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Traditionally, a round drain is placed in the center of the bathtub replacement shower pans, and edges are used around the pans in order to help the water reach the drain rather than the floor areas that you want to keep dry in the bathroom. There are also narrow rectangular-shaped floor drains, known as linear drains, that can also be used in the tub replacement shower. While a round floor drain requires that multiple planes be constructed in the subfloor of the shower so that the water runs to the drain, only a single slope is used to help water reach the linear drain. The linear drain may be placed on any straight side of the shower stall in a tub to shower conversion, and can also be sited at the door to the tub replacement shower.
When you convert tub to shower, you will also need to consider the cost of implementing your design ideas. A bathtub to shower conversion that uses a round floor drain will be more expensive in terms of labor costs to install, because the subfloor requires more time to construct due to the multiple planes involved. If you want to convert tub to shower using a linear drain system, your labor costs will be less due to only a single plane needing to be built into the subfloor structure of the shower.
The tub to shower conversion may be done primarily to give your older bathroom a facelift. You are not stuck with using smaller tiles when installing a linear drain system in the bathroom, as you are if you put in a round floor drain. Larger pieces of stone or tile may be used, and become an attractive focal point in your tub to shower conversion. When you convert tub to shower using a linear drain, you can get rid of the shower doors entirely if you prefer, which opens up the space in your bathroom tremendously.
Learn more about linear floor drains by visiting a product manufacturer website for further information.