Tag: tub cutout

A bathtub step cutout with two brushed stainless grab bars installed in a tiled Toronto bathroom
Bathroom Safety

Bathtub Cutout Conversion for Seniors in Ontario: What Occupational Therapists and Home-Care Coordinators Should Know

Robby at Trenworks

Bathtub cutout conversion for seniors in Ontario is the fastest, least disruptive way to turn a high-sided tub into a low-step shower entry, and most of the OTs and care coordinators I meet have never seen one done. This is a plain-language guide to what it is, who it suits, what it costs relative to the alternatives, and how to refer a client so nothing falls through the cracks.

I’m Robby Raay. Trenworks BathCutter has been in business since 2004 and has specialized in bathroom safety since 2012. We have completed several thousand bathtub cutouts and grab bar installations across Ontario, from London to Kingston and from Niagara to Barrie and Peterborough, out of offices in Oshawa, Toronto and Etobicoke.

The problem you already know

The tub wall is the single hardest thing in a home for an aging client to get over. A standard tub wall is typically 15 to 20 inches high, and clearing it means a one-legged stance on a wet surface, usually while turning. That is the moment where balance, hip strength and confidence all get tested at once.

The usual answers are a full walk-in tub, a tub-to-shower renovation, or a transfer bench. The first two cost several times what a cutout does and take days or weeks of contractors in the home. The bench works but takes up the whole tub and many clients quietly stop using it.

What a step cutout actually is

We cut a section out of the existing tub wall and finish it with a moulded, reinforced insert, so the tub stays in place and the bathroom is untouched.

The 24-inch opening of a bathtub step cutout through the rim of a deck-mounted soaker tub
The 24-inch opening after a cutout in a deck-mounted soaker tub. Step-over is about 5 to 6 inches from the floor.
  • Opening: 24 inches wide, standard on every job.
  • Step-over after the cutout: about 5 to 6 inches measured from the bathroom floor, about 3 to 4 inches from inside the tub.
  • Construction: a Canadian-made assembly. We build reinforcement into the tub wall around the opening, so it is a permanent installation that never needs upgrading.
  • Time in the home: one visit. The client can shower 24 hours after installation.
  • Tub types: acrylic, fibreglass and enamelled steel tubs are routine. Unlined cast iron can be done at a higher cost after our team looks at it. Cast iron tubs with an acrylic liner are the one thing we do not currently convert.

For clients who still want a soak, our patented removable door cap closes the opening in about two seconds and comes off just as fast. It can be used 48 hours after installation, and its waterproof seal is guaranteed for life.

A woman relaxing in a full bath with the removable door cap closing the bathtub cutout
The removable door cap in place for a full bath. Two seconds on, two seconds off.
Close-up of the removable bathtub door cap and its two thumb latches
The door cap latches. The waterproof seal is guaranteed for life.

Grab bars, done properly

Most cutout clients also need bars, and we install them the same visit. We use brushed stainless bars with a diamond-knurled grip, rated to 500 pounds, with covered end caps and anchors matched to the wall surface. Ceramic tile is the standard surface; porcelain, marble and granite take extra work, and any bar going into drywall gets a WingIts anchor installed with it. We also install shower wands, toilet safety rails and anti-slip treatment on request. How the installation works is on our grab bar installation page.

Warranty

Two terms, and we state only these two:

  1. Installed bathtub step cutouts and installed stainless grab bars carry a five-year parts and labour warranty.
  2. The removable door cap’s waterproof seal is guaranteed for life.

What it costs, honestly

Every tub is different, so we price each job individually after seeing photos. What I can say is that an installed cutout is a fraction of the cost of a walk-in tub, and the whole thing is finished in an afternoon. Clients referred by an OT or care coordinator receive a free stainless grab bar with their cutout installation; the details are on our free grab bar offer page.

There is also a federal credit most families do not know about. The Home Accessibility Tax Credit returns 15 percent of up to $20,000 in eligible accessibility work per year, and grab bars and walk-in shower access are named eligible expenses. The client, or a family member who supports them, claims it on their own return with our invoice. Anyone 65 or older, or eligible for the Disability Tax Credit, qualifies. Starting with the 2026 tax year the same expense can no longer be claimed under both this credit and the Medical Expense Tax Credit, so the family’s accountant picks one.

