Can a jetted corner tub be replaced with a freestanding tub?

Yes. In this Ashburn primary bath, the old jetted corner tub and its tiled deck came out, and a freestanding soaking tub now sits centered in the same corner under the two windows. The tub drain and the water supply were moved for the new tub, and a floor-mount tub filler with a hand shower stands beside it. Taking out the deck also freed the floor space that let the shower grow.

Why build a half wall between a shower and a tub?

A half wall lets the shower get bigger without closing the room in. In this Ashburn bath, a 48-inch half wall separates the larger shower from the freestanding tub. On the shower side it holds a bench and a recessed niche; on top, a fixed glass panel keeps the water in while the light from the windows reaches the shower. Its quartz cap matches the vanity top, and the tile wainscot around the room runs at the same height.

Which permits did this Ashburn bathroom need?

The tub, shower and vanity plumbing moved, and new lights, a fan and outlets went in, so the job had building, plumbing and electrical permits with Loudoun County, and the work passed the county’s inspections. Every home is different, so we check what your own project needs before we start.

In what order did this Ashburn bathroom happen?

Design came first: a visit to the house with measurements, the 3D design, the contract and the fixture selections. Then the orders and the permits. On site: demolition and the new subfloor, the rough-in plumbing and electrical with its inspections, the shower and half wall built and waterproofed, the tile, paint and vanity, the quartz, the fixtures and the tub, then the glass and the final inspections. Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours.

Where can I see bathroom materials near Ashburn?

In our Sterling showroom at 45591 Dulles Eastern Plz, Ste 107, the showroom that serves Ashburn, open Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm. See vanities, quartz, tile and fixtures in person, and your own bathroom in 3D on the showroom screen. If you’d like to see a specific product from this bathroom, ask us before your visit.

Ashburn primary bath: a freestanding tub and a half-wall glass shower

What did the homeowners want?

The homeowners booked a design visit online. Their primary bath had a jetted corner tub set in a tiled deck under two windows, a framed shower stall beside it and the vanity wall. They wanted the jetted tub replaced with a freestanding tub in the same spot, a bigger shower with custom glass, and a marble look. The toilet would stay where it was, and the rest of the layout would stay close to the original.

Primary bathroom in Ashburn, VA, before the remodel: a toilet below a towel bar, a window with blinds, beige floor tile and the edge of the old tiled tub deck — The room from the vanity end, before and after: the old tub deck and the toilet under the window, then the freestanding tub in the same corner and the new tile wainscot · Ashburn, VA

The Ashburn primary bathroom after the remodel, from the vanity end: the toilet in its old place, a grab bar beside the window, marble-look porcelain wainscot, gray floor tile and a white freestanding tub — The room from the vanity end, before and after: the old tub deck and the toilet under the window, then the freestanding tub in the same corner and the new tile wainscot · Ashburn, VA

How we designed it: a larger shower, a half wall and one matching quartz

Douglas, our designer, measured the room on his visit and drew it in 3D: the tub centered in its corner, and the shower pushed out to the door trim, with a 48-inch half wall between the two. The bench and the recessed niche sit on the shower side of that wall, and a fixed glass panel on top keeps the window light coming through.

3D design of the Ashburn, VA primary bathroom: a freestanding tub under two windows, marble-look wainscot, and a glass shower beside a half wall with a niche and a bench — The tub and shower end: our 3D design, and the finished shower seen from closer in. The design's floor tile was beige; the gray floor was chosen with the selections · Ashburn, VA

The finished shower in Ashburn, VA: clear glass over a half wall with a quartz cap, a recessed niche, a quartz-topped bench, a marble hexagon floor and a brushed nickel hand shower on a slide bar, with the freestanding tub at the left — The tub and shower end: our 3D design, and the finished shower seen from closer in. The design's floor tile was beige; the gray floor was chosen with the selections · Ashburn, VA

One stone ties the room together: the MSI Calacatta Botanica quartz of the vanity top also caps the half wall, the bench, the shower curb and the door threshold. The tile wainscot around the room stops at 48 inches, the height of the half wall, so the lines meet all the way round.

