Summary
- If your budget is a couple of thousand dollars, reglazing is probably a better fit than Bath Fitter.
- If you want custom tile, the whole room redone or one unbroken wall to a ceiling over about 96 inches, call a tile contractor or full remodeler.
- Foundation problems and main-line plumbing need a specialist before any new tub or shower goes in.
- If you’re selling soon and only need a quick fix, a handyman or reglazer usually makes more sense.
- Bath Fitter fits best when you want a durable, easy-to-clean tub or shower installed fast in your existing space.
In this guide
Expert contributors: Aaron Bishop, Operations Manager for Columbia and Augusta, and Kell Chapman, Operations Manager for the Upstate SC and Western NC. Their quotes come from interviews on our Bath Fitter Fam podcast.
Have you ever had a contractor tell you, out loud, that you should hire someone else? Have you noticed that every company’s website explains who they’re perfect for, and almost none of them explain who they’re wrong for?
We think that second one tells you something. So here’s ours.
Since Louie Mullikin opened our family’s first Bath Fitter office in 2003, our teams across seven markets have sat at a lot of kitchen tables. Some of those visits end with us telling a homeowner we’re not the right fit. Sometimes a full remodel is the right call. Sometimes reglazing is. Sometimes the house needs a foundation specialist or a plumber before anybody touches the bathroom. We’d rather publish those reasons than have you find out three hours into an appointment.
When we asked two of our operations managers who Bath Fitter isn’t for, they didn’t hesitate. Below are the eight situations where we’re usually the wrong call, why, and who to call instead.
What kind of product is Bath Fitter, exactly?
Understanding this makes the rest of the list make sense.
Bath Fitter makes custom-fit acrylic tubs, shower bases and one-piece walls in its own factories. Our own employees measure your space, then install the product in your existing tub or shower area, often in as little as one day. That’s what makes it fast, and it’s what makes the lifetime warranty mean something. Bath Fitter makes it, we install it, and we service it, so there’s nobody else to point at.
It’s also what makes it less flexible than some options. A manufactured system isn’t a blank canvas. Here’s how it compares to the alternatives:
- Reglazing or refinishing sprays a new coating over your existing tub or tile. It’s the least expensive professional option by far and the shortest-lived, and it doesn’t fix anything underneath.
- A full remodel takes the room down to the studs and rebuilds it with tile, plumbing, flooring and a vanity. You get total design freedom, and it takes weeks. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report puts the national average for a mid-range bathroom remodel at $26,138.
- DIY is the cheapest of all, and you carry all the risk.
Each of those is the right answer for somebody. Here’s when it isn’t us.
1. What if your budget is a couple of thousand dollars?
Then we’re probably not your company. A typical Bath Fitter project, whether it’s a tub-to-shower conversion or a tub refresh with a custom-fit liner, runs $8,500 to $15,000, and about 70% of our customers land in the middle of that range. That’s real money, and no financing conversation changes it.
Aaron Bishop, who runs our Columbia and Augusta teams, learned the trade-off from his dad:
“You get to pick two of these three choices. You can get good, fast, and cheap… We can do it fast. We do a great job, but are we the cheapest option? No.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
And he’ll tell you what the cheapest option is:
“The cheapest option is go to Lowe’s. You can get the box… and it’ll take you probably two weeks of your life. You’ll learn some new vocabulary words.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
Who to call instead: a reglazing company, if your tub is in good shape and you just want it to look better. Go in knowing it’s a coating with a limited life. Our guide to tub liners vs. reglazing vs. replacement compares the costs side by side.
2. What if you want a custom tile design?
Acrylic is a great material. It’s non-porous, it doesn’t need sealing, and our one-piece walls have no grout lines. We offer 12 tile-look patterns molded into the wall. But it’s still a set of styles and colors, and some people want something no set can give them.
“If you want a completely custom tile job with the family crest, want your family crest cut and set in the wall? We’re not the option there… If you live at the Biltmore, right? We’re probably not the option there.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
If you have a specific tile, a particular stone or a niche at an exact height in mind, you should build that. Talking you into something close to it wouldn’t do you any favors.
