Bathroom tub/shower replacement?

[BReif61]

Has anyone had experience with getting a new tub/shower installed? A high-end job with tile would be overkill for this house; thinking more along the line of generic liner type set ups.

Had Bathfitter out for an estimate, and as they were the first to come, I was a little caught off-guard by the price.

What have you guys seen, regarding price and quality?

[billybek]

Bathrooms are never a place to cut corners.

It is not cheap to do a bathroom properly.

[LWJ]

I have done plastic liner and a retexture job for a rental house. Cheap. The tub/surround had to have been well under 1000. Probably well under 500. It seems some texture jobs are not the same quality however.

I did a full tilt bath job as well. I made a point of not asking the cost. Not cheap.

[RKDinOKC]

Friend had one of those tub/shower insert things done. Both him and his wife thought was great. It is a small single bath home and honestly, when I visited bofore or after didn't really notice one way or the other.

[BReif61]

The quote from Bathfitter was ~$8k. I agree that this is not a place to cut corners. That quote just seemed pretty high.

[Evans, Marv]

$8K !!!!! That's ridiculous! Almost nine years ago now, I had a tile guy build a tile, walk in shower and tile the surround for the tub for a bunch less than that. I can't imagine Bath Fitter would justify a charge like that for what they do, even though nine years have passed. Take the time to shop around and get estimates that well define the work to be done.

[JavaBrewer]

That has to be a fishing quote at $8K. Are you talking about a tub and wall liner overlay with some silicone sealer? For people who do that stuff for a living I can't imagine it being more than a 1 day job.

I know my way around tile, demo'd an old cast iron tub and shower combo, all new floor and wall prep, new deep seating tub, plumbing & faucet, and tile walls to the ceiling. It cost me ~$3.5K and I hired out the demo work at $400.

[BReif61]

I currently have a shower stall that is in the footprint of a tub. The previous owners were an elderly couple, so I'm guessing they removed the tub in favor of a shower for the low step-over height.

What i'm looking to do is revert back to a tub, with the corresponding walls.

Have this:


Want this:

[ckelly78z]

Any/all contractors are quoting at premium prices right now, because they are short of reliable employees, not available jobs. Most likely this quote would be twice what it would be in a down economy, and done much quicker.

[look 171]

Drain must be rerouted once the shower pan is out to accommodate the left or right hand drain. Water lines re-routed, That cost a few bucks there and the cost of the fiberglass unit is what, 800 bucks to 1000? faucet? I an not sure on the cost of the tub as we don't install those fiberglass one piece units.

2 days, two men, trash hauling, dump fee, and the company had to make overhead and profit?

[drkshdw]

Originally Posted by BReif61

The quote from Bathfitter was ~$8k. I agree that this is not a place to cut corners. That quote just seemed pretty high.

Our quote was $6K. To cover the tub and walls with some plastic. Said it would take them a week to get it done. I laughed and asked if he was kidding. I about shlt myself. For that price it had best come with 24K gold faucets.

Got a local guy in and his quote to take out the tile surround and cast iron tub and put in a fiberglass tub and 3 piece surround was $3K. Still too high for me for a $400 kit from Menards.

Got my dad and a couple nephews and did it ourselves. Total cost was 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and $700 complete with everything including food for the help, dumping fees and caulking. We reused the hardware as it wasn't that old but add another $200 for a new set. It ain't rocket surgery.

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by look 171

Drain must be rerouted once the shower pan is out to accommodate the left or right hand drain. Water lines re-routed.

To clarify, those are just pics I found on Google. My shower pan has an offset drain (towards the plumbing) and the tub would "face" the same direction.

But what I'm gathering is that I need more quotes.

[vash]

i'm not a fan of those insert.

however, the ones i have experienced may have been installed incorrectly, they never feel solid. either the pan flexes, or the wall feel hollow.

i got an iron tub from Kohler that wasnt that expensive when we did our bathroom at our old home. it was a heavy mofo..and it took all of us to work that bad boy into position.

[look 171]

Vash, quality "plastic" pans or tubs aren't that flexy or hollowing sounding. They are often very thick and require a bed of mortar base to keep from flexing, sound deadening, and support so the feel is substantial. I am a big fan of those

[vash]

Originally Posted by look 171

Vash, quality "plastic" pans or tubs aren't that flexy or hollowing sounding. They are often very thick and require a bed of mortar base to keep from flexing, sound deadening, and support so the feel is substantial. I am a big fan of those

like i said..the ones i felt were probably installed wrong, or were some crap model. my MIL had one that was very much like a trampoline. she sold the home soon after she had it installed.

[aigel]

I have a keen interest here. My hallway bathroom I posted before about is pretty much toast. I like these one-piece solutions as the house eventually will be a rental again, and every inch of grout with the wrong tenant will be a liability.

Jeff, any recommendation on a brand for an insert? I will remove the old tub and wall no problem.

G

[VINMAN]

Bathfitter is a total ripoff.

As far as shower pans, you have to pay to get a good one. I just installed a Kohler one for a customer. Pan alone was around $800. but super high quality. What I see the most with preformed pans or tubs, is that they are never bedded properly when installed.


.

[Bill Douglas]

Splash out and buy a good one. Kohler stuff is nice.

[LWJ]

I bought my wife a cast iron clawfoot, hardware, tiled the floor, and installed it with permits for less than $8k.

All contractors. No diy. Look elsewhere. The market isn't that tight!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by aigel

I have a keen interest here. My hallway bathroom I posted before about is pretty much toast. I like these one-piece solutions as the house eventually will be a rental again, and every inch of grout with the wrong tenant will be a liability.

Jeff, any recommendation on a brand for an insert? I will remove the old tub and wall no problem.

G

George, I suggest you stay away from the "plastic" jobs if its going to be rented. Cheap ones are slippery if you are not careful. They aren't that durable, but cheap and easy to install. I help my wife's good friend installed one in their rental (against my advice ). It lasted 3 months before they put a hole in the bottom of the pan. I assume a big kid was jumping on it with steel toe boots landing toe first

Put in a cast iron tub (cheap, 300-400 bucks) and use cheap 4" tiles. Make sure you waterproof the hell out of it. There's a way to do that and it will never leak, but its not often done only because it cause a couple hundred bucks more and a few hours of labor. Open grout joint isn't a big problem, the waterproofing in the back is what makes a water tight bath. Done right, it will last you until your grand children. If you must, the Sterling or Swanstone seem to be thicker then most Home Depot jobs.