More Than One Tub? Which One to Convert First in Colorado Springs

Most real estate agents will tell you the same thing: a home should keep at least one bathtub for resale, but only one. That single guideline changes the whole conversation for a Colorado Springs homeowner with three or four tubs, most of which have not seen a drop of water in years. You are not choosing whether to lose a tub. You are choosing which tub goes first, which one stays, and in what order.

That is a more useful question than it sounds, because the wrong first conversion can strand you with a tub you actually wanted to keep and a shower where you wish you still had a soak. Here is how to work through it, bathroom by bathroom.

Start With the Tub Nobody Defends

Before you rank rooms, walk the house and be honest about use. A tub-to-shower conversion is easiest to justify where the tub is already dead weight. Check each bathroom for:

• Actual use in the last month. If no one has bathed in it, note it.
• How you get in and out. A high wall over a garden tub is a daily nuisance, not just a safety issue.
• Cleaning burden. Tubs you only clean, never use, are pure cost.
• Fixture age. A cracked surround or failing caulk means water is already a problem.

The room that fails all four is usually your first conversion. In a lot of Springs homes that is the primary suite garden tub, the one that looked luxurious in the builder brochure and now holds decorative baskets. We wrote more about that specific tub in reclaiming a Colorado Springs primary bath.

The Primary Bath: Usually First, Sometimes Not

The primary bathroom is where a conversion pays off in daily life, so it is often the right place to start. Check for:

• A separate tub and shower already. If you have both, converting the tub simply gives you a bigger, better shower with almost no downside. This is the cleanest first move.
• The only tub in the house. If the primary tub is your last remaining bathtub, think twice. You may want to keep it and convert somewhere else instead.
• Space to grow the shower. Say a homeowner has a cramped corner shower next to an unused 60-inch garden tub. Combining that footprint can yield a genuinely roomy walk-in.

A realistic example: a couple in their late fifties with a 5-by-3 garden tub and a tight shower stall. Converting the tub area into a curbless shower can run in the low-to-mid five figures depending on tile and glass, and it removes the one fixture they never use. When the primary tub is redundant, it is a strong first pick.

The Guest or Hall Bath: The Tub Worth Keeping

The hall bath is often the tub you protect, not the one you remove. Run through:

• Is this your resale tub? In many Colorado Springs floor plans the hall bath tub is the one a future buyer with kids will expect. Keeping it here is usually the smart play.
• Frequency of guests. If overnight guests are rare and the tub is dated, a conversion can modernize a room you show off but seldom use.
• Size constraints. Guest baths are often the smallest room in the house, so plan carefully. Our small guest bath remodel framework walks through the tight-space decisions.

If you only ever convert one tub in the whole house, the hall bath is frequently the one you leave alone.

The Kids’ or Secondary Bath: Depends on the Stage of Life

This one shifts with your household. Check:

• Young kids at home. Keep the tub. Bathing small children in a shower is a daily hassle, and this is exactly the bathtub buyers with families look for.
• Kids grown and gone. Now the calculus flips, and a low-threshold shower can be safer and easier to clean.
• Aging parents visiting or moving in. A step-over tub becomes a fall risk. Converting to a curbless shower here can matter more than in the primary.

The kids’ bath is rarely your first conversion while children are small, and often a sensible one once they move out.

The Basement Bath: The Quiet Winner

Basement bathrooms in Springs homes get overlooked, but they can be the easiest first conversion of all. Look at:

• How rarely the tub is used. Basement tubs are among the least-used fixtures in most houses.
• Drain and slab access. Whether plumbing has to move drives the price, so ask the roofer, the crew, to check the existing drain location. We covered this in do you have to move the plumbing.
• Guest-suite potential. A clean walk-in shower makes a basement feel like a real second suite.

If your primary and hall tubs are both spoken for, a basement conversion is often the low-drama place to start.

Putting the Order Together

The pattern for most Colorado Springs homeowners looks like this: convert the redundant or unused tub first (often the primary garden tub or basement tub), keep one tub in a hall or kids’ bath for resale, and revisit the rest as your life stage changes. If a past project left you gun-shy, starting over the right way is worth reading before you commit.

Not sure which tub is your keeper? Call for a free in-home design consult and we will connect you with an independent local bath specialist who can walk your house with you. See how we work across Colorado Springs, or get matched with a local bath remodeler to talk through the order that fits your home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really need to keep one bathtub?

It is a common real estate guideline, not a law. Many agents advise keeping at least one tub for buyers with young children, so if you are thinking about resale, plan to leave one in place. Whether that changes your value depends on your neighborhood and buyer pool, and our post on resale payback digs into that.

Can I convert more than one tub at the same time?

Yes, and doing two in one project can save on mobilization and demo overlap. Just confirm you are keeping the tub you actually want to keep before both are gone. Ask the contractor to price the rooms together and separately so you can compare.

How long does a single tub-to-shower conversion take?

A straightforward conversion is often measured in days rather than weeks, especially when the drain does not move and the crew uses acrylic or solid-surface walls. Full tile rebuilds take longer. Timelines vary by scope, so get a specific plan in writing before work starts.

Which tub is usually the cheapest to convert?

Whichever one keeps its existing drain and framing. That is often a basement or secondary bath. Moving plumbing, enlarging the opening, or switching to a curbless base all add cost, so a like-for-like footprint is typically the most affordable first project.