Who to call instead: a tile contractor or a full-service remodeler. Expect weeks instead of a day, and a bigger number. Our acrylic vs. tile guide covers where tile wins.
3. What if you want the whole room redone?
We do the tub and shower area. That’s on purpose. The wet area is where the water, the plumbing and most of the long-term problems live, and it’s the part we’ve gotten very good at. We don’t do flooring, vanities, lighting or paint as a package.
“We haven’t had to get into doing doors and windows and gutters and whatever else we can think of, right? We don’t do that stuff, and it’s because we have perfected this craft.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
Who to call instead: a full-service remodeler who can handle the whole room under one contract. If you want one company coordinating everything, splitting the job between us and a general contractor is usually more hassle than it’s worth.
4. What if your house has bigger problems first?
Sometimes the bathroom isn’t really the problem. A sinking foundation, a floor that’s soft well beyond the tub, or a main sewer line that keeps backing up all need a specialist before anyone puts in a new shower. Kell Chapman, who runs our installs across the Upstate and Western North Carolina, put it plainly on our podcast: foundation problems come first, and our time to shine is after they’re handled. William Mullikin explained what that means for us:
“We’re going to come in and do that one area, right? We’re going to be in and out, tub, shower, whatever we’re going to do there.”
William Mullikin · Bath Fitter Fam
To be clear about where our work stops: we do plumbing in the wet area, and if we find rot behind your tub, repairing it in the wet area is included. Beyond that, it’s a job for someone else first. Our guide to what’s hiding behind your old tub explains where that line is.
Who to call instead: a foundation specialist, general contractor or licensed plumber, depending on the problem. Once the house is ready, we’d be glad to come back. This is usually a “not yet,” not a permanent no.
5. What if you’re selling the house soon and just need a quick fix?
This one’s a judgment call, so here’s the honest math. A remodeled bathroom does help a sale. The same Cost vs. Value Report says a mid-range bathroom remodel recoups about 80% of its cost at resale. That’s a good return, but it isn’t 100%.
If you’re listing in a couple of months and the inspector flagged something small, you probably don’t need us:
“If you’re selling your house and you have a little crack in your fiberglass or you have a little grout issue, like that’s, we’re probably not going to be your solution, right? You need that quick fix.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
Where we do make sense before a sale: when the tub or shower is actually failing, leaking or is the thing a buyer will walk away over. Covering a real problem with a cosmetic fix just hands it to the next owner, and it tends to come back up during the inspection.
Who to call instead: your real estate agent first, for a read on what buyers in your area care about. Then a handyman or reglazer for the small stuff.
6. What if your ceiling is taller than about 96 inches and you want one piece floor to ceiling?
Our one-piece walls have a height limit, and Kell doesn’t hide it:
“To not hide at all, one of the complaints is that our walls are limited by height, which is true.”
Kell Chapman · Operations Manager, Upstate SC and Western NC
Together, our standard wall and base top out right around 96 inches, and most bathrooms fall under that. For taller ceilings, we add a sealed upper section with the seam well above the splash zone, and it’s still covered by the warranty. Most people don’t notice it. But if a single, unbroken surface all the way to a tall ceiling matters to you, that’s a tile job.
Who to call instead: a tile contractor. We’ll go over the height question at your consultation so there’s no surprise.
7. What if you want a specific fixture brand we don’t carry?
Most of what makes us good comes from working with one system. Bath Fitter makes the acrylic, and our trim and fixtures are made to go with it. A dealer who carries several brands can match you to a specific faucet line or manufacturer. We can’t.
Who to call instead: a multi-brand dealer or plumbing showroom. Ask them who covers the warranty for the product and who covers the installation, because with several brands involved, it’s often more than one company.
8. What if the room doesn’t actually need a new shower?
Sometimes the best advice is to leave it alone. Kell has been in plenty of homes where the honest answer wasn’t a sale:
“Through consulting and not just selling, we find out that maybe this room needs to stay how it is. It needs to stay the laundry room. They didn’t need the third bathroom. So, you know, we’re here to help, but we can’t always solve everybody’s problems.”
Kell Chapman · Operations Manager, Upstate SC and Western NC
If you’re not sure whether you need a new tub or shower at all, a consultation should help you figure that out, even if the answer is no.
