Bathtub to Walk-In Shower Conversion — Second Floor Bathroom, Needham, MA
Bathtub to Walk-In Shower — Second Floor Bathroom, Needham, MA
This second floor bathroom had the layout a lot of older Needham homes still have: a standard alcove bathtub, small square wall tile with a dark trim line, and a floor that had been covered and re-covered over the years. The family did not want another tub up here — they wanted a shower they would actually use every day.
Sun Shore Construction converted the tub alcove into a full walk-in shower, then rebuilt the rest of the room around it: new floor, new vanity, new toilet, new lighting and a relocated exhaust fan.
The details that make this room work are the ones you do not see once it is finished — the shower was reframed, a new drain was set, and the base, walls, corners and seams were waterproofed as a complete system before a single tile went on.
Project Highlights
What We Built
Walk-in shower — reframed the existing bathtub alcove, set a new shower drain into the existing drainage, built and waterproofed the shower base, and installed cement board on the shower walls. A complete waterproofing system was applied to the base, walls, corners, seams and penetrations before tiling.
Tile — 12×24 inch white matte porcelain on the shower walls and the bathroom floor, with a pebble mosaic shower floor. A full-length niche runs the width of the shower wall, split into two shelves and finished with a horizontal decorative tile.
Shower fittings — new valve, rain shower head, handheld sprayer on a slide bar and diverter, plus sliding glass shower doors in a nickel finish where both panels slide.
Vanity, toilet and storage — new 42 inch vanity with countertop, sink and faucet, a new toilet, and a new mirrored medicine cabinet. The existing wainscoting and linen closet were protected and kept, so the room still reads as part of the original house.
Lighting, power and ventilation — the exhaust fan was relocated closer to the shower and reconnected to the existing duct, a recessed light was added above the shower with two more in the ceiling, the switch was replaced, the outlet was upgraded to GFCI, and new sconces were installed at the vanity.
Surfaces — drywall repaired and patched where demolition and new work opened it up, then plastered, sanded and painted, including the ceiling, walls, existing wainscoting, door, trim and baseboards.
One extra — while the room was open we built a custom cabinet next to the walk-in shower, 12 inches wide by 48 inches high by 34 inches deep, with a matching door, to use the space that would otherwise have been closed up.
Demolition started on August 18 and the room was finished on August 31 — about two weeks on site.
Before & After
Drag the handle to see the same wall before demolition and after completion.
Project Gallery
Before, during and after — the same bathroom, start to finish.
Thinking About Converting a Tub to a Walk-In Shower?
Most second floor bathrooms in Greater Boston were built around a standard alcove tub, and that alcove is usually the right footprint for a walk-in shower — no moving walls, no moving the plumbing across the room. What matters is what happens underneath: the framing, the drain, and a waterproofing system that is installed as one continuous layer rather than patched together.
If you are thinking about the same conversion, we can walk the bathroom with you and tell you honestly what it will take.
Sun Shore Construction is licensed and insured, and serves Needham, Newton, Wellesley, Waltham, Brookline and the surrounding Greater Boston area.
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See the Transformation
Real Sun Shore projects — drag the handle to see each space before and after
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