Tub-to-Shower Conversion Timeline vs. Full Remodel

A tub-to-shower conversion that stays in Boise’s lighter permit lane clears its first review in an average of 1 day. A full bathroom remodel that lands in the heavier lane averages 8 days for that same first review, and 28 days before it’s ready to issue, against 8 days for the lighter lane. That’s before a single wall gets opened. The city’s own data sorts every Add/Alt/Repairs application into one of those lanes, and which one your project lands in is most of what separates the tub to shower conversion timeline from a full gut’s timeline.

The rest of the gap is construction itself, not just permitting. National survey data from Houzz puts the work phase of a full primary bathroom remodel at 4.8 months on average, with 8.4 months of planning stacked ahead of that. None of that is random, and none of it is about how fast a crew moves on site. It’s about scope, decided long before anyone picks up a tool.

Scope decides the lane, not what you call the project

The city doesn’t sort applications by project name. Its own residential construction brochure draws the line at what the work actually touches: a permit is required once wall coverings come off to expose framing, a wall or partition goes in, or a sink, tub, shower or water closet gets relocated in a way that needs new plumbing.

A straight tub-to-shower swap that keeps the drain and supply lines where they already sit usually skips those triggers entirely. A full remodel almost never does, since new layout, moved fixtures, and opened framing are the point of the job, not an accident of it. That difference in scope, not the label written on the permit application, is what decides which review lane a project falls into. For the full list of what does and doesn’t require a permit in the first place, see our permits guide.

What the city’s own permit-tier data shows

Boise splits Add/Alt/Repairs permits into two review lanes based on how much the project routes through other review disciplines, such as structural, electrical, and mechanical review. Lighter-scope work moves through Level 1; mid-level work routes through Level 2. Here’s the current-quarter data from the city’s own reporting:

Permit tier	Avg. first review	Avg. ready-to-issue
Level 1 (lighter scope)	1 day	8 days
Level 2 (mid-level scope)	8 days	28 days

One caveat the city states directly and plainly: these figures are business days, not calendar days, so weekends and holidays aren’t counted anywhere in them. Stack a holiday week onto either lane and the calendar gap runs longer than the table alone suggests.

What a full remodel’s timeline actually looks like

The permit clock is only part of a full remodel’s calendar, and it’s easy to lose sight of the rest while waiting on a review letter. Houzz’s renovating-homeowner survey puts planning for a primary bathroom project at 8.4 months on average, with construction itself running 4.8 months once work actually starts. A Boise full remodel that lands in Level 2 review stacks the 28-day ready-to-issue window in front of that construction phase, not inside it. The permit clock and the build clock run one after the other, not at the same time, which is the part most timelines quoted up front tend to leave out.

A tub-to-shower conversion that stays in Level 1 skips most of both problems at once. There’s less to plan because there’s less being rebuilt, and there’s less to permit because there’s less touching framing or moving a fixture to a new location.

Why scope decides your tier, not your contractor’s schedule

It’s tempting to think a faster contractor or an open slot on the crew’s calendar is what shortens a timeline. It isn’t, and the city’s own routing language is the tell: Level 1 projects carry less routing to other review disciplines, and Level 2 projects carry mid-level routing to those same disciplines. A contractor can’t negotiate a project out of the review it needs. Opening up framing pulls in structural review, adding circuits pulls in electrical review, and those reviews are exactly what push a project from Level 1 into Level 2, regardless of who’s holding the tools or how good their schedule looks on paper.

The scope decision gets made at the design stage, well before a permit application ever gets filed with the city. That’s also before any bid gets signed, which is the point in the process where this is actually worth settling, not after demo has already started.

How to find out which timeline applies before you get bids

Before comparing bids side by side, ask what the plan actually does to the room: does it open framing, add a wall, or move a drain or supply line, or does it keep the existing footprint and swap the fixture in place without touching any of that? That answer, not the contractor’s calendar, points toward Level 1 or Level 2 and the timeline that comes with each one. If the plan is a straight conversion, a shower remodel scoped around the existing footprint is the fastest path through the lighter lane. If the scope runs bigger than that, our permits guide covers what triggers the heavier review, and our walk-in tub vs. walk-in shower breakdown is worth reading before deciding which fixture you’re converting to in the first place.

FAQ

How much faster is a tub-to-shower conversion than a full bathroom remodel in Boise?

Two separate gaps stack on top of each other. The city’s own data shows Level 1 permits averaging 8 days to ready-to-issue versus 28 days for Level 2, and Houzz’s national survey puts the construction phase of a full primary bathroom remodel at 4.8 months on average. A conversion that doesn’t touch framing or relocate the drain skips most of what drives both numbers.

Does a tub-to-shower conversion go through the same permit review as a full remodel?

It depends on scope, not the project’s name. The city’s own rule is that opening framing, adding a wall, or relocating fixtures triggers the heavier review path, while fixture-only plumbing work doesn’t. See our permits guide for the full breakdown of what triggers which permit.

Why does a full bathroom remodel in Boise take months longer than a conversion?

Most of the gap isn’t the labor itself. It’s the review lane the project lands in, plus the added trades a full gut pulls into the process. The city’s own Level 1 vs. Level 2 routing split reflects that directly, and it stacks on top of the construction time itself.

How long does a tub-to-shower conversion actually take once permitting is included?

The city doesn’t publish a conversion-specific figure, but a lighter-scope Level 1 permit is currently averaging 8 days from application to ready-to-issue, a fraction of the 28-day average for the heavier lane a full remodel is more likely to land in.

Working through this yourself? Shower remodels & conversions covers the money side in detail — or call (208) 247-7364 and we'll talk it through.