In the 1990s and 2000s Liberty belt, a tub-to-shower conversion is usually a clean job in a purpose-built alcove with conventional framing and a drain that is where the plans said it would be. In the pre-war stock near the square, the same request lands in a bathroom that was retrofitted into the house decades after it was built, and the wall behind the tub may be plaster over lath with plumbing that has been revised more than once. Both are doable. They are not the same estimate, and the honest version of the conversation acknowledges that before a number is given rather than after the wall is open.
What the work covers
- Removing the tub and the surround, which usually means opening the wet wall
- Re-piping the drain, including relocating and resizing the trap for a shower
- Building the pan, either a pre-formed base or a sloped mortar bed with a bonded membrane
- Waterproofing the curb, the corners and the wall planes as one continuous system
- Blocking for a bench, a niche, grab bars and the glass
What we find in Liberty homes
- Purpose-built alcoves with predictable drain locations in the newer belt.
- Retrofitted bathrooms near the square where the plumbing has been revised across multiple eras.
- Plaster over lath behind the surround in the pre-war stock, which demolishes differently than drywall.
- In a historic district, exterior work is reviewed separately, though an interior conversion normally is not.
Working in Liberty, MO
Liberty is the split-personality market in Clay County, and scoping work here starts with knowing which Liberty a house sits in. The city has the largest pre-war concentration of anywhere we work, with more than eight hundred units built in 1939 or earlier clustered around the historic square and William Jewell College, and then a separate belt of more than four thousand homes built between 1990 and 2009. The citywide median year built is 1986, but almost no house is actually average here. A project two blocks off the square and a project in the 1990s belt are different jobs with different risks, and pricing them the same way is how estimates go wrong.
Permits come from the City of Liberty Planning and Development Department, Building Division, filed through the SmartGov portal, and Liberty runs on the 2018 International Codes with the 2017 National Electrical Code, the oldest adopted cycle in the northland. There is a procedural detail worth knowing: the contractor license comes from the Finance Department while the permit comes from Planning and Development, so they are two separate counters, and no permit issues until the license side is settled. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical subs need a Liberty Craftsman License backed by a proficiency test dated 2003 or newer.
How this job goes wrong
- A shower run on the old tub drain and trap, which drains slowly and is not compliant
- A pan sloped the wrong way, or a membrane that stops short of the curb
- A curbless entry attempted without lowering the framing, so the slope has nowhere to go
Planning range
$9,000 to $26,000. A solid-surface base in the existing footprint with a standard framed door sits near the bottom. A tiled curbless pan with frameless glass and an accessibility package sits at the top. Plan on one to three weeks of active work.
What moves the price on a tub to shower conversion in Liberty
The conversion itself is consistent work, so in Liberty the price follows the house. In a 1990s or 2000s bathroom with a purpose-built alcove and a drain where it belongs, this is one of the more predictable projects we quote. Near the square, the wall behind the tub may be plaster over lath and the plumbing may represent two or three generations of revision, and both of those are discovered during demolition rather than before it. The base and glass selection moves the number in both cases, but it moves it the same way in either house, which the site conditions do not.
Permits and inspections for this work in Liberty
A tub-to-shower conversion is plumbing work and Liberty permits and inspects it, filed through SmartGov, with the city contractor license settled first through the Finance Department. The plumbing sub needs a Liberty Craftsman License backed by a proficiency test dated 2003 or newer. Work is inspected against the 2017 NEC and 2018 code cycle Liberty has adopted. An interior conversion inside a historic district does not normally trigger Historic District Review Commission review, which applies to exterior work, but we verify that with the Building Division on any house inside a district rather than assuming.
Common questions about this work
Is a tub to shower conversion a permit job in Liberty?
It changes the drain and usually the valve, so it generally is. Permit requirements are confirmed with the local building department before work starts.
Should I keep one tub in the house?
Worth considering at resale, particularly if this is the only one. If another full bath has a tub, the concern mostly goes away.
Can the shower be curbless?
Sometimes, and the answer depends on the floor framing below. It has to be decided before demolition, because it is a framing change rather than a finish change.
Tub to Shower Conversion questions from Liberty homeowners
Is this a predictable job in Liberty?
In the 1990s and 2000s belt, yes, it is one of the more predictable projects we quote. Near the square it is still very doable, but the wall may be plaster over lath and the plumbing may show two or three generations of revision, so the estimate carries identified allowances instead of false precision.
Does my historic district affect an interior conversion?
Normally no. Historic District Review Commission review applies to exterior work. An interior tub-to-shower conversion does not usually touch that. We verify it with the Building Division on any house inside a district rather than assume.
Who pulls the plumbing permit?
A sub holding a Liberty Craftsman License, backed by a proficiency test dated 2003 or newer scored at seventy-five percent or better, filed through SmartGov. The city contractor license side is settled through the Finance Department first.
Call (913) 395-8571 or request a written estimate before any work starts.