The larger shower: a new half wall, a bench and a niche

Primary bathroom in Ashburn, VA, before the remodel: a framed shower stall with chrome trim and frosted sliding glass, a bath mat, and the edge of the old tub — The shower, before and after tile: the old framed stall, and the new larger shower with its bench, hexagon floor and slide-bar hand shower, before the glass was set · Ashburn, VA

The new shower in Ashburn, VA, before its glass: large marble-look porcelain walls, a bench with a white quartz top, a marble hexagon floor and a brushed nickel hand shower on a slide bar — The shower, before and after tile: the old framed stall, and the new larger shower with its bench, hexagon floor and slide-bar hand shower, before the glass was set · Ashburn, VA

With the tub deck gone, the shower moved out to the door trim. Our crew framed the half wall and the bench, set cement board and waterproofing, and laid a Carrara marble hexagon floor. The walls are Statuario porcelain in 24 x 48-inch pieces, stacked horizontally from floor to ceiling, and the niche is backed with the same hexagon. A Kohler Purist Essentials package gives a showerhead and a hand shower on a 30-inch slide bar.

Once the tile was done, the glass was measured and made to fit: a clear swing door hinged to the wall, and a fixed panel standing on the half wall. Our fabrication partners made the glass, under our supervision.

The tub corner: a freestanding tub where the jetted tub stood

The tub drain and the water supply were moved so the new freestanding soaking tub sits centered under the corner windows. Beside it stands a Kohler Tone floor-mount tub filler with its own hand shower, and a grab bar runs along the wall above the wainscot.

Bathroom in Ashburn, VA: a white freestanding soaking tub filled with water beside a brushed nickel floor-mount tub filler, still taped, on gray floor tile, with the shower's tiled half wall at the right — The tub and its floor-mount filler, filled for testing, the filler still taped · Ashburn, VA

The vanity wall: an 84-inch double vanity in stained shaker

The vanity wall now holds an 84-inch double vanity: three ProCraft Liberty Shaker cabinets, 30, 24 and 30 inches, in the Karamel stain, with drawers between the two sink bases. The vanity plumbing was moved for the two sinks.

The top is the same white quartz as the shower caps, with two undermount sinks and Kohler Sundae faucets. The homeowners chose the two mirrors and the three-light sconces themselves, and a new recessed medicine cabinet went into the side wall, the same size as the old one.

Primary bathroom remodeling in Ashburn, VA: a long stained shaker double vanity with satin nickel pulls, a white quartz top with two undermount sinks and brushed nickel faucets, two framed mirrors and three-light glass sconces, and the toilet beyond — The double vanity, two sinks under two mirrors · Ashburn, VA

Light and air

Four new 6-inch LED recessed lights went in, one over the shower, one over the tub and two for the room, with a new exhaust fan, new GFCI protection and separate switching. New baseboard was matched to the rest of the house.

What happened in what order: the Ashburn primary bath, step by step

Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours. How our process works →

Design: Douglas's visit to the house and the measurements, the 3D design, the estimate and the contract.
Selections: a final measure of the room; the Kohler fixtures chosen; the homeowners chose their own mirrors and vanity lights (recorded in a signed change order).
Ordering and permits: cabinets, tile and fixtures ordered; building, plumbing and electrical permits with Loudoun County.
Demolition: the jetted tub and its deck, the framed shower stall and the old vanity out; rotten plywood found in the shower and tub area and replaced, with a change order the homeowners approved.
Rough-in: the tub drain and supply moved, the shower valve moved and a hand shower added, the vanity plumbing moved; new lights, fan and outlets wired; the rough inspections.
The shower: out to the door trim; the half wall, the bench and the niche framed; cement board, waterproofing and the hexagon floor.
Tile and paint: the porcelain full height in the shower and as a wainscot around the room, the floor tile, the grout; the walls painted.
Vanity and quartz: the vanity cabinets set and templated; the quartz top and the caps on the half wall, bench, curb and threshold installed.
Fixtures: sconces, mirrors and medicine cabinet; faucets and toilet; the freestanding tub and its floor-mount filler.
Glass: measured once the tile was finished, then the swing door and the fixed panel installed.
Last: accessories, baseboard and the punch list; the final inspections passed.

