Replacing bath with walk in shower. Cost?

Madmeg

I emailed Convertabath late last night and he phoned me this morning. The basic cost is £600 for adapting the bath, £30 for a chrome grab-rail and £20 for travel costs (35p/mile). He will try to mend our existing (broken) shower screen or fit a new one for £20. He could do it pretty soon. We are having a chat tonight but I imagine it's a no-brainer for our purpose at that price. Will let you all know when it's been done and tried out.

The pics he sent do show a fair step into the bath but DH feels he can manage that.

Wonderful news!

That seems very excessive. Wet room? My whole bathroom remodel cost less than that! I have a walk in shower.

Unfortunately everything from any Grant or LA has a massive long wait. Even then depending on your finances they can be refused.

£10k in 2022 here.

Goodness, I’m surprised how little some folk have paid. I had existing walk in shower - which had a tray - replaced with level wet room about three years ago. Room fully tanked (which I believe is mandatory) and tiled. Cost including fittings, tiling, underfloor heating (a necessity as far as I’m concerned) etc. was about £11k. I don’t regret a penny of it. Fantastic job done by local tradesmen who have all 10/10 reviews on Which Trusted Trader - which is my go to when I need stuff doing

I emailed Convertabath late last night and he phoned me this morning. The basic cost is £600 for adapting the bath, £30 for a chrome grab-rail and £20 for travel costs (35p/mile). He will try to mend our existing (broken) shower screen or fit a new one for £20. He could do it pretty soon. We are having a chat tonight but I imagine it's a no-brainer for our purpose at that price. Will let you all know when it's been done and tried out.

The pics he sent do show a fair step into the bath but DH feels he can manage that.

Sounds expensive to me but builders and plumbers prices have gone up dramatically since Brexit and COVID. There's a shortage of skilled labour and the goods ones are in demand. I would try a local plumber rather than a bathroom fitting company if I were you.

We’ve just had a bath removed and a walk-in. Shower fitted, no Invoice received yet.
But we didn’t have a shower enclosure, just the tray and a fixed piece of glass, making it easier if someone has to get into the shower with you to help you.
We have a small Flipper panel to stop the water splashing out onto the drying area. It’s a long shower tray so the water doesn’t come out anyway, but it was just in case.

We had ours done and it only cost £2000 and that was with extra tiles that fell off and had to be replaced.
We used a local plumber.

These companies rip off the elderly even if it's just bathroom replacement. You should report them to your local council.

I would wait and speak to your husbands occupational therapist first .
I worked with stroke patients for years and the patients recovery denotes their needs , for instance the balance of a stroke patient can be badly affected which can mean they are not suitable for a bath hoist or a stair lift . Also if they are immobile they may need a shower chair which can be wheeled into a flat floor shower without a lip . As I say you are best discussing his needs with the OT and she will probably do a home visit for all his needs .

weight bear

Home adaptions are means tested through the OT, but regardless of that you will need a proper assessment of what is required for your husbands condition. You may not need a shower tray at all, if you want the shower chair to go in to the bathroom as we did with my husband. It depends whether your husband can weightier or not and if he is safe standing in shower. You may need a wall chair and as there are so many options you will need proper guidance. Your husband can be strip washed until the work is done, it will do no harm not to shower for a few months. If not perhaps respite while the work is being done. My husband was not allowed discharge until the home was totally ready and safe proved for his arrival home. You will not regret taking your time over this which after all his a major alteration to your home, and which you may want to change back to a standard shower which is warmer at a later stage. No one knows what the future holds, so have your options open and a plan B too.

We had a walk in shower put in last year by Wickes. It cost us nearly £12,000 but we had new tiles, plumbing, electrics and flooring too. Our bathroom sounds similar to yours as it's a small downstairs one. The cost shocked me too, but everything is dreadfully expensive nowadays. I just wish we'd had a seat put in too as my o/h's health is getting worse and needs this as well now.
Wishing you good luck, and better health for your husband.

Many years ago I worked for a large national DIY company and can’t recall any confirm the fitting costs were the exact same amount as the kitchen or bathroom furniture or equipment. I would never pay for their fitting costs, as I know I could get a local tradesman cheaper.

My partner had this done last summer after having his first stroke, replacing bath with a walk in shower, moved and replaced hand basin, a cupboard put under sink, wall panels replaced half the tiles, new shower, a seat and two handles new non slip flooring. This cost £9500 odd, vat was removed, no help from anywhere as he had some savings. This wasn’t the cheapest quote it was in the middle however the company did come highly recommended

Thank you Monica !
I’ve just contacted them. Lovely guy. Quoted me £750 for easy access way into my existing bath
Brilliant idea
Thanks again

I understand your desire to have everything ready for him when he comes home but I think it's probably more sensible to wait and see how he is when he returns. It may well be that he's a lot better before he's discharged but I think the OT at the hospital will help you as they may not want to discharge him until conditions at home suit his abilities. Also, depending on his health, he may well eventually have his own ideas about what would suit him best.

I think you might be able to get help with the cost if it is needed medically. Speak to Social Services or maybe Age UK.

I did just that 10 yrs ago when my wife became disabled, converted the whole bathroom into a wet room adding a heated floor at the same time. The main issue is waterproofing the floor ours is ground floor, that may not be straightforward an upper floor.

A wet room is far better than a bath for anyone less able, bathrooms are not cheap to refurbish.

We had this done in 2022.
We got advice from Age UK. The fitter was extremely helpful. We already had a shower over the bath, so the plumbing was already there. The existing shower was replaced with a new one
They removed the bath, put a board against one wall, put in a shower tray and installed a shower screen. They fitted two grab rails and a fold down seat. It came to just under £7000 but looks attractive and works well. The controls are levers rather than taps. Between us, the fitter and I fixed a comfortable temperature, so the only control we normally use is the on/off lever

It sounds an awful lot of money considering you ca have entire wet room for not much more money.

We were in a similar situation. We paid over 12,000 for the bath to be removed, complete retailing and commercial standard non slip flooring. The standard of flooring was important as we couldn’t risk him slipping. Then the stroke team arranged for a top of the range shower seat and two grab-rails. Very expensive, but definitely worth every penny. We had a great plumber who did all the building work. We’ve know him and his dad. My neighbour recommended a tiler.
I would say;
Get recommendations for the person or company doing the works.
Get the best non slip flooring.
Get the stroke team to send an OT who will risk assess the room and arrange extra safety features.
My husband went on to have another stroke so I am so pleased we had the work done when we had.
Hope your husband’s home soon and you get the support you desire.

I haven't managed to read all the responses and I might be repeating what you've already been told but please get a company who fits disabled bathroom. You need a proper non slippy floor and other aids and although it may be more expensive it will be worth it. Also see if you can get any help from social services.

orly

The problem is "salesman" whose commission will be half the cost.

Don't believe the click-bait ads which say "Most serious don't know they can get a walk-in shower at virtually no cost"

Don't believe the click-bait ads which say "Most SENIORS don't know they can get a walk-in shower at virtually no cost"