Who should you call for your situation?
Here’s all eight in one place.
| If this is you | Who to call first |
|---|---|
| Your budget is a couple of thousand dollars | A reglazing company |
| You want custom tile or real stone | A tile contractor or full-service remodeler |
| You want the whole room redone | A full-service remodeler |
| Foundation trouble, a soft floor beyond the tub or a main line that backs up | A foundation specialist, general contractor or licensed plumber |
| You’re selling soon and need a small fix | Your real estate agent, then a handyman or reglazer |
| You want one unbroken surface to a ceiling over about 96 inches | A tile contractor |
| You want a specific fixture brand | A multi-brand dealer or plumbing showroom |
| You’re not sure the room needs a new shower at all | Maybe nobody yet. A consultation can help you decide |
| You want a durable, easy-to-clean tub or shower installed fast in your existing space | That’s us |
So when is Bath Fitter the right call?
Aaron summed it up:
“We’re best fit for people who want something that’s easy to clean, that’s durable, it’s going to stand the test of time. It addresses needs. Cosmetically, it looks really great, and it fits more or less in their existing footprint.”
Aaron Bishop · Operations Manager, Columbia and Augusta
That usually means you want the tub or shower area done well and done fast, often in a day, though some jobs take two. You want walls with no grout lines to scrub. You want one company that makes the product, installs it with its own people and stands behind it. Or you need a safer shower because getting over the tub wall has gotten hard, which is some of the most meaningful work we do. Our aging-in-place guide covers that.
And yes, we try to price it fairly. One Columbia couple who compared quotes wrote:
“The price he quoted us was very competitive with other local contractors. Zack, the installer was great in doing a neat job. He kept us informed during the process.”
Abraham & Jean Khalil · Columbia market · Bath Fitter customer review
What should you ask whoever you hire?
These questions sort out the field fast, and they apply to us too:
- Do you make this product, or buy it from someone else?
- Who covers the warranty in year ten, for the product and for the installation?
- Are your installers employees or subcontractors?
- If you find rot or bad plumbing behind the wall, is that in my price or a change order?
- Will you give me a price range before someone comes to my house?
If you think we might be the right fit, our prices are published, and you can get an Instant Estimate in a few minutes. Every Bath Fitter tub and shower comes with a lifetime warranty, and if our name is on it, we do our best to make it right.
If you think we’re not the fit, we hope this saved you an appointment. We’d rather lose the job than be the reason you regret the project.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Does Bath Fitter turn down jobs?
Yes. The most common reasons are a budget that fits reglazing better, a project that needs custom tile or a whole-room remodel, or a house with foundation or main-line plumbing problems that need a specialist first.
What is the cheapest way to update a bathtub?
Reglazing or refinishing, by a wide margin. It’s a coating over your existing tub with a limited life, and it doesn’t fix anything underneath, so know what you’re buying.
Can Bath Fitter do tile?
We don’t install tile. Our one-piece acrylic walls come in 12 tile-look patterns with no grout lines. If you want real tile or stone, a tile contractor or full-service remodeler is the right call.
Will Bath Fitter install over bad plumbing or a damaged floor?
We do plumbing in the wet area, and repairing rot we find in the wet area is included. Problems beyond that, like a failing main line or foundation issues, need a plumber or foundation specialist first. Then we’re glad to come back.
Is a bathroom remodel worth it before selling a house?
It helps. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report says a mid-range bathroom remodel recoups about 80% of its cost at resale. If you’re listing soon and the shower works, cheaper cosmetic fixes usually return more per dollar. If it’s failing, fix it, because an inspector will find it.
How much does Bath Fitter cost?
Most Bath Fitter projects, whether a tub-to-shower conversion or a tub refresh with a custom-fit liner, run $8,500 to $15,000, and about 70% of customers land in the middle of that range. Our cost guide breaks down what moves the price.
This guide applies to: Bath Fitter Augusta, Bath Fitter Columbia, Bath Fitter Little Rock, Bath Fitter Memphis, Bath Fitter Oklahoma City, Bath Fitter Tri Cities, Bath Fitter Upstate SC/Western NC.