Bathroom remodeling in New Braunfels, TX

Shower conversions

A common request is turning a tub nobody uses into a shower. A standard alcove tub leaves a space about 60 inches long, enough for a comfortable stall with a recessed niche or a bench at one end.

The first decision is entry height. A short curb is the simplest build. A low-threshold or curbless entry needs the shower floor set below the bathroom floor so water heads for the drain instead of the hallway; on a slab that can mean cutting and recessing concrete, and on a raised wood floor the joists are reworked. It is checked at the walk-through so it lands in the written scope, not halfway through demolition.

Glass needs planning too. The residential code calls for safety glass in a tub or shower enclosure, or within 60 inches of its edge, when the glass’s bottom edge is less than 60 inches above the floor or tub. That can catch an older window above the tub, which sometimes gets replaced when the tub becomes a shower.

Tile and waterproofing

Tile and grout shed most of the water in a shower, not all of it. Moisture works through grout joints, so a shower lasts only as long as the hidden layer behind them: a liquid or sheet membrane covering the backer board, lapped into a pan that slopes to the drain, with corners, niches and the valve opening sealed first. Flood-testing the pan before tile is set reveals a leak while it is still easy to fix.

New Braunfels enforces a locally amended 2021 International Residential Code. It limits backers behind tub and shower tile to listed materials and keeps water-resistant gypsum board out of spots with direct water exposure. On the floor, a smaller tile with more joints feels steadier under wet feet.

Accessibility features

A bathroom that works for someone at 85 also works for someone at 40 with a sprained ankle. These are simplest to add while walls and floors are open:

• Solid wood blocking around the toilet, tub and shower, so grab bars can be mounted firmly now or later.
• A low or curbless entry, a fold-down seat and a handheld shower on a slide bar reachable while sitting.
• Lever handles and a valve that keeps water temperature steady when another tap opens.
• A wider doorway or pocket door where framing allows, with room for a walker or wheelchair to turn.
• Matte, slip-resistant floor tile, a comfort-height toilet and a motion-sensor night light.

Planning around a particular person? Bring their needs, or a therapist’s notes, to the first conversation.

Bathrooms in rental homes

New Braunfels, Gruene and Canyon Lake have many river and lake rentals, and their bathrooms take hard use from constant guest turnover. Durable choices pay off: porcelain instead of stone, stain-resistant or epoxy grout, quartz or solid-surface counters, a wall-hung vanity that makes mopping easier and shutoff valves a cleaner can find quickly. The off-season, roughly November through February, is a practical window for this work, so the unit is ready before summer tubing traffic. Our short-term rental remodels page covers turnover planning.

Bathroom permits in New Braunfels

Inside city limits, a permit is required to alter a building or change its plumbing, electrical, gas or mechanical systems. The city lists cosmetic work as exempt, including new cabinets or floor covering, painting, and swapping plumbing or light fixtures when piping and wiring stay as they are. A new vanity and toilet in the same spots is cosmetic; moving a drain, adding a circuit or reframing a wall is not.

The city’s remodel checklist asks for a detailed written scope with the remodel area’s square footage, existing and proposed floor plans, beam and header details when walls are opened, and plumbing, electrical and mechanical plans where included. City registration covers every contractor, the general contractor too, and each trade sub files a separate permit application before construction. If your bathroom needs one, it is applied for before work starts.

Homes near the Comal and Guadalupe rivers may sit in a mapped flood hazard area. Those properties add a Floodplain Application Form, and the city counts improvements to an existing building cumulatively; once the total reaches 50 percent of the structure’s market value, it is a substantial improvement, so mention other recent work on the house.

Outside city limits, another city or the county (Comal, or Guadalupe around Lake Dunlap and McQueeney) may have jurisdiction. Verify current details with Building Safety at New Braunfels City Hall, 550 Landa St. (checked October 11, 2026), or read our New Braunfels remodel permits guide.