Price of a walk-in
shower.

The term now covers two showers that do not cost the same. The first rests on an extra-flat shower tray, in resin or mineral material, set on the existing floor: the step becomes minimal, without disappearing entirely. The second is a true level-access shower: the floor of the shower is tiled continuously with the room, on a tileable shower base, with a drain or a channel set into the floor.

Our quotes reflect this difference in frequency: an extra-flat shower tray is priced on 27 projects, a tileable shower base on only 3, and a stone shower tray supplied and fitted with its column on 6. The range for the tileable shower base therefore rests on few projects, and we give it as an order of magnitude.

The price gap is not down to the shower tray alone. A level-access shower has to house its drainage and its slope within the thickness of the floor; when that height is lacking, the floor must be cut back or raised, and it is often this work that widens the difference.

Each range keeps the core of the prices taken from our 2024-2026 quotes, one value per quote, excluding the extremes. Prices are excl. VAT; the incl. VAT column applies the 10% rate for a home more than two years old. No amount is that of a specific client.

Two points on reading this table. First, high-end models fall outside these ranges: a branded thermostatic column reaches €1,400 to €1,500 excl. VAT, and a large mineral shower tray comes close to €1,400. Second, the installation does not always appear on the same line: depending on the quote, an item is priced supplied and fitted, or its installation is grouped with that of the other fittings in a plumbing labour lump sum for the whole room. When you compare two quotes, check how the installation is counted.

When the shower is part of an entirely redone bathroom, the other items (WC, vanity unit, floor, electrics, ventilation) are detailed in our guide Renovating your bathroom: steps and prices.

Take a bath removed and replaced by a 120 × 90 cm shower on an extra-flat shower tray, set against two walls tiled to a height of 2.10 m, or about 4.5 m² of wall tiling, closed by a fixed screen. Applying the low, middle and high ends of our ranges:

This total is a calculation based on our prices per item, not the invoice of a project. It includes neither the electrics, nor the painting, nor the floor of the rest of the room, nor an installation counted as a lump sum when the quote separates it from the equipment. Replacing the extra-flat shower tray with a tileable shower base, for a true level-access shower, adds about €850 to €1,150 excl. VAT, giving a total of about €3,900 to €5,950 excl. VAT, before any work on the floor.

On a concrete slab, in a recent house or a post-war building, everything depends on the thickness of screed above the slab. If it is enough to house the drain and the slope, the level-access shower is built without touching the structure; otherwise, our masons cut back the screed where the shower goes, which adds a line for demolition and making good to the quote.

On a timber floor, very common in chalets, renovated farmhouses and old buildings in the centres of Annecy, Chambéry or Aix-les-Bains, the question changes in nature: the joists carry the floor, and the drainage has to pass between them without weakening them. Our carpenters check their direction and section before a level-access shower is promised. If the floor is not suitable, a slight raising of the room or an extra-flat shower tray gives a similar result, for a more predictable budget.

The route to the stack matters as much as the floor. The further the shower is from the waste-water stack, the more height the slope uses up. In a co-ownership building, touching a shared stack goes through the managing agent, which lengthens the schedule. In a second home closed in winter, it must also be possible to drain the shower pipes, so that they do not fear frost during the absence.

Waterproofing, named and priced. In the shower area, it is what protects the floor and the ceiling of the storey below. A quote that does not mention it has either forgotten it or buried it in another line: in both cases, ask where it is.

Drainage and slope. Central drain or linear channel, its position, and for a level-access shower the way the slope is formed. These choices decide whether the floor has to be reworked.

Taps and mixers, exposed or concealed. An exposed column is fixed to the finished wall; a concealed mixer requires its box to be housed in a partition or a lining, to be planned before the wall tiling.

The screen and its dimensions. Width, height, clear or frosted glass: a 1 m fixed panel does not cost the same as a sliding screen.

The installation. Included in each line or grouped as a lump sum: the two presentations are equivalent, provided you know which one you are reading.

In a home completed more than two years ago, a shower supplied and fitted by the firm falls under the 10% rate, whether the home is a main or a second residence. This is the frequent case for the holiday flats and chalets that we renovate in Savoie.

If you buy the shower tray, screen or column yourself, this equipment stays at 20%; only the invoiced installation can then benefit from the reduced rate. The detail of the rules, including the wording to be entered on the quote, can be found in our guide VAT on renovation work.