Can a tub-to-shower conversion really be done in one day?

Some brands say a shower can go in within a day. Kohler, for example, says its entire LuxStone shower can be installed in as little as a day, so check whether a “one day” claim covers the whole project or just installation. One quick option isn’t a true conversion at all. It’s an overlay that goes over the existing tub rather than a new shower base. Bath Fitter’s FAQ says its standard product is a custom acrylic liner made to fit over the existing tub, with no demolition, installed in as little as 24 hours. That is the brand’s own marketing claim, and it describes hours on site. A true conversion removes the old tub and sets a new shower base. At Academy Construction, we typically sequence a standard conversion with grout-free materials across 3–5 working days and share that schedule before demo starts.

The rest of the timeline falls outside those days. Measuring and ordering come first, permit paperwork can delay inspections, and some materials need to cure before anyone can shower. Knowing where those days go helps you tell a legitimately fast job from one that skips steps, because a quick install can reflect the system being used rather than a shortcut.

What is the difference between a liner over the old tub and a full tear-out?

An overlay is made to fit over the existing tub with no demolition, so the areas behind and under the tub aren’t opened up for inspection. A full tear-out removes the old tub and replaces the base and the wall substrate. That gives the installer a chance to find damage and repair it before the new shower goes in. A liner changes the surface you see, so you shouldn’t count on it to fix a leak or rot that is already there.

Nobody can tell you the condition behind your tub until someone opens the wall. If you already see soft flooring, loose tile or staining near the tub, that points toward a tear-out rather than an overlay.

Does a quick conversion need a permit in Escambia or Santa Rosa County?

Speed doesn’t change the permit rules. In unincorporated Escambia County, the county’s permit list calls for a Plumbing Fixture Permit for the relocation of any fixture or the replacement of a bathtub with a shower or a shower pan. The county gives painting, wallpapering, carpeting and kitchen cabinets as examples of strictly cosmetic work that generally doesn’t need a building permit, and bath or shower work isn’t on that list. The county’s page doesn’t address an overlay that leaves the drain and valve in place, so ask Escambia County Building Services about that case.

The City of Pensacola requires an Alteration Permit for bathroom remodels in which all cabinets and plumbing, gas or electrical fixtures are being removed, or if sheetrock will be removed to rough in subtrades. The city’s inspection list includes a Plumbing Final Inspection, done after all plumbing fixtures are in place and properly connected, and inspections can be scheduled online through MGO, in the permit or by IVR phone line. That inspection list doesn’t state a scheduling lead time.

In Santa Rosa County, start with the county. If the home is inside Milton or another city, ask whether the city has its own steps in addition to county permitting. The county’s permit guidance lists plumbing among its permit types and warns that most often a permit is required except for minor repairs, though it doesn’t address tub-to-shower conversions specifically. Gulf Breeze’s FAQ confirms that building in the city also requires a Santa Rosa County building permit. On our projects, we pull the plumbing permit and the job goes through county inspection.

How the under-$7,500 exemption and the Notice of Commencement affect your schedule

Florida law offers a small-job exemption, but it doesn’t reach plumbing. Section 553.79(1)(g) of the Florida Statutes requires local governments to exempt single-family owners and their contractors from building permits for work valued under $7,500, but the exemption does not apply to any plumbing, electrical, structural, mechanical or gas work, or to property in a flood hazard area. The City of Pensacola lists its own process for an under-$7,500 exemption. Effective July 1, 2026, non-structural work on a single-family home valued under $7,500 is exempt from permitting, and you apply through MGOConnect and pay a $40 administrative fee once the application is processed. Because the state exemption excludes plumbing, check with the city before assuming its exemption covers a conversion that touches the shower pan, drain or valve.

Paperwork can also slow a job that does need a permit. Escambia County requires a recorded Notice of Commencement for any work with costs of $5,000 or more, along with a certified copy. In the City of Pensacola, improvements greater than $5,000 need a Notice of Commencement filed with the Escambia County Clerk of Courts and uploaded to the project in the customer portal, and the city won’t schedule inspections until it receives that copy. If that step lags, the inspection waits, even when the install itself took one day.

How long each shower system needs before you can use it

The wall system you choose sets the minimum schedule, because adhesives, membranes and grout each need time before water can reach them. Take a solid-surface panel kit as an example. Swanstone’s installation guide bonds its shower wall panels with 100% silicone, keeps them braced until the silicone sets (usually 24 hours), and calls for at least 24 hours before the shower is used.

Tile takes longer because several layers cure in sequence. LATICRETE’s data sheet for its Hydro Ban liquid membrane calls for a full cure, typically 24 hours at 50°F – 69°F and 70% RH, and 2 hours at 70°F or higher and 50% RH, before flood testing, with the flood test done before any tile goes down. Custom Building Products’ Fusion Pro shower instructions add more waiting, because a mortar bed under tile must cure at least seven days and have a dry surface before tiling, the floor assembly must be dry for 24 hours before grouting, and the whole tile assembly cures seven days after grouting before water runs in the shower. Added together, those two seven-day waits come to about two weeks of cure time alone for a mortar-bed shower using that grout. That is one example assembly from one manufacturer’s instructions, not a published total and not a timeline every tile shower follows. The same manufacturer warns that high humidity, from weather or jobsite conditions, can slow the grout’s evaporation and cure rate, which is worth knowing in a Gulf Coast bathroom.

Cure time also matters if this is your only shower. The shower stays out of use until the last cure period ends, so plan where everyone will shower for those days.

