Service
Replace a dated tub or fiberglass stall with a properly waterproofed walk-in shower.
A walk-in shower conversion is the most requested single-scope bathroom project in Berkeley: remove the old tub or fiberglass surround, waterproof the framing correctly, tile a curbless or low-curb walk-in, hang a glass panel or door, and set a modern pressure-balanced valve. Most conversions here run $18,000 to $32,000 depending on size, tile selection, and glass. Turnaround is typically 3 to 4 weeks including inspection scheduling. The waterproofing system, a bonded membrane like Schluter Kerdi or a liquid-applied membrane over cement board, matters more than any finish decision, because it is the difference between a shower that lasts decades and one that quietly rots the framing of a hundred-year-old house.
Plan on 3 to 4 weeks from demo to final inspection. Week one is demo, framing corrections, and rough plumbing with the city inspection. Week two is waterproofing, cure time, and the flood test. Week three is tile and grout. The final stretch is glass measurement and installation, fixture set, and silicone. Custom glass is the usual schedule driver, fabricators in the East Bay run 1 to 2 week lead times after field measurement.
Most walk-in shower conversions in Berkeley run $18,000 to $32,000. A standard 60-inch alcove conversion with mid-grade porcelain and a fixed glass panel lands at $18,000 to $23,000. Larger showers with premium tile, a linear drain, and a full frameless enclosure run $26,000 to $32,000. Curbless entries add $2,500 to $4,000 because the subfloor has to be recessed to create the slope, which on a raised-foundation Berkeley home means real framing work rather than a simple concrete grind.
If it is the only tub in the house and your likely buyer is a family, keep a tub somewhere in the home. Berkeley sells heavily to families drawn by the schools, and agents here will tell you a house with no tub at all narrows the buyer pool. If the home has a second bath with a tub, or the conversion is in a primary bath, a walk-in shower is almost always the better daily-use choice and shows beautifully in listings.
Both are accepted waterproofing systems. Kerdi is a bonded sheet membrane installed over foam board or drywall, highly consistent and well documented, and it is what most Bay Area tile setters trained in the last decade reach for. RedGard and similar liquid membranes roll onto cement board, cost less in material, and depend more on application thickness for reliability. Both pass inspection when installed to spec. What matters most is that the installer knows the chosen system cold, and that the assembly gets flood tested before tile.
Yes. Replacing or moving the shower valve requires a plumbing permit and inspection in Berkeley, and valve replacement is part of virtually every conversion. The permit runs through the Permits Online portal, the contractor files it and meets the inspector, and the rough inspection happens before the walls close. It is standard scope, not an extra.
Related Reading
What it takes to build a curbless shower in a Berkeley home: recessed floor framing, slope and drains, waterproofing, costs, and why raised foundations change the method.
The two dominant shower waterproofing approaches compared, bonded sheet membranes vs liquid-applied, and why the stakes are higher inside hundred-year-old wood-framed Berkeley walls.
Other Services
Bathrooms sometimes benefit from combined scope. If one bathroom is already being remodeled, adding a second under the same permit and crew usually saves 15 to 25 percent versus running separate projects.
Down-to-the-studs bathroom renovation, from demo through final inspection, typical 4 to 6 week timeline
Swap an unused alcove tub for a walk-in shower in the same footprint
Powder rooms and compact hall baths, tight footprints used well
Primary suite bathrooms, walk-in shower, double vanity, spa-scale scope
For a free quote, call (510) 283-2612 or send the form.