Many pieces go into a shower installation, so it’s important to break down each part to get a good idea of what you might spend. Below are some of the most common cost factors you’ll encounter with a shower installation project.
Your shower type plays an important role in the cost of your shower installation, with prices ranging from $250 to $9,500. A simple walk-in shower costs the least, while high-end steam shower and tub combos cost the most. See how each type of shower differs in cost below, with material costs for the shower encasement and base.
The average shower size is 60-by-30 inches or 12.5 square feet. Since the average new shower installation costs $6,600 with installation and materials, this puts the average price at around $525 per square foot.
Purchasing a showerhead and faucet set will cost you anywhere from $50 to $1,000 depending on the material and style, with most faucets falling around the $200 mark. High-end, full-body shower faucet systems cost the most, while simple high-pressure systems cost the least.
Expect to pay anywhere between $150 and $2,900 for a standard prefabricated alcove shower wall depending on the material. The most common material types for showers include acrylic, fiberglass and polystyrene. Which one you choose could mean the difference between thousands of dollars. Composite or fiberglass shower installation costs the most, polystyrene costs the least and acrylic falls somewhere in between.
With this in mind, below is a breakdown of prefab shower kits by material type.
Installing tile on your shower walls is an optional decorative decision that will cost you an additional $300 to $6,000. Different tiles range from $1 to $45 per square foot, so the square footage of your shower and the type of tile material largely affect the cost of bathroom tiles. Natural stone tiles cost the most, while ceramic and vinyl tiles cost the least.
After you’ve budgeted for material costs, you may be surprised by how labor costs take up a huge chunk of your shower installation. Plumbers charge between $50 and $120 per hour on average. Most shower installations take between two and five days, meaning you should plan on spending between $800 and $4,800 in labor costs alone.
Beyond the prefab or custom shower wall panels, you also have several parts of a shower you’ll need, ranging from $2 to $1,300, to add up to the cost of a shower installation. Among each material type, you’ll find many price disparities, making it important for you to look up each material and compare costs as you budget. For example, if you shop for a shower pan, you’ll find that ABS plastic shower pans tend to cost the least, while natural stone shower pans cost the most.
Be sure to look at the following shower components and the materials they’re made from to lock in on economical prices.
Where you’re installing your shower impacts the total cost, too. If you’re converting a bathtub into a shower, you may already have many of the plumbing and fixtures installed. If, however, you’re converting a half bathroom into a full bathroom that needs new plumbing, you’ll need to factor in the cost of hiring a plumber in addition to the cost of installing the new shower.
Permits for installing a shower cost between $50 and $1,000 depending on the amount of work needed and your state and local requirements.
If you need to first remove your existing shower or bathtub, this could cost around $50 to $100 on average. Clean-up and junk removal cost an extra $225 if you hire a professional haul-away service.
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