anyone ever retrofitted a bathtub to a walk in shower?

Philip_G · 03-27-2005, 08:45 AM

So, the house that is still being built and I won't close on until early may.... I noticed one of the other houses had a nice walk in shower in place of a tub in the master, I wish I had considered this (I really didn't even know it was an option)
so, I'm thinking it wouldn't be so bad to get something like this
http://www.theswancorp.com/products/...ofit/index.php
http://www.faucet.com/decor/product.pl?mid=9167

Re-plumb the faucet up higher, throw in some backer board and tile around it. I wanted to yank out the plastic surround and add tile anyway.

Am I crazy? Is this harder than it seems? 200 bucks for the base, maybe another 100 for tile, and a couple hundred for a glass door seems pretty reasonable, and I can get a matching silestone counter top later if I want.

Justin Lane · 03-27-2005, 10:03 AM

Philip,

Have you priced Swanstone? If you go that route it is going to be a bit more expensive then you are budgeting. I recently helped my father re-model one of his bathrooms, and the swanstone around the new tub ran about $800. If you are also going with a swanstone floor and largish glass doors, you will probably be spending in the $1200-1500 range (or more)which is a $1000 bucks over what you have budgeted.

Looked at your website and the shower walls are almost $1000.

http://www.faucet.com/decor/product....27302&fh=White

Of course you could go ceramic tile for the walls and cut down on the costs some, if you feel comfortable doing your own tile work.

As for installation, it all depends on if you can find a base which has the same footprint as your tub. If not, you are probably going to end up with some modifications to your flooring which may or may not be easy.

J

03-27-2005, 10:10 AM

Do a tile mosaic in the background of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus", a la Martha Stewart and the Amex commercial.

Sweet!

When is the housewarming party?

Jeff Ulmer · 03-27-2005, 11:11 AM

I would find it hard to imagine tiling a walk in shower for $100, unless you are using really cheap tile. Glue and grout alone could run you half that.

The biggest issue is getting the thing watertight. Your budget will go up exponentially if there are leaks anywhere in the system.

Also, does the house have another bath tub? The lack of one will hurt resale value, at least it does around here.

Richard Travale · 03-27-2005, 11:13 AM

Also, think about getting the old tub out of the room. It may not fit through the doorway.
This is usually why the contractor brings the tub in before the walls are up.

**HTF Ads**

Jason Kirkpatri · 03-27-2005, 12:37 PM

For the tub going out of the doorway - cut the tub in half and it'll fit! The tub is lost, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

I prefer tile over and pre-made walls. I am going to have to pull my walk in walls down and tile. Easier to keep clean, IMO.

Mike Voigt · 03-27-2005, 01:26 PM

Any chance you can get the builder to change at this time? If the drywall is up, probably not - but if they have roughed in the piping, and still not installed that stuff, you may be able to get away with it.

Or at least leave it unfinished so you can do what you need to. Use one of the other bathrooms in the house in the meantime...

Philip_G · 03-27-2005, 01:41 PM

Oh man. lots to reply to.

Quote:

Have you priced Swanstone?

see link above, swanstone retrofit base - 200 bucks plus shipping. Also see link above for finding a base with the same footprint as the tub.

I plan to do the tilework myself.

Quote:

When is the housewarming party?

After you come by to help decorate?

Quote:

I would find it hard to imagine tiling a walk in shower for $100, unless you are using really cheap tile. Glue and grout alone could run you half that.

The biggest issue is getting the thing watertight. Your budget will go up exponentially if there are leaks anywhere in the system.

Also, does the house have another bath tub? The lack of one will hurt resale value, at least it does around here.

OK, so the tile goes up to 300 bucks, 200 for the base, another 200 for misc. supplies. Tiles are about 80 cents each at HD, I guess I'd need a fair number of them for so much tile.

Yes, it has another tub.

Quote:

Also, think about getting the old tub out of the room. It may not fit through the doorway.
This is usually why the contractor brings the tub in before the walls are up.

I have a sawzall

though I'm not entirely sure how the stupid thing comes apart, the walls are screwed to the studs but I didn't see how the tub attached.

Quote:

Any chance you can get the builder to change at this time? If the drywall is up, probably not - but if they have roughed in the piping, and still not installed that stuff, you may be able to get away with it.

Oh hell no. I made all my choices last september and they didn't start construction until late january, even before construction they wouldn't make changes, certainly not now (and yes the d/w is up..)

Ryan Wishton · 03-27-2005, 02:02 PM

I like the idea of a walk in shower seperately from the Whirlpool.

A combined Whirlpool Tub/Shower can be a pain in the ass. This is what he have. Too deep to be climbing in and out of all the time for regular showers (especially when someone is tired as it is). Someone might break a hip.

Would never want to go without the tub (The motion of the water serves it's purpose for certain events). But, would definately prefer the shower seperately where it's not like climbing stairs to get to it.

Philip_G · 03-27-2005, 03:39 PM

I don't have enough room for a shower AND a tub in this w/c, so I'd rather just forgo the tub and put a shower in...

the builder had an option for a big garden tub but it just looked way too much of a PITA to use daily.