Who built it: Douglas, our designer, planned the bathroom with the homeowners, our crew built it, and the permits and inspections were handled with Loudoun County. The quartz and the shower glass were made by our fabrication partners, under our supervision.

Budget: about $45K–$55K for the primary bathroom.

What came up in this Ashburn bathroom, and how we solved it

A soft floor in the wet corner. When the jetted tub, its deck and the old shower came out, the plywood subfloor in the shower and tub area turned out to be rotten. We replaced it with a change order the homeowners approved, before the new floor went down, so the new tile floor and the freestanding tub stand on solid plywood.

Bathroom remodeling in Ashburn, VA, during demolition: new plywood subfloor screwed down, beside the old shower area opened to the studs with its drain pipes — New plywood subfloor, laid at demolition · Ashburn, VA

A bigger shower in the same room. Taking out the tub deck freed the floor to push the shower out to the door trim, with no walls moved other than the new half wall.
A wall that does three jobs. The 48-inch half wall divides the shower from the tub, holds the bench and the niche, and carries a fixed glass panel that lets the window light into the shower.
One quartz, one height. The vanity top's quartz caps the half wall, the bench, the curb and the threshold, and the wainscot stops at the half wall's height.
The toilet stayed put. The new toilet went in where the old one stood, as the homeowners asked.

Ashburn bathroom materials: stained shaker, Calacatta Botanica quartz and Statuario porcelain

The exact products in this bathroom, from our order records. "Homeowner's choice" marks what the homeowners chose and bought themselves.

Primary bathroomProCraft, MSI quartz, Best Tile, Kohler · 18 items

Primary bathroom
Item	Brand and line	Color / finish
Vanity cabinets	ProCraft Liberty Shaker: an 84-inch double vanity in three cabinets, 30, 24 and 30 inches	Karamel stain
Cabinet pulls and knobs	Pulls MO6303SN and MO6373-128SN	Satin nickel
Vanity top, half wall, bench, curb and threshold	MSI quartz, made by our fabrication partners; two undermount sinks	Calacatta Botanica
Shower walls and wainscot	Decovita Statuario porcelain, 24 x 48 inches, stacked horizontally: full height in the shower, 48 inches high around the room	Polished
Floor tile	Best Tile Wave Ash porcelain, 12 x 24 inches	Matte gray
Shower floor and niche back	MSI Carrara White 2-inch hexagon	Honed marble
Grout	Arctic White on the walls and the shower floor; Driftwood on the bathroom floor	—
Tile edges	Schluter metal trim	Brushed nickel
Shower system	Kohler Purist Essentials showering package, 22181-BN: showerhead, hand shower on a 30-inch slide bar	Vibrant brushed nickel
Tub filler	Kohler Tone floor-mount tub filler with hand shower, T27424-4-BN	Vibrant brushed nickel
Vanity faucets (2)	Kohler Sundae 8-inch widespread, K-R28797-4D-BN, with clicker drains	Vibrant brushed nickel
Toilet	Kohler Highline Arc two-piece, elongated, 78305-0	White
Medicine cabinet	Kohler 16 x 20-inch recessed cabinet, mirrored inside, K-CB-CLR1620FS	—
Bath accessories	Kohler Sundae three-piece accessory set and a towel ring	Vibrant brushed nickel
Shower glass	Custom 3/8-inch tempered glass by our fabrication partners: a swing door hinged to the wall and a fixed panel on the half wall	Clear
Recessed lights	Four 6-inch LED recessed lights: over the shower, over the tub and two for the room	—
Vanity mirrors and sconces	Two mirrors and two three-light sconces over the vanity	Brushed nickelHomeowner's choice
Paint	Wall paint	—Homeowner's choice