Quick answer: Pick a shower-only layout if you want a roomy, low-step shower and you already have another tub in the house. Keep a tub-and-shower combo if this is your only full bath or you have young kids. Choose a tub-to-shower conversion when you want to swap a tub you never use for a shower you will. Your space, your resale plans, and who uses the bathroom decide the winner.
In Lafayette and West Lafayette, bathrooms come in every vintage. A 1950s ranch near Purdue has a cramped tub-shower in the only full bath, while a newer build off McCarty Lane might have three baths and a tub nobody has touched in years. That mix is why this question has no one answer. The right move depends on the house you actually have and how your family uses it.
Before you compare price tags, get clear on what each setup means. The three paths differ in footprint, plumbing, and who they serve best.
A shower-only layout removes the tub entirely and gives that space to a larger shower. It reads open and modern, works well for busy adults, and suits homes that already have a tub in another bathroom. The tradeoff is simple: no tub in that room for baths or resale.
A tub-and-shower combo keeps a bathtub with a showerhead over it in one alcove. It is the most space-efficient way to offer both a bath and a shower, which is why it fills most single-bath homes and kids’ bathrooms across Tippecanoe County.
A tub-to-shower conversion takes an existing tub out and puts a shower in its place. You keep the same plumbing footprint most of the time, so it is a targeted upgrade rather than a full gut. It is the popular pick for a tub that only collects dust.
Not sure how deep the project runs once walls open up? Our guide to what changes in an older Lafayette bathroom covers the surprises 1950s plumbing tends to hide.
Cost is where the three paths separate fast. The ranges below are national figures, and because labor in the Lafayette area runs below big-metro rates, local jobs tend to land in the lower-to-middle part of each range.
A walk-in, shower-only setup runs about $5,000 to $11,000 installed, averaging near $8,000, according to home-cost data compiled by Fixr in 2025. A tub-to-shower conversion covers a wide band, roughly $2,000 to $12,000, per This Old House cost research updated in 2026, with prefab stalls at the low end and full custom tile at the top.
A standalone bathtub is its own line item. Installing or replacing one averages about $5,908 nationally and ranges from $2,100 to $9,730, based on HomeAdvisor project data. A basic alcove tub with a matching surround, the classic combo, can start closer to $950 to $2,400 for the fixtures and install on a straightforward swap.
For a fuller picture of where a bathroom project fits your budget, our bathroom remodel investment tiers for Lafayette break the whole room into good, better, and best.
Not sure which setup your bathroom can take? We will walk your space, measure the plumbing, and give you honest cost ranges for a shower, a combo, or a conversion, with no pressure.
This is the question that stops a lot of tub removals cold, and it deserves a straight answer. The short version: keep at least one tub in the house.
Long-standing guidance from the National Association of Realtors holds that a home should keep at least one bathtub for resale, because buyers with young children often screen out houses with no tub at all. It matters most in family neighborhoods and less in a small condo or a home aimed at downsizers.
Here is how to apply that. If the bathroom you are remodeling is the only full bath in the house, keeping a tub-and-shower combo protects your resale. If you have a second bathroom with a tub, converting your primary bath to a roomy shower is a safe call. You keep the family-friendly tub down the hall and gain the shower you actually use.
Removing your only tub to chase a bigger shower can narrow your future buyer pool. That does not make it wrong. It just means the decision should be deliberate, not accidental.
Square footage settles a lot of these debates before budget ever enters the room. A tub and a comfortable shower simply need different amounts of floor.
Building code allows a shower as small as 30 inches by 30 inches, but that is tight. Design standards from the National Kitchen and Bath Association put the comfortable floor at 36 inches square, and most people prefer more. A standard alcove tub, by comparison, locks in a 60-inch by 30-inch footprint, a length that This Old House notes is close to universal.
That difference is why a conversion often feels like a space upgrade even when the footprint stays the same. Pull the tub, and a 60-inch wall opens up for a shower with a bench, a niche, or a wider door. In a small older bath near campus, that reclaimed room changes how the whole space feels.
If you or a parent plan to stay in the home for the long haul, accessibility moves to the front of the list. This is where a shower earns its keep.
Falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and older, and the CDC reports that more than one in four older adults falls each year. Stepping over a tub wall onto a wet surface is one of the riskier moves in any bathroom, which is why a curbless, walk-in shower is a core aging-in-place upgrade.
A barrier-free shower removes the step entirely and makes room for a bench, grab bars, and a handheld sprayer. It costs more than a standard shower, often $8,000 to $15,000 for the curbless build, but it turns the most dangerous room in the house into one of the safest.
If long-term accessibility is the real goal, our guide to aging-in-place remodels in Lafayette covers the fixtures and layout choices that matter most.
There is no universal best. There is only the setup that fits your house, your budget, and the people who use the room. Here are honest scenarios.
Choose a shower-only layout if you have another tub in the house, you want a larger and more open shower, and you value a clean modern look over a soak. It is the pick for adults who shower and never bathe.
Keep a tub-and-shower combo if this is your only full bathroom, you have young children, or resale in a family neighborhood is on your mind. It covers every use in the least space.
Go with a tub-to-shower conversion when you have a tub you never use, you want a safer and roomier shower, and you can keep a tub elsewhere for resale. It is the highest-impact upgrade for the money in a lot of Lafayette homes.
Whatever you pick, the plumbing behind the wall and the timeline of the job drive the experience as much as the fixture does. Our notes on predictable delays in bathroom remodels explain what tends to slow these projects down.
These are the questions Lafayette and West Lafayette homeowners ask us most before they commit to a shower, a combo, or a conversion. If you are stuck between two options, the answers below usually settle it.
It can narrow your buyer pool at resale, since families with young kids often want at least one tub. If this is your only full bath, keeping a tub-and-shower combo is the safer play. If you have a tub in another bathroom, removing this one is a reasonable call.
Nationally it runs about $2,000 to $12,000, based on 2026 cost data from This Old House. Prefab shower stalls sit at the low end, and full custom tile lands at the top. Lafayette-area labor rates tend to keep local projects in the lower-to-middle part of that range.
Not always. A basic tub-and-surround combo can be one of the cheapest setups, while a large custom walk-in shower with tile and a glass door can cost more than a standalone tub. A simple prefab shower is usually cheaper than a mid-range tub install.
Code allows 30 inches by 30 inches, but 36 inches square is the comfortable minimum, and most homeowners prefer more. Pulling a standard 60-inch tub often frees enough wall to build a roomy shower with a bench or a niche in the same spot.
A curbless, walk-in shower is the strongest choice. It removes the step you would otherwise cross over a tub wall, and it leaves room for a bench, grab bars, and a handheld sprayer. That matters because falls are the leading injury risk for adults over 65.
Usually yes. Most conversions reuse the existing drain and supply lines in the same footprint, which keeps the job targeted and the cost down. Moving the drain to a new spot adds plumbing labor and pushes the price toward the top of the range.
Ready to choose the right setup for your bathroom? We give Lafayette and West Lafayette homeowners honest cost ranges and a realistic timeline for showers, combos, and tub-to-shower conversions, with no surprises.