converting bathtub to walk in shower

[jewozzy]

Well now that i have the bathroom down to just the studs a buddy of mine suggested instead of putting in a new tub and whatnot doing a standing shower instead. The more i have thought about it today i have thought it would benefit me the most to do that concidering i dont ever take baths. So now i have a few questions about how this is done.

I have seen the kits at home depot but dont know if there is a lot involved with putting this stuff in. Is there much plumbing involved? What type of things should i look for/stay away from should i go through with this? Are those plastic kits good quality or are they cheap and easily break? And most important is will this increase or decrease the value of my home at all when i goto sell? thanks for the help and tips.

edit: i have a 2 bath 3 bed home and would still have a bathtub in the master bathroom. this bathroom is the hall/guest bathroom.

[inline 6]

post pics, I am considering the same except in the master bathroom. We have a stand up shower but it is kind of small and I would like to shit can the bath tub and existing shower and make one big walk in with all the trimmings.

[jewozzy]

i would but i dont really have anything right now other than a tub sitting in there with the studs exposed lol. its only an 80sqft bathroom. So its pretty small. i didn't think to take pics whenever i started tearing everything out.

[inline 6]

take one now and then when you are finished....

[8mpg]

are you worried about resell? I wouldnt do one of those POS plastic 1 piece thing... use a nice tile to tile the whole thing or natural stone.

[jewozzy]

yeah ill do that when i get home tonight. what size room are you working with? my main concern is i want to sell the house in about 5 years and wont do it if the value is going to drop since there wont be 2 bathtubs. eventually i want to take the tub out of the master and put in one of those large 2 person tubs in.

[jewozzy]

are you worried about resell? I wouldnt do one of those POS plastic 1 piece thing... use a nice tile to tile the whole thing or natural stone.

Yeah i haven't even priced them yet. how hard would it be to do the tile work on my own? i've heard a few people say its a pain in the ass in the other thread.

[8mpg]

Yeah i haven't even priced them yet. how hard would it be to do the tile work on my own? i've heard a few people say its a pain in the ass in the other thread.

Well, Id have someone come in and do the shower pan...but tiling the walls is easy, you just have to take your time.

[jewozzy]

Well, Id have someone come in and do the shower pan...but tiling the walls is easy, you just have to take your time.

is that a plumber or what type of person would i be looking for and whats somethin like that usually run?

[8mpg]

is that a plumber or what type of person would i be looking for and whats somethin like that usually run?
Hector here on the board does them... I think he said it normally runs around $300

[HECDOGGIE]

I would suggest building a shower pan. Make sure you do the tile right, you also have a lot of water proofing to do, IT sounds easy and looks easy, but there is a lot to take into consideration when doing the job RIGHT!

Bulldnose is needed (suggested)! Think about glass too... Frameless!

[kingjason]

yeah I watched my guy do it and it was very labor intensive. I love my shower though. I cant imagine any one buying a house and bitching because you have a huge walk in shower. Plus I had a oversized tube put in the guest bath. Win Win. LOL

[8mpg]

yeah I watched my guy do it and it was very labor intensive. I love my shower though. I cant imagine any one buying a house and bitching because you have a huge walk in shower. Plus I had a oversized tube put in the guest bath. Win Win. LOL

if you took out your bathtub in your master bath..that was a bad idea as far as selling the house.

[kingjason]

I think it depends on the buyer. I may cut down on potential buyers but I bought the house with about 30-40k in equity in it so it doesnt bother me. My last house I was told wouldnt sell because of the new pool but it went in 3 months.

Plus the old tub and stuff was horrible this was a huge improvement. Let me get a pic and I will show you why.

[Sgt Beavis]

are you worried about resell? I wouldnt do one of those POS plastic 1 piece thing... use a nice tile to tile the whole thing or natural stone.

x2

[centexchick]

We had to start a demo on our walkin shower in the M bath. The a-holes that built our house used sheetrock for the back up and penetrated the rubber membrane that is the shower pan. We have soooo much water damage under everything (sigh) so much for buying a new home.....We had to take out all of the old tile, back up, etc. to start it right. Once we got down that far, we found out that the builder left a 12 inch by 3 foot hole from the attic into the return air chamber. Another words, we were bringing attic air into the return air and then trying to either cool or heat that air. No wonder our electric bill has been so high and the stupid AC kept freezing up the last 5 years. Jesus. :rolleyes:

Needless to say, we closed in the return air chamber, got the ceiling moved up (husband is 6'9") so now we will have a shower head from above, mocked up for "mood" lighting, and placed shutoffs on the plumbing so that we can work on the pipes with out destroying the wall (we put in an access panel in my husbands closet to these pipes.)