Plumbing and glass code points to check on any conversion

Some code requirements apply however fast the job is. Ask your plumber to confirm the drain size and location, the condition of the trap, that the shower drain fitting meets the current standard, that the valve’s temperature limit is set on site, and who checks these at inspection. The Florida Building Commission’s analysis of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Residential notes a new section, P2708.2.1, that requires waste fittings for shower drains to conform to ASME A112.18.2/CSA B125.2. The same edition revised P2708.4 so that temperature limiting devices on shower control valves must be field-adjusted to the not-to-exceed temperature. The commission’s summary doesn’t give drain or trap sizes, the temperature limit or the valve standards, so those details come from your plumber and inspector.

Ask whether the new shower base will use the existing drain location or require moving it. The answer affects time and price, and in Escambia County moving a fixture falls under the Plumbing Fixture Permit described above.

Glass panels next to a shower or tub generally need safety glazing, with limited exceptions. The 2023 code revised R308.4.5 to clarify that walls next to wet surfaces such as bathtubs and showers are hazardous locations for glazing. In the Florida Home Builders Association’s reproduction of that section, glazing in walls or enclosures containing or facing bathtubs and showers counts as a hazardous location when its bottom exposed edge is less than 60 inches above any standing or walking surface. If you want glass rather than a curtain, ask when the glass will be ordered and how that affects the schedule.

Planning for easier access: threshold, size and grab bar blocking

If the goal is easier access, settle the entry and the wall reinforcement before any panels go up, because both depend on what sits behind and under the finished surface. The ADA Standards give useful best-practice reference dimensions. Treat them as targets to discuss rather than assuming your bathroom must match them, and ask whether your existing tub alcove can fit them. A standard roll-in shower is at least 30 inches wide by 60 inches deep inside, with a 60-inch-wide minimum entry, and a transfer-type shower is 36 by 36 inches inside, with a 36-inch entry and a 36 by 48-inch clear space. The same chapter caps roll-in shower thresholds at ½ inch high, and in transfer showers a ½-inch threshold must be beveled, rounded or vertical.

Grab bars can wait if the walls are ready for them. The ADA Standards don’t require grab bars to be installed in showers in residential dwelling units, provided reinforcement is in the walls where grab bars can go later, and grab bars and their supports must withstand a 250-pound force. During a tear-out, ask for that blocking while the walls are open.

Before choosing a low-threshold or curbless design, confirm the required shower size and curb or threshold details with your local building department. Treat low-threshold and curbless as separate options, and ask your contractor what subfloor, framing and waterproofing work each would need in your bathroom and how many days it would add.

Who is allowed to do the work

A one-day crew isn’t automatically licensed for the plumbing, so ask who will do each part, who is licensed for the plumbing, who pulls the permit and whether subcontractors are used. Florida’s casual, minor exemption in F.S. 489.103(9) covers casual, minor or inconsequential work only when the aggregate contract price for labor, materials and all other items is less than $2,500. It doesn’t apply if the work is part of a larger project, if a job is split into contracts under $2,500 to evade the law, or if the person advertises as a contractor or otherwise represents that they are qualified to engage in contracting.

Owners can also act as their own contractor under Florida’s owner-builder exemption, which covers improving a one- or two-family home on their own property for their own use, not offered for sale or lease, while they directly supervise on site all work not done by licensed contractors. The owner must also personally appear and sign the permit application and meet any local permitting requirements.

Older homes raise one more question. If your house was built before 1978, ask each bidder whether the work will disturb painted surfaces, whether their firm is EPA RRP-certified, and how the crew will contain the work area and clean up afterward. Under the federal RRP Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs painted surfaces in a pre-1978 home must be certified. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can confirm which federal lead rules apply to your project, including whether it matters that you rent out all or part of the home, run a childcare center there or are flipping the house.

What does a quick conversion cost?

Quicker isn’t automatically cheaper. Treat any price you see in an ad for a one-day or quick conversion as something to check against a written quote. Bath Fitter, for example, doesn’t publish prices on its tub-to-shower page and names the size, shape and material of the existing tub, the products and features chosen, and any repairs needed before installation as the factors it weighs. Ask each bidder to itemize whether the quote includes overlay or tear-out, the wall system, drain or valve changes, glass and permits. Hidden damage behind a tub can’t be priced until someone finds it, so set aside a contingency in your budget and ask each bidder how they handle repairs discovered after demo.

Choosing between a national one-day brand and a local contractor

The useful comparison is what each company puts in writing, not how fast the crew works. Warranty terms vary by brand, product and installer, so ask for the written warranty and read the exclusions before you sign. These questions work for any bidder:

• Ask whether the scope says overlay or tear-out, and what happens to the old tub and walls.
• Ask who pulls the permit and who schedules the inspection.
• Ask for an itemized price and a written schedule that shows when the glass is ordered.
• Ask what the warranty covers for labor and for products, and what it excludes.
• Ask who comes back if something fails after final payment.

For comparison, Academy Construction is licensed and insured and provides a written scope with itemized pricing and a realistic schedule before demo day. We also walk every completed job with the homeowner, address punch list items before final payment, and provide written warranty documentation for our labor alongside the manufacturer paperwork.

Start by deciding whether your bathroom fits a fast job. A quick install can make sense if the tub area shows no sign of damage, the drain and valve can stay where they are, and the permit and plumbing questions have clear answers. If you want tile or a curbless entry, or you suspect water damage behind the tub, plan and budget for a longer job. If this is the only tub in the house, also decide whether anyone in your household, or a future buyer, would still want one before you give it up.