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Planning estimate · Murray, UTWalk-in shower cost calculator
A walk-in shower is not a shower without a door — it is a bigger wet area, which means more wall, more membrane and a pan that has to fall correctly over a longer run. This prices it by the two decisions that actually matter: how you get in, and what is under the floor.
What is behind the number
What separates a $7,000 walk-in from a $25,000 one
The published range on this site runs from $5,000 for a basic walk-in with a standard base and panel walls to $25,000 and beyond for a fully curbless one with a custom tile pan, frameless glass and built-in seating. Almost none of that spread is the tile. It is the entry, the pan and the glass.
The entry is the structural decision. A low curb is simply a formed edge — the floor underneath is untouched. A level, curbless entry means the shower floor has to sit below the bathroom floor, which means recessing the framing or building the whole room up. Over a basement or a crawl space that is joinery. Over a concrete slab it is saw-cutting and repouring, and it is expensive.
It is worth doing anyway if you can. A curbless shower is the single most useful thing you can build into a bathroom for the long term, and it is the one element that genuinely cannot be retrofitted later without taking the whole shower apart again. Full ADA-compliant roll-in showers run $5,000 to $15,000 nationally, and a low threshold of about two inches gets most of the benefit for a fraction of the structural work.
How you get in
A curb is free. A low threshold of about two inches is modest. A fully level entry means recessing the floor structure — straightforward over a basement, expensive over a slab, and impossible to add later without starting again.
The footprint
Every extra foot of width or depth adds wall tile, waterproofing membrane and pan at the same time. That compounding is why a walk-in starts at $7,000 on this site where a tub-to-shower conversion starts at $5,000.
The pan
A prefabricated base is $600 to $1,200 but only comes in standard sizes. A tiled pan on a mortar bed is $1,200 to $2,800 and fits any shape. A linear drain gives a single slope instead of four, which is what makes large-format floor tile work at all.
The enclosure
A single fixed glass panel is the usual walk-in answer — nothing to clean around. Frameless glass costs more and demands walls that are actually plumb. No glass at all is cheapest and puts the whole job on the extractor fan.
Extraction
An open or lightly enclosed shower puts far more steam into the room. The code minimum is 50 cfm ducted directly outdoors. For a walk-in that is a floor, not a target, and the duct has to reach an exterior wall or roof rather than stopping in the attic.
The age of the house
The average Murray home was built in 1979. Older walls are rarely flat enough for large-format tile without floating them first, and older subfloors under a former tub are an unknown until the floor is open.
What pushes it higher
- Going fully curbless, which means recessing the floor structure.
- A concrete slab under the bathroom, where both the recess and the drain mean cutting concrete.
- More width or depth — it adds tile, membrane and pan all at once.
- Natural stone at $33 to $90 per square foot installed.
- A frameless corner enclosure rather than a single fixed panel.
- A second head or body sprays, which needs a larger valve and more supply.
What brings it down
- A low threshold instead of a fully level entry — most of the benefit, far less structure.
- A single fixed glass panel rather than a door and panel.
- Panel walls instead of tile — no grout, and a much faster fit.
- A prefabricated base, if a standard size fits the opening.
- Ceramic rather than porcelain; the labour is identical.
- Keeping the shower to the footprint the old one had.
Turn the estimate into a real number
Send a couple of photos of the bathroom, rough dimensions, and say roughly when the house was built and what is underneath the floor. You will get a straight answer about what the drain, the subfloor and the panel will allow before anyone talks about tile.
What people ask about this
How much does a walk-in shower cost in Murray?
This site publishes $5,000 to $10,000 for a basic walk-in with a standard base and panel walls, $9,000 to $16,000 for a mid-range one with tiled walls and a glass enclosure, and $15,000 to $25,000 or more for a premium or fully curbless shower with a custom pan and frameless glass.
Is a curbless shower worth the extra?
If you intend to stay in the house, it is the single most useful thing you can build into a bathroom, and it is effectively impossible to add later without demolishing the shower. Over a basement or a crawl space the extra cost is modest. Over a slab it is substantial, and a two-inch threshold gets most of the accessibility benefit for far less work.
Do I need a permit for a walk-in shower?
Yes — the drain is being set and the plumbing altered, which Murray City reviews. Murray City Code sets a $50 minimum fee per table plus $10 per supplemental permit, and a Salt Lake County bathroom permit typically runs $150 to $500 in total. Confirm with the Building Division at 801-270-2431.
Can I have a walk-in shower with no glass at all?
Yes, and it is cheaper and looks superb. The trade-off is that nothing contains the steam except the fan and the geometry, so the shower needs to be deep enough that water does not reach the rest of the room, and the extraction has to be well above the 50 cfm code minimum and genuinely ducted outdoors.
What size does a walk-in shower need to be?
Three feet by three is the smallest that still feels like a walk-in rather than a cubicle. Four by three and a half is the common size. Beyond about five feet deep there is usually room for a dry area or a bench, which is where the layout starts earning its keep.
How long does it take?
A panel-walled walk-in with a prefab base is about a week. A tiled walk-in with glass is two to three weeks, largely because tile has to cure before glass can be templated and glass then takes a week or so to come back. A curbless shower runs three to four weeks.
Will a walk-in shower leak?
Not if it is waterproofed properly. The membrane, not the tile, is what keeps water out — tile and grout are both porous. Waterproofing a 60 square foot shower runs $700 to $2,000 all in, and it is the last line anyone should economise on, because the only way to fix it later is to remove the tile.
Should I add a bench and a niche?
Both are far cheaper now than later, because they are built into the framing while the wall is open. A niche runs $300 to $600. A tiled bench is more, and a heated bench runs $1,500 to $3,200. If there is any chance you will want grab bars in future, add the blocking now too — it costs almost nothing at this stage.