The walk-in shower is the most requested bathroom upgrade in Roanoke's older housing stock. Most of the city's postwar homes have a tub/shower combination that takes up a third of the bathroom and gets used as a shower — the tub itself sits unused. Converting that space to a proper walk-in shower is practical, accessible, and changes how the bathroom looks and works entirely.
Tub-to-Shower Conversion
Converting an existing tub alcove to a walk-in shower is one of the most common bathroom projects we do. The tub comes out, the drain is reconfigured for a shower pan, the walls are prepared with proper waterproofing, and a custom tile shower is built in the same footprint. Frameless glass or a fixed glass panel replaces the shower curtain. The result is a more functional, more accessible, and better-looking room — usually without changing a single dimension of the bathroom.
In a small Roanoke bungalow bathroom, this conversion also recovers usable space. A walk-in shower fits the same footprint as a tub alcove but feels significantly more open, especially with a frameless glass enclosure that doesn't create a visual barrier.
What We Build
- Custom tile shower. Tile walls, tile floor with linear drain or traditional center drain, niche, bench if the space allows. Any tile size, pattern, or layout. This is the most durable and most customizable option.
- Shower pan. Mud-set mortar bed or prefabricated acrylic pan, depending on the project scope and budget.
- Frameless glass enclosure. Heavy tempered glass panels with minimal hardware. Opens up the room visually, easier to clean than framed glass, and holds up for decades.
- Walk-in (no door) configuration. For larger shower footprints or accessibility-focused renovations, a walk-in design with no door at all is practical and clean.
- Shower fixtures. New valve, showerhead, hand shower, thermostatic controls — whatever the project calls for.
Why Waterproofing Is the Critical Step
Shower failures aren't tile failures. They're waterproofing failures. Tile and grout are not waterproof — water gets through, especially at grout joints, and the waterproofing layer behind the tile is what keeps that water out of the wall. In older Roanoke homes, the original "waterproofing" was often a layer of tarpaper stapled to the studs, or nothing at all.
We install a proper waterproofing membrane — sheet membrane or liquid-applied — before any tile goes up. This is not a shortcut-able step. A shower that's waterproofed correctly will outlast the tile. One that isn't will fail in the walls long before you see the problem on the surface.
Accessibility Considerations
Walk-in showers are also the right choice for aging-in-place renovations. A curbless (zero-threshold) shower entry, a built-in bench, grab bar blocking in the walls, and a hand shower on a slide bar — these features make a bathroom usable for many more decades without looking institutional. We plan for these elements at the rough-in stage so the blocking is in the right place if grab bars are needed later.
Service Area
Walk-in shower installation throughout Roanoke city and Roanoke County, and into Salem, Vinton, Hollins, Cave Spring, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Bedford, and Daleville.