Walk-In Shower, Walk-In Tub, or Keep the Tub? What Changes, and What to Plan For

When a bathtub starts to feel difficult, “walk-in” is often the first idea that comes up. But “walk-in” doesn’t describe one single design. It can mean a shower with a low curb, a shower with no curb at all, or a bathtub with a door. Each involves a different amount of change to the bathroom.

The more useful first question is what, specifically, has become difficult. Once that is clear, it is easier to see whether the answer is equipment added to the existing tub, a remodel that converts the tub to a shower, or a walk-in tub.

What “walk-in” actually means

Several overlapping terms get used for showers that are easier to enter. Most of them are everyday industry and consumer terms rather than formal definitions.

• Walk-in shower — a general term for a shower you walk into rather than step over a tub wall to reach. It is not a formal accessibility definition. Some walk-in showers have a low curb at the entry; others have no curb at all.
• Low-threshold shower — a shower whose entry still has a small lip or curb, just a lower one than a tub wall or a conventional shower curb.
• Curbless shower — a shower with no curb at the entry, sometimes called a zero-threshold shower. It is different from a low-threshold shower, which still has a lip.
• Roll-in shower — a defined accessibility category in the ADA Standards, with specific requirements. It is not a general name for any home shower without a curb.

Start with the difficulty you’re trying to solve

Different difficulties point in different directions, so it helps to name the actual one before comparing options. Common ones include:

• Stepping over the tub wall — The height of the tub side is the hard part, getting in or getting out.
• Standing through a whole shower — Getting in is manageable, but standing for the length of the shower is not.
• Wanting or needing to sit — The person prefers to bathe seated, or has been advised to.
• Getting into and out of the bathing area — The difficulty is the move between the bathroom floor and the tub or shower itself.
• Reaching the controls — The faucet, valve or showerhead is awkward to reach from where the person stands or sits.
• Using a mobility device — A walker, rollator or wheelchair is part of how the person moves around the bathroom.

These are categories to help frame the conversation, not a diagnosis. The same difficulty can have different causes, and the right response depends on the person. If you are unsure what the person actually needs, see the section on professional input below.

Three directions to consider

Keep the tub and adapt it

A tub that has become hard to use doesn’t always need to be removed. Depending on the difficulty, equipment added to the existing tub may address it: a shower chair for bathing seated, a transfer bench that straddles the tub wall, grab bars, or a handheld showerhead that brings the water to where the person is.

This path involves less construction than a remodel, but it only works if it actually addresses the difficulty you named. A person who finds the tub wall itself the problem, for example, may find a shower chair alone doesn’t change much.

Convert to a walk-in shower

Replacing the tub with a shower removes the tub wall from the entry. How much else changes depends on the design, and in particular on whether the new shower will have a curb, a low threshold or no curb. A conversion is a remodel: it typically involves plumbing, and it can involve floor, wall and waterproofing work as well. The next several sections explain what that involves at a planning level.

Consider a walk-in tub

A walk-in tub keeps a bathtub but adds a sealed door in its side, so the person doesn’t step over a tub wall to get in. It works in a noticeably different way from both an ordinary tub and a shower, which is why it has its own section further down. None of these three directions is right for everyone.

What changes when a tub becomes a shower

Entry

The entry is the most visible choice. A shower can keep a conventional curb, use a low threshold with a small lip, or be curbless with no lip at all. Each option changes how the rest of the shower has to be designed, because the curb is doing a job that something else has to take over when it gets lower or disappears.

Water containment, drainage and waterproofing

In a traditional shower, a curb helps hold water in. Lower or remove it, and the floor’s slope toward the drain, the drain’s placement and the waterproofing beneath the floor have to do more of that work. That’s why converting a tub to a curbless or low-threshold shower is a design and remodeling decision, not simply a matter of removing the tub wall.

Those details depend on the bathroom’s existing floor and plumbing, and they are worked out by the people designing and installing the shower.

Floor surface

Choose a floor surface its manufacturer specifies for wet areas, and ask your installer about slip resistance for the shower floor. No surface is slip-proof.

