when you get in touch so the tray height, opening width and fixings are planned around the person who will use it.
Ventilation and finishing
A walk in shower produces a lot of steam in one place. An extractor fan near the shower helps the tiles, grout and sealant last, and keeps mould off the ceiling. Fan wiring and any work in the zones around the shower are for a qualified electrician, which is explained at quotation stage in line with the handyman or specialist guide.
Finishing makes the difference to how the shower looks in a year. Grout lines are kept tight, silicone is run in one clean bead at the tray and screen, and the joint between tray and wall is left to cure before the shower is used. The mouldy shower sealant guide explains why that curing time matters.
Cost and how to book
On this site's bathroom pricing, a bath to walk in shower conversion sits in the layout change band of 7,000 to 9,000 pounds, because of the waste work and waterproofing involved. The bath to walk in shower cost guide explains what moves a job up or down that range, and the wet room vs shower enclosure guide compares the two main options.
If your tray has simply cracked or started leaking, a full conversion may not be needed; see shower tray replacement. Walk in showers sit within the wider bathroom renovation service. To arrange a visit, send photos of the bath and the room, its rough size and your postcode through the contact page, or call 07470 053613.
Deciding whether to keep a bath at all is covered in walk in shower vs bath. For level access and grab rails, see accessible bathrooms; for screens and doors, shower enclosure installation.
This work is part of our Bathroom Renovations service.
Common questions
Walk in shower installation and bath to shower conversions questions answered
Useful guides
Wet room vs walk in shower: which is right for your bathroom?
The floor decides this more often than the budget does.
Mouldy shower sealant: reseal it, or is it time for a refit?
Why the black spots come back, and how to tell cosmetic mould from a leak.
Replace bath with walk in shower cost: what to budget
Swapping the bath for a shower: the price, the plumbing and the decisions that matter.
Have a job in mind?
Tell Danny what needs doing and get a clear, no-obligation quotation.