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Our house was built in 1992 and we bought it new. Needless to say after nearly 30 years the old fiberglass tub/shower unit we have has lost its finish and very hard to clean. Additionally in those 30 years we dont think we have ever used it as a tub. We only shower.
So we started investigating these tub to shower companies. A very nice gentleman came and showed us some samples, took some measurements, and finally arrived at $10,000?! Seriously we were floored. A single sheet of acrylic that gets bent into the exiting shape of the alcove where our existing tub sits. and a Drain pan. Very little plumbing changes too.
...But at $10,000?! I am very handy and can do a lot of DIY around the house. This seems incredibly steep to me. Anyone else have suggestions of who may do this at a considerably more reasonable rate?
If it is really fiberglass, get a car body guy who works on Corvettes to work on it. Semi-seriously. Or, just a good fiberglass tub expert.
I LIKE good fiberglass for tubs and showers. Seamless, low maintenance, and easily repaired and refreshed.
No chance I would replace it with plastic unless I really wanted a different size or configuration of some sort.
I think I know what the reason is. I'm not an expert, but we had a similar situation. Our house is older (late 1970's) and we live in Cary. I was told that due to code, to change from a tub to a shower would require bigger drain diameter, which is what drove the cost up. We have not made a decision yet, but for us, this would be huge, because we are on a slab, and doing new drain-work would be very involved. Even with a foundation and crawlspace, there might be your extra labor cost.
You might look into pre-fab tub/showers. I think you could buy one for less than $1k, and probably have one professionally installed for under $3k if there are no major issues to fix.
I just wonder if you're running into some code issues due to changing from tub to stand-up shower? That was what we ran into....
If it is really fiberglass, get a car body guy who works on Corvettes to work on it. Semi-seriously. Or, just a good fiberglass tub expert.
I LIKE good fiberglass for tubs and showers. Seamless, low maintenance, and easily repaired and refreshed.
No chance I would replace it with plastic unless I really wanted a different size or configuration of some sort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K4GPB
Clean it real well...then:
Use Rejex! Protective sealant.
Worked on my Corvette, and friends use it on their airplanes.
It'll stink to High Heaven, but yeah.
I would give it a go before popping 10 grand for a plastic unit.
I did two of my bathrooms 6 -7 years ago. Took out one-piece fiberglass tub/shower, and put in a new tub and tiled the walls over backer board and Kerdi. One tub is regular good quality, the other is a nice air jet. I don't think I spent $3K on either of them and that included replacing the faucet/diverter assembly completely. At the time I considered making one of them a shower instead, and there wasn't much cost difference but a little more labor.
I did two of my bathrooms 6 -7 years ago. Took out one-piece fiberglass tub/shower, and put in a new tub and tiled the walls over backer board and Kerdi. One tub is regular good quality, the other is a nice air jet. I don't think I spent $3K on either of them and that included replacing the faucet/diverter assembly completely. At the time I considered making one of them a shower instead, and there wasn't much cost difference but a little more labor.
Well... We talked fiberglass, but the OP has indicated interest in forgoing a tub.
So...
OP being to some level DIY capable, he should do the demolition to the walls.
Maybe install a one piece shower base and backer board for tile walls. Pay a tile installer.
I would expect to be in the $3500 range for a conversion from tub to a nice tile shower. Add $2000 for a good 3/8" glass door option. Makes a shower curtain look good at that point. Add glass later.
Not done in a day like the plastic vendors. Better quality. Not $10,000, either.
I did this two years ago and it is not too difficult if you are handy. The key is using a prefabricated shower base so you don't have to do a mud job and tile the floor. The shower bases commonly come in the 5 foot lengths and the drains line up very close to where an existing fiberglass tub enclosure would be. Yes, the drain pipe would need to be adjusted from 2" to 2 1/2" but that is pretty easy to do if you cut a section of the subfloor out around the drain. Easy to cover up afterwards since the prefab shower pan is covering everything up anyway. As a DIY project figure on spending around $2,000 to $3,000 depending on whether you want a glass shower door or not and what type of tile you are using for the walls.
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Semi-seriously. Or, just a good fiberglass tub expert.
