Tub-to-shower conversion in Plantation.

Almost every one of those houses has the bathroom I'm asked to convert: a 60-inch alcove on a slab, a steel or cast-iron tub, the drain at the far end and a valve set for someone sitting, not standing. The tub leaves on its edge, the alcove goes to the studs, and the drain line sits exposed in the slab for the plumber to look at before anything new goes down.

• Country Club Estates, with homes from 1953 to 1969, and Plantation Isles, from 1958, are the oldest alcoves in town. The plumber scopes the drain before we build a pan over it.
• The 1980s houses around Jacaranda and in Jacaranda Lakes usually have a fiberglass tub-shower unit. It comes out in pieces, and the wall behind it is bare block or studs with no blocking.
• Grab-bar blocking goes in while the wall is open, every time, bars or no bars.
• The new valve goes where a standing person wants it. The old one almost never survives the demo.

In Lauderdale West, the 55-plus community of more than a thousand single-story homes and villas off Sunrise Boulevard, every interior improvement needs written board approval through the Modification Application before work starts, and the association owns the plex roofs: nobody goes up on them. That touches one part of a conversion, the exhaust fan. In a 4-plex villa the new fan duct runs out through the soffit or an existing roof cap rather than a new roof penetration, and I draw it that way on the application and allow for the board's review time. The guide also asks owners to carry HO-3 or HO-6 insurance naming the association; that's between you and your agent, and it's worth checking before the start date.

Days two to four are the pan: a mortar pre-slope troweled to the drain, a low 2-inch curb, cement board on three walls, the membrane, and a flood test before any tile. Days five to eight are tile to the ceiling, the niche and the bench. Then grout, the valve trim, and the fixed glass panel, which is measured after the tile and takes about a week to arrive, so the last day is sometimes a short return visit.

• Water is off only during the plumber's hours, and I tell you which ones.
• Toilet and sink stay usable most days; you're without that shower for the full run.
• A squeegee on the wall and a ducted fan keep soft-water glass clear.
• One year on the work, the Done Right Promise.