How to Make a Shower With a Clawfoot Tub

Clawfoot bathtubs evoke an old world charm while offering a place to relax after a long hard day. However, there are moments where there isn't time for a long soak and only a shower will do. You do not have to give up your clawfoot tub to have a shower. Conversion kits are available so that you can bathe or shower. A handy homeowner can install one of these kits in a day with a few common household tools.

Pipe wrench
Conversion kit
Teflon tape
Drill with screwdriver bits
Shower curtain and hooks

Instructions

- 1
  Turn off the water supply. There may be shut-off valves in the wall behind the tub, if you have wall access. If not, shut off the main water supply to the house. This valve usually is found in a utility room or basement. Open the hot and cold valves on the faucet to drain the remaining water from the pipes.
- 2
  Remove the old faucet. Loosen the water lines with the wrench and loosen the nuts that hold the faucet in place. Finish removing those nuts by hand. Lift the old faucet out and set it aside. Set the new faucet in place and tighten it down with the new nuts in the kit. Reattach the water lines.
- 3
  Insert the shower riser into the top of the faucet. This pipe feeds water to the showerhead. If your kit comes with multiple sections of pipe, wrap Teflon tape on the ends of the pipe when you attach them together.
- 4
  Attach the wall escutcheon, or bracket, to a shorter piece of tubing for the wall brace. One end of this pipe screws into the back of the shower riser connector and the other end is attached to the wall. Attach the escutcheon to the wall using the screws that come with the kit..
- 5
  Build the oval or rectangle shower enclosure. Usually two half oval or half rectangular pieces of tubing form the enclosure. This is what the shower curtain will hang from. One end of each half is attached to the shower riser connector, while the other two ends are connected to the shower enclosure connector. When attaching to the enclosure connector, make sure that the opening for the ceiling brace is pointing up, otherwise you will have to take it apart and redo it.
- 6
  Attach a short piece of tubing to the shower enclosure connector. Place another escutcheon onto the other end, then screw the escutcheon to the ceiling with the provided screws.
- 7
  Wrap Teflon tape around the pipe where the shower head attaches. Screw the showerhead onto the pipe until it is tight. Be careful not to over-tighten the showerhead.
- 8
  Turn the water back on. Run the shower and check for leaks. Hang the shower curtain on the enclosure tubing.

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