Can You Move a Shower? Bathroom Remodel Plumbing

Yes, you can move a shower or tub to a different wall, and in bathroom remodel plumbing it is one of the most common requests we get. On a Phoenix slab home the thing that decides how big a job it is has nothing to do with the tile or the valve. It is the drain. Moving a shower drain means opening the concrete, and that is where the planning has to start.

We covered the kitchen side of this in what plumbing has to move when you remodel a kitchen in Phoenix. A bathroom is a different animal. The kitchen is mostly about the sink and the water lines. The bathroom is about three drains, a vent, and a shower valve buried in a wall, and most of it lives under the slab.

Why the Drain Runs the Show

Water lines are easy to move. We can reroute hot and cold through the attic or along a wall with very little fuss. Drains are not easy. A shower drain has to slope downhill to the main line, it has to be vented, and in a slab home it is encased in concrete. Moving the shower across the room means saw-cutting a trench in the slab, re-running the drain with the right fall, tying it back into the existing line, and pouring the slab back.

That is doable, and we do it regularly in Arcadia, Ahwatukee and north Phoenix remodels. It just means the budget and the schedule need to account for concrete work, not just plumbing. A shower that moves a couple of feet along the same wall is often simpler than one that moves across the room, because the drain can sometimes stay close to its original tie-in.

The Vent Nobody Thinks About

Every fixture needs a vent so the drain does not gurgle or siphon the trap dry. When a shower moves, its vent has to move or be re-run too. In some layouts the old vent still works. In others the new location is too far from any vent and we have to add one up through the wall and roof. This is the step a handyman skips and the inspector catches.

The Valve, the Wall and the Curb

Once the drain and vent are settled, the rest is above the slab. The shower valve gets set in the new wall at rough-in, with the hot and cold brought to it. If you are going to a curbless or walk-in shower, the drain has to be set so the finished floor can slope to it, which means we coordinate with the tile setter before anything is poured. Linear drains along one wall need the same planning.

This is why bathroom remodeling plumbing is a two-visit job for us. Rough-in happens before drywall and tile, finish plumbing happens after. We schedule both up front with you or your contractor so nobody is waiting on us.

A Master Bath Near 7th Street and Glendale

A family in north-central Phoenix wanted to swap a corner tub for a big walk-in shower on the opposite wall and move the toilet over a few feet to make room for a double vanity. We cut the slab for the new shower drain and the toilet flange, re-ran both with proper fall to the existing line, added a vent for the new shower location, and set the valve and the supply for the vanity at rough-in. The contractor poured the slab back, tiled, and we came back for finish. The hard part was the drain route; everything above the floor was routine.

The Honest Counterpoint

Moving a shower is not always worth it. If the main drain line runs under the far side of the house, the new trench may have to cross the whole room, and at that point the plumbing can cost more than the tile. Sometimes we suggest a layout that keeps the drain where it is and moves the vanity instead. And if the home has old cast iron under the slab, opening it up can reveal a line that needs replacing anyway. We would rather find that with a camera before the saw comes out than after.

A permit is required for this kind of work in Phoenix, and the rough-in gets inspected before the slab is poured back. We pull it. You get the price before we lift a wrench, and every job carries our written workmanship warranty.

Call Phoenix Plumbing Co. for Bathroom Remodel Plumbing

We are family-owned, three generations deep, and we have been doing kitchen and bathroom plumbing in the Valley since 2012. We work directly with homeowners and as the plumbing contractor for designers and general contractors. If you are planning bathroom remodel plumbing and want to know what moving that shower really involves, call Phoenix Plumbing Co. at 602-834-1208 and a live Phoenix dispatcher will set up a visit.