Anybody ever remove one of those fiberglass tubs and install a walk in shower with tile? In the very near future(month or two) I plan on doing this and am trying to get as much information as possible.My only concern is the bottom when i rip our the old tub.Im wondering if the floor is gonna be slanted and whether i should put a glass door or something different.
Replace Fiberglass Tub With Shower
- Thread starter Barber
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Well if your taking out a fibre glass bath and this is supported with legs and not concrete packing then i would think the floor level will be very rough and whatever the builders could chuck under it at the time, when you take out the bath i would take that section of floor down by chiseling it or like ways to approx 1.5" below the level of your bathroom floor. then install a sub floor
(am guessing this is a concrete floor in your house and not timber)
the sub floor is made from a weak concrete screed 1 part cement to 4/5 part sand.
At this stage you can dig in your waste pipes into the floor and out of your property ready for your shower waste.
The top level of this sub floor should be approx. 1/2" below the EXISTING BATHROOM FLOOR leaving enough space for a latex sealant on top of the sub floor and tiles.
Hope this helps, please remember am a English plumber, working in Australia so my advice might not be relevant to your area.
(am guessing this is a concrete floor in your house and not timber)
the sub floor is made from a weak concrete screed 1 part cement to 4/5 part sand.
At this stage you can dig in your waste pipes into the floor and out of your property ready for your shower waste.
The top level of this sub floor should be approx. 1/2" below the EXISTING BATHROOM FLOOR leaving enough space for a latex sealant on top of the sub floor and tiles.
Hope this helps, please remember am a English plumber, working in Australia so my advice might not be relevant to your area.
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Post a few pics of what you have, and you will receive plenty of ideas.
Your floor should be smooth under the glass bathtub. I did what you plan on doing, but purchased a neo-angled shower to fit in my corner. The hardest part for you will be either having a custom pan installed using your existing drain lines, or purchasing a ready made pan and reconfiguring your drain line to fit into the new pan perameters. This consists of jacking out the concrete and reconfiguring your drain lines.
You will need a waterproofing. Either a liner with a concrete mud bed, or a hot mop type of tar. It also has to be tapered towards the drain, which is why many just buy a readi-made pan with a built in taper. Unfortunately, these pans have pre-drilled drains, which I can almost guarantee you will not align correctly to your existing drain.
There are a few DIY items new on the market which is a thick rubber liner kit with plastic tapers, which you cut to fit, making your drain the extreme low point. You then can built it yourself, with a lot of patience.
There are a few DIY items new on the market which is a thick rubber liner kit with plastic tapers, which you cut to fit, making your drain the extreme low point. You then can built it yourself, with a lot of patience.
eergie
Member
You need a pan to hold in the water, you should also move the drain to the center of the shower floor. You also have to build a shower curb, this can be achieve by using 3 pressure treated 2 by 4's.
I would def. recommend hiring a license plumber and then a tile contractor to complete this, this is quite a handful for an beginner.
eergie
Member
haha, you just beat me!
You can still save money by having a professional install the pan, waterproofing and concrete backer board, and you could install the tile yourself.
Also, just a wee bit on the expensive side!
$650-$700 for a lifetime product, I think is not too bad.
I'm just not a fan of tiled pans, time is money.
Dan...the grout hater.
I agree. If you can find a pan that compliments the tile, that's a good thing. I have an Onyx pan right now and I despise it. It discolors (gets dirty) easily, and limits any tile I try to put on the wall.
Last time I checked, it cost about $350 to hot mop a pan and have it ready for tiling.