Controls and handheld shower

A remodel is a natural point to think about where the shower controls will sit and whether a handheld showerhead should be part of the plan, particularly if the person may bathe seated. It helps to picture how the person will reach the controls both standing and sitting before the valve location is fixed.

Model plumbing codes call for shower and bathtub controls that limit maximum hot-water temperature. When replacing a shower or tub, ask your plumber about temperature-limiting, often called anti-scald, valves.

Where seating fits

Seating can be part of the bathroom itself or a separate piece of equipment. Built-in shower seats exist, as do fixed and folding wall-mounted seats. Portable shower chairs and tub transfer benches are freestanding alternatives, and they can also be used with an existing tub.

Freestanding chairs and transfer benches solve different problems, and our Shower Chair vs. Transfer Bench guide explains the difference. Whether any seat suits someone, and which kind, depends on the person and on the layout of the bathroom.

Where grab bars fit

If grab bars or a wall-mounted seat may be part of the finished bathroom, now or later, discuss where they would go and what wall support they will need while the walls are open.

For the products themselves, see our Best Bathroom Grab Bars guide. Exact locations and installation are details to settle with your remodeler and the grab bar manufacturer’s instructions.

When a walk-in tub is a different decision

A walk-in tub isn’t just a tub with an easier way in. The door changes the whole bathing sequence. Based on the product standard for these tubs and manufacturers’ owner manuals, the mechanics work like this:

• The tub has a door that is made watertight by a pressure seal.
• The person enters while the tub is empty.
• The door is closed before the tub is filled.
• Bathing is done seated.
• The door stays closed while there is water in the tub.
• The tub must drain before the door is opened.

The practical planning implication is that the person remains inside the tub through both filling and draining. That is worth thinking through in advance, because it is a different routine from either a conventional tub or a shower.

Some models with jets or heaters may require additional GFCI-protected electrical work.

Questions to settle before remodeling

Working through these before you talk to a remodeler makes the conversation more specific:

• What is difficult about the current tub or shower?
• Does the person prefer, or need, to bathe seated?
• Is a mobility device involved?
• Is keeping and adapting the existing tub still practical?
• If converting, how will the new shower contain and drain water?
• Might seating or grab bars be wanted now or later?
• What plumbing work is involved?
• Is electrical work involved?
• Who will perform the work?
• What permits or inspections apply locally?

For the wider process of planning an accessibility remodel, see our Aging-in-Place Remodeling Guide.

When professional input matters

Different professionals answer different questions. It helps to know which one you actually need.

• Occupational therapist — when you are unsure what change fits the person’s actual bathing and daily-living needs. An occupational therapist can look at how the person manages activities such as bathing and recommend equipment and home modifications based on their needs. Not every remodel requires one.
• Remodeler or contractor — the overall design and the conversion itself. One option is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS): CAPS is a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) designation for remodelers and other professionals focused on aging-in-place home modifications.
• Plumber — the drain, the water supply, the shower or tub valves, and temperature-limiting controls.
• Electrician — electrical work where it is required, including appropriate circuits for walk-in tub features such as jets or heaters.
• Local building department — whether permits and inspections apply, and which code requirements have been adopted where you live.

Frequently asked questions

Sources checked September 30, 2026: U.S. Access Board, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (transfer-type and roll-in shower compartments, seats, thresholds, floor surfaces) and Using the ADA Standards (scope and private residential housing); ICC, 2021 International Residential Code, Chapter 27 (shower receptors, shower and bathtub temperature-limiting controls, fold-down shower seats) and Chapter 1 (permits); ASME A112.19.15-2012 (R2022), Bathtubs/Whirlpool Bathtubs with Pressure Sealed Doors (door mechanics); HUD, Fair Housing Act Design Manual, Chapter 6 (reinforced walls for grab bars); AOTA, What Is Occupational Therapy?; and NAHB, Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS). Walk-in tub mechanics were checked against the American Standard Walk-In Bath Installation Instructions and Owner’s Manual, the Ella’s Bubbles Walk In Bathtubs Owners Manual, the Praxis Walk-In Tub Installation and Operating Instructions and the MTI BASICS Walk-in Tub Owner’s Manual and Installation Guide; manufacturer documents were used for how the tubs operate only. We have not physically tested any product.