A bathtub step cutout at the entry end of a tub in a newer bathroom, with a hand shower and one vertical stainless grab bar
A newer bathroom: cutout at the entry end, hand shower, one vertical stainless bar at the step. One visit.

How to refer a client

You do not have to write anything up or wait on a site visit.

  1. Give your client (or their son or daughter) our number: 905-436-5965, call or text.
  2. Ask them to text two photos of the tub, one from the doorway and one straight on, to 365-654-9174, or WhatsApp them to 905-436-5965. Someone who can’t manage photos can simply call; we’ll talk it through.
  3. We call back with a free written quote and available install dates, usually within 24 hours of the photos. Tell us who referred them and we take it from there.

We are fully insured with liability and WSIB coverage, we clean up after ourselves, and we work in houses, condos and retirement residences.

If you would like a one-page handout for your clients, or you want to see a cutout in person before you recommend one, email info@trenworks.com or call 905-436-5965. I’m happy to walk through a job with you.

Robby Raay
Trenworks BathCutter
bathtubtoshowerconversion.com · mygrabbar.ca
905-436-5965 · info@trenworks.com

Grab bar installation in Toronto: two brushed stainless grab bars, one angled on the tiled back wall and one vertical at the tub entry
Bathroom Safety

Know Someone Who Struggles Getting In and Out of the Tub?

Robby at Trenworks

Most of the people we help find us the same way: someone they know had a bathtub cutout done and told them about it. If that someone is you, here is a thank-you that goes both ways.

The offer

  • Your friend gets a free stainless steel grab bar, installed, with their bathtub step cutout. It is the same 500 lb rated brushed stainless bar we sell on its own, fitted on the same visit, positioned for how they actually move in the bathroom.
  • You get a $50 gift card once their cutout installation is done.
  • Grab bars only? If your friend books grab bars without a cutout, you still get a gift card once their install is done: $25 for one or two bars, $50 for three or more.

That is the whole offer. No forms, no codes, no limit on how many people you send.

How it works

  1. Tell them about us. Have them call or text 905-436-5965 and mention your name. That is all the tracking we need.
  2. They send two photos of their tub, one from the doorway and one straight on, by text to 365-654-9174 or by WhatsApp to 905-436-5965. No home visit is needed for a quote. If photos are a struggle, they can just call and we will talk it through.
  3. We quote from the photos and book one visit. The cutout and the free grab bar go in the same day, the bathroom is left clean, and they can shower 24 hours later.
  4. Once their install is done, your gift card goes out. We will text or email you to confirm where to send it.

Who this helps

Anyone in Ontario who has started to dread the tub wall: a parent, a neighbour, a friend from church or the club, someone recovering from a hip or knee, anyone who has stopped bathing as often because getting in and out feels risky. A step cutout turns their existing tub into a low-step shower entry in one visit, with no renovation and no walk-in tub. Our patented removable door cap lets them keep the tub for a soak whenever they want one.

What we stand behind

Every installed cutout and every installed stainless grab bar carries a five-year parts and labour warranty, and the door cap’s waterproof seal is guaranteed for life. Trenworks has done this work across Ontario since 2012, out of Oshawa, Toronto and Etobicoke, in houses, condos and retirement residences.

Questions

Does my friend have to mention my name? Yes, when they first call or text. It is the only way we know who to thank.

Can I refer more than one person? As many as you like. Each completed install earns a gift card: $50 for a cutout, and for grab bars only, $25 for one or two bars or $50 for three or more.

Is there a catch on the free grab bar? Only that it comes with a Trenworks-installed cutout. Do-it-yourself cutout kits do not include a grab bar or installation.

What if they already called you? If they mention your name before their install is booked, it counts.

Where do you install? The Greater Toronto Area and most of southern and central Ontario, from Niagara to Kingston and up to Barrie and Peterborough. See the full list on our grab bar installation page, and how the free bar works on the free grab bar offer page.

Know someone? Have them call or text 905-436-5965 and mention your name. Their free grab bar, and your gift card, start there.