Hanover · Tub-To-Shower
Swapping an old tub for a shower in a 1950s or 1960s Hanover home? Learn what the original alcove hides and how permits work, then reach an independent local remodeler.
Hanover, Massachusetts
More than a third of Hanover's housing went up in the 1950s and 1960s, according to the Town's Housing Production Plan. Plenty of those houses still have the bathroom layout they were built with, often a tub of roughly five feet tucked into an alcove between two walls, with the valve on the end wall.
That alcove is why tub-to-shower conversions are so common here. The shower can usually take the same footprint, reuse the same plumbing wall, and leave the rest of the room alone. What changes is everything under and behind the tub: the drain size and trap, the subfloor, and the waterproofing a shower needs and a tub never did.
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If anyone in the house grips the wall or the towel bar to climb over the tub's edge, a shower with a low entry is a practical fix.
Enamel worn down to dark metal, or a surface that has been reglazed more than once, usually means the tub is near the end of its life.
When the joint between tub and wall turns moldy or splits within months, water may be reaching the framing behind the surround.
If the tub is used only as a shower floor, a dedicated shower gives more standing room and a safer surface in the same space.
Local knowledge
Two sets of facts matter most here: when your Hanover house was built and how the Town handles plumbing permits.
Postwar Houses
The plan counts another 14.2% from the 1950s. Original tubs from that era are often heavy cast iron or enameled steel, and getting one out may mean breaking it up in place or opening part of a wall.
Plumbing Inspector
Hanover's Building Department has its own plumbing and gas inspector, and permits are filed through the OpenGov portal. Changing the valve and drain for a shower is plumbing work that the plumber permits and has inspected.
Source: Town of Hanover
Service Line Inventory
The 2025 water quality report says the Town's inventory found no lead service lines and none of galvanized pipe needing replacement. That covers the line into the house, not older pipe inside the walls, which your plumber should still look at once the valve wall is open.
Right now
A few observations help a remodeler give you a realistic plan on the first visit.
Many older bathrooms have a small panel behind the valve wall in a closet or hallway. If yours does, take a photo of the pipes; it shows their material and condition.
If the bathroom sits over a finished room or basement, check the ceiling under the tub for stains or old patches and mention them to the remodeler.
If this is the only tub in the house, think about bathing young children or future buyers before removing it. Some families keep a tub in a second bath.
Note the year it was built and any earlier bathroom work. That history helps the remodeler predict what's under the tile.
What to expect
Expect the remodeler to remove the tub, open the wet walls, and inspect the drain, the valve, and the framing. A tub drain is often smaller than what a shower calls for, so the plumber may resize the drain and trap and set a new pressure-balancing valve.
Hanover's permits run through the OpenGov portal at Building and Inspectional Services. The plumber files for the valve and drain work, the Town's plumbing and gas inspector checks the rough-in, and a building permit may come into play if walls or the window change.
With postwar tile, demolition can take longer than people expect, because wall tile from that era was often set in a thick mortar bed over metal lath. Ask how the crew will contain dust, and ask about lead-safe practices if your house was built before 1978.
Hire smart
In Massachusetts, contractors who remodel an existing owner-occupied home of one to four units must be registered Home Improvement Contractors, and the plumbing and electrical parts of the job must be done by a plumber and an electrician who hold Massachusetts licenses, under permits.
For an owner-occupied Hanover home, the company doing the conversion should be a registered Home Improvement Contractor. Search that registration number on the state's HIC lookup before signing.
Ask who will set the valve and drain, and confirm that person holds a Massachusetts plumbing license before work begins.
Removing a cast iron tub is heavy work. The estimate should say how it comes out, who hauls it away, and how floors and stairs will be protected.
Ask whether they plan a preformed base or a tiled, site-built pan, and why. In an old alcove that may be out of square, each choice has trade-offs worth hearing.
Costs
The biggest swing comes from what's hidden. If the valve, drain, and subfloor are sound, the job stays close to the footprint you see; if the old tub hid rot or a corroded drain, repairs come first.
Finish choices come next: a molded surround or tile, a glass door or a curtain, and whether you add a niche or a bench. Ask for an itemized written estimate that lists tub removal, permits, and an allowance for hidden repairs, and have each remodeler price the same scope.
More help in Hanover
Every page below is written for Hanover homes. Or start from the Hanover bathroom remodeling guide.
Learning Center
Massachusetts gives homeowners real protections on remodeling jobs, but only if the contractor is registered and the contract follows the law. Here is what to check before you hand over a deposit.
Read the guide
The decisions you make before demolition shape the cost, the schedule, and how the room works for the next twenty years. Here's what to settle first.
Read the guideQuestions
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Usually the location stays, which keeps the job simpler. The drain line and trap may still be upsized for a shower, and the plumber will decide that after seeing the pipes.
Not necessarily, but think it through. Families with small children often want a tub somewhere in the house, and some buyers look for one. If you have a second bathroom, keeping a tub there is a common compromise.
The plumber files the plumbing permit through Hanover's OpenGov portal, and the Town's plumbing and gas inspector reviews the work. Any electrical or framing changes need their own permits.
It depends on what's found behind the tile, material lead times, and inspection scheduling. Ask each remodeler for a written start date and an estimated completion date, and how they'll handle delays.
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