Do I have enough room for both a tub and a walk-in shower?

More often than homeowners expect, particularly in master bathrooms built with an oversized corner garden tub. Removing that tub typically frees enough area for a proper walk-in shower and a freestanding soaker with clearance around it. The determining factor is the shape of the room and where the plumbing walls sit, so it is worth a layout review before ruling it out.

Is a floor-mounted tub filler a problem later?

It is permanent in practical terms. The supply comes up through the slab or floor at a position matched to the specific tub, so replacing the tub later with a different model usually means either matching the original footprint or opening the floor. Choose the tub before the rough-in and you avoid the issue entirely.

Should I do a curbless shower?

If the floor is already coming up, it is worth strong consideration. It requires the drain and slope to be set into the floor structure, which is straightforward during a remodel and expensive afterward. Beyond the contemporary appearance, it makes the shower accessible for anyone with mobility limitations — a significant consideration if you plan to stay in the home long-term.

Bathroom

Modern Bath with Walk-In Shower & Soaking Tub

Having both a walk-in shower and a soaking tub is achievable in more bathrooms than homeowners assume — but only if the layout is planned around both from the start rather than one being squeezed in beside the other.

A freestanding tub needs breathing room on all sides to look right. Pushed into a corner it reads as an alcove tub that has come loose from the wall, which defeats the point of buying one.

Modern bathroom with a walk-in shower and a freestanding soaking tub

Scope of Work

Layout planned around both wet zones
Freestanding soaking tub with floor-mounted filler
Walk-in shower with full waterproofing
Large-format tile throughout
Reworked plumbing supply and drainage
Moisture-rated lighting and upgraded ventilation

Materials & Finishes

Tub: Freestanding soaking
Tub filler: Floor-mounted
Shower: Walk-in with glass panel
Tile: Large-format porcelain
Waterproofing: Full membrane in wet areas
Ventilation: Ducted exhaust to exterior

How it gets built

The sequence matters as much as the selections. Work done out of order is the most common reason remodels run long.

Planning both wet zones together

The tub and shower get positioned in the same pass. Splashing zones, door swings, towel reach and sightline from the door all interact, and solving them one at a time produces a bathroom where both elements technically fit and neither works.

Floor loading

A filled soaking tub with an occupant is a substantial concentrated load. On a concrete slab this is a non-issue. On a raised or second-storey floor it needs checking against the framing, and occasionally reinforcing — a check worth doing before the tub is ordered rather than after it is delivered.

Floor-mounted filler rough-in

A floor-mounted filler is plumbed up through the floor at an exact location determined by the tub model. That position is fixed at rough-in and effectively permanent, so the tub gets selected and its template confirmed before the plumbing goes in.

Waterproofing and tile

Full membrane through the shower and around the tub zone, then large-format tile. Freestanding tubs splash more than alcove tubs — there is no surround catching it — so the waterproofing extends further than people expect.

Project Gallery

Modern bathroom with walk-in shower and freestanding soaking tub — Both wet zones planned together rather than fitted in sequence.

Bathroom taken back to studs during demolition — Framing exposed for plumbing relocation and waterproofing.

Design Notes

Freestanding tubs are heavier than they look and considerably harder to clean around than alcove tubs — you are cleaning the floor beneath and all four sides. Worth knowing before choosing one, and not a reason to avoid it, just a reason to leave enough clearance to actually reach around it.

A curbless shower entry is worth considering while the floor is already open. It looks contemporary, it makes the room feel larger, and it makes the bathroom usable for someone with mobility limitations later. Doing it during a remodel is a modest additional cost; retrofitting it afterward means opening the floor again.