Bathtub replacement question
 

CMAC's toilet thread made me think of a problem I'll confront someday. I have a rental property on which the tub drain area had a section of cast iron broken off when I purchased the property. It had been repaired with plumber's putty but I have since done a more permanent repair with epoxy. However, one of these days, I;ll have to replace it. It is tight against one wall with a partition built at the other end to create an enclosure. The toilet is about 8 inches from the tub at one end. Has anyone removed and replaced a tub in this kind of configuration without having to tear out the partition wall? Will the tub tilt up for replacement? I know I'll have the remove the drywall around the tub but it is in need of replacement anyway. If it won't come out easily, I'll consider an acrylic tub liner.

Don't know about the old cast tubs, but the steel tubs are basically open on the ends. The tub needs to come out of the space about 4" or so and then the entire unit can be tilted up in the air, once the sheetrock is off the studs.

it might be worth considering refinishing it.

depends on the condition of surrounding finishes.

tom w

Even the cast iron ones are built the same way. There is a flange where the tub meets the wall and typically the sheetrock or tile backer board go over this flange to prevent water from going over the flange. The flange which is part of the tub, should not be taller than 3/4" or so. When replacing the tile, it is a good idea to leave about an 1/8" space between the deck of the tub and the tile. Fill this gap completely with silicon caulk and it will allow the tub and the tiled walls above to move indepently of each other. This will allow the joint between the tile and the tub which is the most vulnerable area to leak, to maintain a good seal.

My parents have a 1910 house in North Carolina. They redid an upstairs bathroom a couple of years back, and the contractor took a 14" gas-powered cut-off saw and cut the tub in two pieces to get it out (they went back with a tiled in shower and bench. I'm guessing he was wearing adequate hearing protection.

I took a two pound mallet to ours and threw the pieces out the window into the dumpster. The mallet is also good for cast pipes. I wore eye protection but no hearing protection.

To a cast iron tub? You must have been real mad at it;)

It's always the tub's fault.....and when the deed was done he smoked a cigar, followed by a long pull of McAllen's scotch.

I can't refinish the existing tub because the broken drain area is too suspect with just an epoxy repair. I hadn't thought of busting it up but that's a good idea. I busted up a huge old boiler in my house to get it out of the basement. I can't imagine the racket of a cut off saw in a bathroom but I'm afraid it would remind me too much of that scene from Scarface. My real concern is getting a replacement back in without tearing down walls since I usually only have a few days to complete work between tenants. It's sounding as if it's a two day job which is good.

I like the saw job because of the possibility of pulling apart the framing and subfloor pounding with a sledge. I didn't see this guy do it, but the bathroom had a large window to the outside and he just sealed himself off in there and had the saw back to the rental place in 1/2 hour. I bet you can find a replacement tub that will slip in if you are going to peel back the sheetrock surrounding the tub.

That's not an issue if the sheetrock is removed and the faucet stems and spout are removed.

In fact, if you use a steel tub, you can probably do it yourself.

If you are pulling all the sheetrock, do yourself a favor and use the wonderboard..........it'll be around after you sell the place.

Precisely my plan. I've done it before.

A cast iron tub will break apart very easily with a sledge - the walls/floors will receive virtually none of the impact, assuming you don't miss the tub when swinging...

Simply drape a heavy blanket over the tub to keep the shrapnel at bay, put on the goggles, and hit it directly. Took me all of 3 minutes to bust up ours, and another 10-15 to remove the scraps.

You can't use wonderboard to replace sheetrock because you can't paint it (unless you like the look of painted cinder block) and you cant hide the seams unless you use thinset. You could replace with either the green sheetrock (good) or the alternative to wonderboard they sell that has a much smoother finish which I think is called utilicrete (don't quote me, but it is sold at HD and is not cementious but has the same qualities as wonderboard relative to water).

If you are doing a tile surround, yeah, use wonderboard obviously. I did have an architect friend that used untaped, unpainted wonderboard to trim out his garage as a project, and it looks like a prison.

How did you finish it?