Big walk in showers: Why everyone is tearing out their bathtubs right now

You’ve probably seen them on every home renovation show lately. Huge, glass-enclosed spaces that look more like a car wash for humans than a standard bathroom fixture. Big walk in showers are officially the kings of the modern master suite. People are literally ripping out perfectly functional whirlpool tubs—the kind we all thought were the height of luxury in the early 2000s—just to gain an extra three feet of floor space for a massive shower.

It’s a massive shift in how we use our homes. Honestly, when was the last time you actually sat in a bathtub for forty-five minutes? For most of us, it’s a dusty basin that we scrub twice a year but never use.

A big walk in shower changes the entire vibe of a morning. It’s about accessibility, sure, but it’s mostly about that feeling of not being cramped. Nobody likes hitting their elbows on a plastic curtain while trying to wash their hair.

The real cost of going big

Let's talk money because that’s usually where the dream hits a wall. A standard shower stall might run you a couple thousand dollars. But when you move into the territory of "big," you're looking at a different beast entirely.

According to data from Angi and HomeAdvisor, a high-end walk-in shower conversion typically starts around $6,000 and can easily rocket past $15,000 if you start getting fancy with the plumbing. Why so much? It’s the glass.

Custom frameless glass is heavy. It requires thick, tempered panels that often need two or three people to carry. If your floor isn't perfectly level—and let’s be real, in an older house, it never is—that glass has to be custom-cut to fit the wonky angles of your walls.

Then there is the waterproofing. You can’t just slap some tile on drywall and call it a day. If you’re building a massive wet area, you need a bulletproof membrane system like Schluter-Kerdi or Laticrete Hydro Ban. If that fails, you aren’t just looking at a leaky shower; you’re looking at rotted floor joists and a five-figure repair bill three years down the line.

Why the "No-Threshold" look is winning

The trend right now is the "curbless" entry. Basically, the bathroom floor just continues straight into the shower without that little four-inch step-over. It looks sleek. It makes the room feel twice as large because the visual line isn't broken.

✨ Don't miss: Bed and Breakfast Wedding Venues: Why Smaller Might Actually Be Better

But here is what the glossy magazine photos don't tell you: curbless showers are a pain to engineer.

To make a shower floor flush with the rest of the bathroom, you have to either lower the floor joists or build up the rest of the bathroom floor. You’re fighting gravity. The water has to go somewhere, so the entire shower floor has to slope precisely toward the drain—usually a linear drain at the back or side—without letting water migrate out toward your expensive vanity.

The wet room controversy

Some people take the big walk in shower concept to the extreme and create a "wet room." This is where the shower and the bathtub are actually in the same enclosed area.

• It’s a polarizing choice.
• On one hand, it’s incredibly easy to clean. You can basically hose down the whole room.
• On the other hand, it can feel a bit cold.
• Literally.

Large open showers have a "draft" problem. Without a door or a small enclosure to trap the steam, the hot air escapes. You might have a rainfall head blasting you with 105-degree water, but your backside is shivering because of the ambient air circulation in a huge room. Designers like Joanna Gaines have popularized this look, but if you live in a cold climate like Minnesota or Maine, you better install some radiant floor heating or a powerful heat lamp.

Plumbing: More heads, more problems?

If you have a big walk in shower, the temptation is to install multiple showerheads. A rain head from the ceiling, a standard wall mount, and maybe a handheld wand for cleaning the dog or the tile.

It feels like a spa. It sounds like a spa.

But you have to check your water heater. A standard 50-gallon tank will be emptied in about ten minutes if you're running three high-flow heads simultaneously. If you’re going big, you almost certainly need to look at a tankless water heater like a Rinnai or Navien unit that can keep up with the GPM (gallons per minute) demand. Also, your drainage pipes might need to be upsized to a 3-inch line instead of the standard 2-inch to prevent "pooling" around your ankles.

🔗 Read more: Virgo Love Horoscope for Today and Tomorrow: Why You Need to Stop Fixing People

Maintenance is the silent killer

The bigger the shower, the more grout you have to scrub. That is the fundamental law of bathroom physics.

If you hate cleaning, stay away from small mosaic tiles on the walls. Use large-format porcelain slabs. They make tiles now that are 48x48 inches or even larger. Fewer grout lines mean fewer places for mold to hide.

And then there’s the glass. Even with a "Spot-Guard" coating, hard water will eventually turn that beautiful $3,000 glass partition into a cloudy mess. You have to squeegee. Every. Single. Time. If you aren't a "squeegee person," a big walk in shower with clear glass will become the bane of your existence within a month.

Resale value and the "Bathtub Rule"

There is an old myth in real estate that you must have a bathtub in every bathroom to sell a house.

That’s changing.

The current consensus among National Association of Realtors (NAR) experts is that you only need one bathtub in the house—usually in the second bathroom for kids or pets. In the primary suite? Most buyers today actually prefer a massive, high-end walk-in shower over a tub they’ll never use. It’s seen as a luxury upgrade, not a compromise.

However, if you remove the only tub in a three-bedroom family home, you might be shrinking your buyer pool. Young parents need a place to wash toddlers. Keep that in mind before you take a sledgehammer to the only tub in the house.

💡 You might also like: Lo que nadie te dice sobre la moda verano 2025 mujer y por qué tu armario va a cambiar por completo

Designing for the future (Universal Design)

One of the best things about big walk in showers is that they are future-proof.

As we get older, stepping over a 20-inch tub wall becomes a genuine safety hazard. A wide walk-in entry allows for "aging in place." You can add a built-in bench, grab bars that actually look like stylish towel racks (check out brands like Kohler or Moen for their "designer" grab bar lines), and plenty of room for a wheelchair if it ever becomes necessary.

It’s one of the few home renovations that is both trendy and incredibly practical for long-term living.

Actionable steps for your renovation

If you're ready to pull the trigger on a massive shower, don't just call a contractor and ask for a price. You need a plan.

First, measure your current footprint. A comfortable "big" shower is usually at least 42 inches wide and 60 inches long. If you want to go doorless, you really need a length of at least 72 inches to prevent splash-out.

Second, talk to a plumber about your "valve" situation. You want a thermostatic valve, not just a pressure-balance valve. This allows you to set the temperature once and leave it, while also controlling the volume of water. It’s a game-changer.

Third, choose your lighting carefully. A big shower can feel like a dark cave if you don't have dedicated, wet-rated recessed lights inside the enclosure.

Finally, think about the "niche." Don't use those plastic over-the-showerhead caddies. Build a long, horizontal recessed niche into the wall. Make it bigger than you think you need. Between the shampoo, the conditioner, the body wash, and the face scrub, those little 12x12 squares fill up fast.

Big walk in showers are a significant investment in your daily quality of life. They make the mundane act of getting ready for work feel a little more like a vacation. Just make sure you're ready for the squeegee life.