Now we are going to retile, put in some niches, and take the carpet (who the hell thought putting carpet in a bath was a good idea?? :confused: ) out to make the tile flow from the shower to the floor and up the wall around the tub. It should be nice, but is going to take a lot more time and effort on our part. Good luck, it really is worth it in the long run especially if you do it right!

[kingjason]

Before and after. Had them raise the shower heads to which is something to consider. I knowmy additions added to the value.

[kingjason]

and the old.

[Tyrone Biggums]

We got rid of the bath tub in our master when we remodeled. We're very happy with it. Here are some before and after pics.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010013resize-1.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010004resize.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010013resize.jpg

[YoBro]

And most important is will this increase or decrease the value of my home at all when i goto sell? thanks for the help and tips.

edit: i have a 2 bath 3 bed home and would still have a bathtub in the master bathroom. this bathroom is the hall/guest bathroom.

I think a stand up shower in the hall bath would be a huge turn off for anyone with young kids.....

[blkscorpion80]

We got rid of the bath tub in our master when we remodeled. We're very happy with it. Here are some before and after pics.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010013resize-1.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010004resize.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/jdtcrc/Master%20Bath%202006/P1010013resize.jpg

That looks nice but, I'm sure that just brought the value down. Most everyone wants a tub

[Tyrone Biggums]

That looks nice but, I'm sure that just brought the value down. Most everyone wants a tub


It didn't. People don't use tubs like they use to. There is a tub in the other full bath that will be more than inviting when we're done with it should someone want one that bad. Now, eliminating a tub if it's the only one in the house, that would be a mistake.

[jewozzy]

I think a stand up shower in the hall bath would be a huge turn off for anyone with young kids.....

thats the same thing my chick said. i think im going to have someone come out and do everything for me maybe next month. looks like i should get a good amount on my tax return so its gunna come down to getting that done and buyin my squaw a ring.

[blkscorpion80]

It didn't. People don't use tubs like they use to. There is a tub in the other full bath that will be more than inviting when we're done with it should someone want one that bad. Now, eliminating a tub if it's the only one in the house, that would be a mistake.
I also have the glass shower. Its a bitch to maintain. Did you do all the tile work?

[Fox466]

You would likely be eliminating any family with small children from purchase as that tub is usually for the kids. We don't have one in the master, which for us is no big deal...

[Doug Hatton]

Tyrone, what'd you spend on your renovation? I'm not gonna remove the tub, but I would like to retile, build the shower pan, frameless stall, etc. That looks great.... here's a pic of mine as it sits now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2096259642_f5d06155c1.jpg?v=0

[Tyrone Biggums]

I also have the glass shower. Its a bitch to maintain. Did you do all the tile work?

The glass shower isn't the easiest thing in the world when it comes to cleaning. Part of the deal when we got it was, she wanted it, she gets to clean it. We squeegee after each use and she cleans it as needed, probably once a week. I do like the way it looks though and probably won't want anything different from here on out.

As for the tile, hell to the no. I've tiled floors again and again, but I wasn't up for tiling the walls. We got such a good deal, I let the tile guy do the floors and the walls.

Tyrone, what'd you spend on your renovation? I'm not gonna remove the tub, but I would like to retile, build the shower pan, frameless stall, etc. That looks great.... here's a pic of mine as it sits now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2096259642_f5d06155c1.jpg?v=0

I think it was right around 6k. That was a complete demo, starting with a bare, gutted room.

Here is the original thread, it's got a few more pics and info in it.

http://www.dfwstangs.net/forums/showthread.php?t=305400&highlight=bathroom

[Nate]

Jimmy that bathroom looks good.

[kayway]

Looks damn good, but I'd miss the bath tub.

[Yellowstang]

Looks damn good, but I'd miss the bath tub.


I don't think I've used a bath tub since I was like 6 years old, showers FTW!



