Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs and Disposals - Installing Plumbing in Plaster Wall

I am considering buying a turn of the century rowhome in Baltimore, that has been owned by the same lady since 1961. She has maintained the home well but the house is moderately outdated: for example, the kitchen has not been updated, lightswitches have not been installed in some rooms, etc. One specific room that needs modernization is the bathroom. The bathroom does not have, and I suspect never has had, a shower. It has a tub but it can only be used for baths. I plan on living with young professional roommates would would insist upon having a shower, so I would need to upgrade this ASAP.

My thought was to just to cut open the wall and run the necessary plumbing for a shower, however the walls are plaster which I have been informed is a HUGE pain. I know you can get shower heads that connect to the tub faucet via a long curved pipe, but I find this to be tacky, and it makes it difficult to fill up the tub if necessary.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can install this plumbing, or retrofit it in an attractive manor, without it being too difficult?

Well..i don't know what kind of valve you have or style or if it can be modified to add a shower head. Most tub valves feed a shower head as well and i suspect it is probably just capped off.

What is on the other side of the wall behind the valve? Also...because it is plaster..that is no good anyways for a shower. You need to add tile if you want to use it as a shower.

There is no 'easy' way to turn that tub into a shower unfortunately...none i can come up with anyways. :)

good luck.