Handyman said unless we change the plumbing we can not put a new bathtub

[Curiousv]

Current bathtub we believe is cast iron with white enamel/pain on it.
I want to replace it but he said its very difficult ..because I have concrete floor...as it will need change of drain assembly
because new bathtub is wider i.e. 30 inches vs old bathtub is 28 and half inches (when I measured at top and bottom edges)

He said width is fine but if u try to put 30" wide tub instead 28 and half ..drain hole will not center it will be off by inch and half
because distance from tub wall to center of drain for both tub is about 14" and 3/16

can someone guide on this...how to fix this problem with min. time/energy/money

 

[Terry]

A tub installed on a slab uses a tub waste and overflow drain. An older one would have had a brass drain with slip joint nuts and washers. The cutout in the slab would have been 8" wide by 12" long.
The tub drain connects to a p-trap in the ground. You can either reuse the old p-trap, or change to a new one. Most new drains are PVC or ABS and glued up. Or I would be okay with a new brass drain there in the slab.

Almost all cast iron tubs were 30" wide. Are you measuring from the tile? Or from the edge of the tub after the tile and backing has been removed?
Either way, with the new tub drain it's going to work anyway. I'm guessing your contractor hasn't done this before?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jeff H Young]

28.5 or 30 inch width. doesn't mean a thing . pretty common to need to adjust the piping a bit . changing bath tubs , is rarely an easy job like mowing a lawn or painting your mailbox. don't be scared off but its often thousands of dollars the entire job not likely a few hundred for the tub and a few hours to put in , your job could vary

 

[Curiousv]

Thanks Terry ..it was installed succdessfully..however have a small chip like about 4 mm in size
do u know how to fix it?

Just FYI for others ...we used drain coupling to connect drain to galvanized pipe ...because threads on pipe were not good so nut would not fit on it.