And all the people that say doing things will make it hard to sell a house, that may be true, but all it takes is one person who wants that in a house to buy it. When we listed ours everyone said the cobalt blue tile on the fireplace and cobalt blue light fixtures woudl be a PITA to anyone interested, guess what, the first guy that looked at the house bought it, he loved blue! Sold in 8 days after it was listed.

[miketyler]

I think it might impact home value if you removed the only tub in the house and replaced it with a shower. As upgrades go its a great choice to free up space in a smaller second bath room.

I removed my tub in my tiny master bath and installed the Home Depot frameless glass shower. I did ceramic tile with the deco glass tile trim and installed the shower panel with the full body multi sprayers. I think the shower assembly was around $400, the shower panel was around $150.

The shower may be a smaller footprint than the bathtub and you may need to tile the newly exposed floor area. Ditto that with the wall if the tub butts up to more than two walls. You will have to open up the wall that your plumbing is on and replumb it for your shower faucet.

It sounds like a lot but it really is pretty easy.

[YoBro]

And all the people that say doing things will make it hard to sell a house, that may be true, but all it takes is one person who wants that in a house to buy it. When we listed ours everyone said the cobalt blue tile on the fireplace and cobalt blue light fixtures woudl be a PITA to anyone interested, guess what, the first guy that looked at the house bought it, he loved blue! Sold in 8 days after it was listed.


I agree with you on that, just like selling a car there is always someone out there who likes it. It would still be better to appeal to more buyers IMO

[jewozzy]

I think it might impact home value if you removed the only tub in the house and replaced it with a shower. As upgrades go its a great choice to free up space in a smaller second bath room.

I removed my tub in my tiny master bath and installed the Home Depot frameless glass shower. I did ceramic tile with the deco glass tile trim and installed the shower panel with the full body multi sprayers. I think the shower assembly was around $400, the shower panel was around $150.

The shower may be a smaller footprint than the bathtub and you may need to tile the newly exposed floor area. Ditto that with the wall if the tub butts up to more than two walls. You will have to open up the wall that your plumbing is on and replumb it for your shower faucet.

It sounds like a lot but it really is pretty easy.

do you have a picture of your setup? i didn't see any of the framless kits there the other day but i wasn't looking real hard either. how long did it take you to do everything and had you ever done any type of tiling? i haven't done it before but im a pretty quick learner.

[miketyler]

It took me a couple of days as I replaced the drywall with wonderboard before we tiled. Also, if I had more time I would have liked to learn how to pour and tile the floor but as it was, I used the included plastic molded floor. Could re-do it at some point I suppose but will probably sell the house first.

The name of the company that makes this kit is called Maxx. I would have preferred regular glass but all they had was this "french glass" model. The lines are milled into the outside glass panels.

[jewozzy]

It took me a couple of days as I replaced the drywall with wonderboard before we tiled. Also, if I had more time I would have liked to learn how to pour and tile the floor but as it was, I used the included plastic molded floor. Could re-do it at some point I suppose but will probably sell the house first.

The name of the company that makes this kit is called Maxx. I would have preferred regular glass but all they had was this "french glass" model. The lines are milled into the outside glass panels.

if you dont mind me asking for tile, materials, kit, and all how much did it set you back? im still on a rope whether i want one that size or one that has a small bench in it.

[miketyler]

the shower kit itself was around $400 or so. Tile was around $60 (including deco tile), the shower panel was around $125, stainless hoses and assorted copper fittings for the plumbing was around $20.

Just add labor ;)

[jewozzy]

good stuff. does anyone know a good website that has shower pans for if you were converting the tub into a standup shower? like where you just remove the tub and dont mess with the drains? i guess you could kinda call it plug and play. i have seen a few of them online but really i just want the pan and plan to do tile on the walls.

[kc50lx]

you can build your own shower pan if you want to attempt it. i picked up 1-2-3 Tiling from Home Depot. it outlines how to build your own shower pan. just a warning its a 26 step process!

[centexchick]

you can build your own shower pan if you want to attempt it. i picked up 1-2-3 Tiling from Home Depot. it outlines how to build your own shower pan. just a warning its a 26 step process!


Good grief, 26 steps.... We have to redo ours. The morons that built it nailed through the membrane in low spots. Dumbasses. Oh well, at least I know it will be done right. Thank goodness my dad was a GC when I was growing up. I at least know how to do some of the stuff myself.