A tub-to-shower conversion is the smallest scope Shawnee still treats as full permit work, and the administrative rules it runs under are the city's own rather than the IRC's. Ordinance No. 3546 omits IRC Sections R103 through R114 in their entirety and substitutes a locally written R103, so the permit, inspection and enforcement provisions a contractor works to in Shawnee are Shawnee's text, not the model code's. The conversion is applied for on the same one-page Residential Building Permit Application that covers basement finishes, additions, decks and water heaters, and the plumbing and any electrical change ride that permit rather than separate trade permits. A Shawnee permit lapses if work is not started within six months, if no inspection is obtained in any six-month period, or two years after issue, whichever arrives first.
What the work covers
- Removing the tub and the surround, which usually means opening the wet wall
- Re-piping the drain, including relocating and resizing the trap for a shower
- Building the pan, either a pre-formed base or a sloped mortar bed with a bonded membrane
- Waterproofing the curb, the corners and the wall planes as one continuous system
- Blocking for a bench, a niche, grab bars and the glass
What we find in Shawnee homes
- A 60-inch alcove built for a tub, where the drain sits several inches off where a shower base wants it.
- A mortar bed under the old tub that is doing structural work nobody planned to replace.
- A subfloor soft at the outside corner, found only once the tub is out and always before the combined rough-in.
- An existing vent arrangement that was legal when built and has to be re-proved when the fixture changes.
Working in Shawnee, KS
Shawnee is a 26,811-unit city with a median year built of 1988, and just over half its housing, 13,536 units, went up between 1970 and 1999. Another 10,354 units predate 1980, and 19,175 of the 25,932 occupied units are owner-occupied, so most work here is a long-term owner improving a house they intend to stay in rather than a flip. The thing that sets Shawnee apart from its immediate neighbours is that it runs a split code package. One- and two-family residential work is permitted under the 2018 International Residential Code with the 2018 energy code, adopted by Ordinance No. 3546, while the electrical code is the 2023 National Electrical Code under Ordinance No. 3536 and the commercial codes are the 2024 editions. Overland Park to the south is on the 2024 IRC; Lenexa to the west is on the 2018 IRC but the 2017 NEC and the 2012 energy code. MrImproveIt carries the Johnson County Class C residential contractor licence that Shawnee's permit guidelines require. Shawnee also requires a City business licence and a notarised Contractor Registration Form from contractors working here.
How this job goes wrong
- A shower run on the old tub drain and trap, which drains slowly and is not compliant
- A pan sloped the wrong way, or a membrane that stops short of the curb
- A curbless entry attempted without lowering the framing, so the slope has nowhere to go
Planning range
$9,000 to $26,000. A solid-surface base in the existing footprint with a standard framed door sits near the bottom. A tiled curbless pan with frameless glass and an accessibility package sits at the top. Plan on one to three weeks of active work.
What moves the price on a tub to shower conversion in Shawnee
A tub-to-shower conversion is the one scope in Shawnee where the permit calendar can cost more than the plumbing. The work itself is predictable: drain relocation, a base set in a correctly prepared opening, and a waterproofing assembly that is a system rather than a product. What is less predictable is the wall, and specifically the subfloor at the outside corner, which is why that is quoted as its own line. Because the trades ride one permit and one combined Rough-In inspection, a conversion cannot be spread across a month of loose visits, and a permit that sits six months without an inspection lapses on its own.
Permits and inspections for this work in Shawnee
The conversion is permitted through the Community Development Department on the Residential Building Permit Application, which expressly covers mechanical and electrical work alongside the building scope, so the plumbing change and any circuit that moves ride the same record. Administration runs under Shawnee's own written R103 rather than the IRC's R103 through R114, which Ordinance No. 3546 omits. The permit expires if work is not started within six months, if no inspection is obtained in any six-month window, or two years after issue. Plumbing is inspected at the combined Rough-In with the other trades. We confirm current requirements with the division on every job.
Common questions about this work
Is a tub to shower conversion a permit job in Shawnee?
It changes the drain and usually the valve, so it generally is. Permit requirements are confirmed with the local building department before work starts.
Should I keep one tub in the house?
Worth considering at resale, particularly if this is the only one. If another full bath has a tub, the concern mostly goes away.
Can the shower be curbless?
Sometimes, and the answer depends on the floor framing below. It has to be decided before demolition, because it is a framing change rather than a finish change.
Tub to Shower Conversion questions from Shawnee homeowners
Does a tub-to-shower swap really need a permit in Shawnee?
Yes. The city's Residential Building Permit Application covers mechanical and electrical work alongside the building scope, and a fixture change that moves a drain is permit work. The plumbing is then inspected at the same combined Rough-In as everything else on the record.
How long does a Shawnee permit stay good?
It expires if work is not started within six months of issue, if no inspection is obtained in any six-month period, or two years after the date it was issued, whichever comes first. On a small scope that last one rarely bites, but the six-month inspection clock does.
Why do Shawnee's permit rules read differently from the code book?
Because they are different text. Ordinance No. 3546 omits IRC Sections R103 through R114 in their entirety and substitutes a locally written R103, so the administrative provisions in Shawnee are the city's own rather than the model code's.
Call (913) 395-8571 or request a written estimate before any work starts.