Removing fiberglass one-piece tub/shower

[madflipper]

Hello everyone, just signed up for this site, hopefully I can get some good information. I am wanting to completely remodel my downstairs bathroom that is original from the construction of the house in 1988. I bought the house 4 years ago. Anyway, it looks to me that the bathtub/shower one-piece unit was installed then the bathroom was built around it. First of all, I have no idea how I am going to remove this thing without having to cut it out. I don't even think it will fit out the door without cutting it up. I want to replace this unit with a bathtub and 3 piece wall surround unit. I guess I would like to know if this is feasible and the best way to remove the unit. Secondly, what am I going to find behind the unit? I'm assuming there isn't any drywall going behind the unit and for me to install the wall surrounds I'm going to have to do this. Looking forward to your advice. Thanks!!

[jadnashua]

You're right, they usually install the bathtub and then build the finished walls around it. You'll probably have to remove some of the drywall, since it probably covers a flange at the top. When I replaced mine, I just took a sawsall and chopped it up into manageable pieces. Be careful around the supply pipes so you don't accidentally nick one and create a flood. Note that the size of the thing is probably fairly standard (60" long, stud-to-stud) but the drain may not be in the same location...it'll be close, but you may need to move things.

Each of the tubs has their own installation requirements...best to find the one you want then read up on the installation instructions. You may need to put up drywall to hold the surround, or it might just go directly onto the studs.

[Sincraft]

Heya there. Experiencing the same things right now Except I am a step ahead of you, you might want to follow my thread.

I can tell you how I took my shower / tub (one piece) out, but there's probably a better way.

1. First I shut off the water in case I kill a pipe. I should have shut off the electric as I have SEVERAL electrical outlets behind my unit! I then removed the tub spout, shower head, the overflow drain and the strainer of the tub (couldnt remove the drain itself...even with a drain wrench). I ALSO STUFFED A RAG in the holes of the drain to keep junk from falling in.

2. Next, I put jeans on and a long sleeved shirt and took A RESPIRATOR AND GOGGLES, along with every saw and blade that I owned, up into the bathroom after gutting EVERYTHING out of it, otherwise you will damage everything trying to get it out. Not a problem if you are removing the items to be replaced, however even then remove them so you can get this hunk of junk outta there. (vanity, toilet, etc etc)

3. I started by using a claw hammer and just wacking at the drywall (with the claw) ALL the way around the tub where the tub meets the drywall (NOTE: except along the floor) and hacking out/ exposing the flanges that are screwed/nailed to the studs. The drywall lays over little flanges of the tub/shower. Don't be bashfull about this, you new system will have to go into place and you will need to replace the drywall. At the very least you will have to cut the drywall back again after hacking to the stud to do a stud to stud repair and seam of the drywall.

4. Then I removed the screws/nails holding the unit together, and then took a break.

5. I started by grabbing the walls with my gloves, and physically cracking pieces of the walls off from the corner down towards the floor. This resulted in a bit of stain in my back, but less fiberglass dust blowing around the house.

6. OK now, grab an old sheet, and COVER the doorway. DO you know if your ceiling fan(vent) goes OUT of the house or just into the attic or into the floor ? If you are NOT 100% sure, DO NOT turn on the fan to ventilate. If you COULD have someone help you by holding a shop vac at teh end of your tools while you cut, you would greatly reduce your dust. You are about to saw fiberglass, and this is not a nice thing to do EVER. If you have pets or children, you risk hurting them - not to mention yourself if you do not contain the fiber materials blowing everywhere. WEAR A RESPIRATOR or AT THE VERY LEAST a TIGHT rag over your face and ESPECIALLY FULL EYE PROTECTION, not those cool looking sunglass saftey goggles...the goofy ones that are like ski goggles that suck to your face. With teh respirator and the goggles, you will be miserable and barely be able to see what you are doing, and you will probably sweat.

7. The sawing part was the hardest , for me. I couldn't find the one that I was happiest with. Probably the sawzall. When you saw near the walls, you risk hitting a pipe or electrical line. NOT GOOD. So what I did was set my circular saw to a depth of 1/4 of an inch (maybe a bit less) and cut as much as I could in 3x3 pieces, then I used a sawzall to cut the areas like around bends etc.

8. My advice. Get the walls down first. Then work with the tub. If you can cut some of the corner of the tub out, you can figit it out in one piece, stand it up and pull it out through the door and into the staging area where you will place your other scrap pieces into it. THESE PIECES ARE EXTREMELY SHARP. ANYONE HELPING YOU SHOULD WEAR JEANS AND FULL SHOES OR BOOTS. You can cut a 4" gash into your leg that is 1/2" deep VERY easily by slipping or having someone push the tub with a jagged edge against you.


Issues I encountered:
-My tub had a fiberous THICK bottom to it. No amount of cutting was going to allow me to cut this tube in half. I realized this too late, then realized that if I cut the back corner off, I could get the tub out. Maybe you are lucky enough to not have your tub stuck between two walls, I dunno but I assume you do.
-My drain would not remove...not matter what I tried. I actually drilled about 30 holes around the drain, to get it out because I broke all my blades on my jigsaw and sawzall working this POS out of my house lol. I only had one sawzall and 3 jigsaw blades. I broke them on the tub bottom with I thought would have been resting on some sort of support but didnt know better..so when it would hit the subfloor while I tried to cut the corners out to pull this out in two pieces, my blade would bend or break. DOH.

Ok very tired so excuse the gibberish, hope you can get an idea what I mean by this.

OH btw, let me save you about 10 hours of time by suggesting that you check out the centerlines of your drain in place now so that you buy what you need to match. Check Sterlings website. It looks like the options are (from the wall) 14.25, 15.5, and 17 "'s on center. Mine is 16 so I will have to adjust to fit the 15.5 one. The problme I am having is that there is a can light below to the kitchen that this runs against so I have no movement really. Then the next question is, roughing in a new valve (read my post) and installing the new drain.
I'm very frustrated at this piont because we pulled the tub/shower out 2 weeks ago, and finally made a decision on what to buy...and now it's on order. I have the shower faucet etc, but cant really do anything until I get teh tub and shower to figure out if it is going to go in without my having to take out more drywall, or???

S

[Cass]

Put on work clothes and a resperator. Use the kind that seal tight to the face not the paper type with the rubber band. Get a sawsall and carefuly cut the old tub/shower into the size peices you want to handle. Be careful not to cut deep as the fiberglass is only about 1/8-3/8" thick. and you don't want to cut into anything else. It might be a good idea to turn off the water until the job is complete and then look for nicks in the plumbing B4 turning it back on. You can also cut the drywall with the sawsall if you need to. Have fun. I would use a 14-18 tooth smooth blade but you can use what ever works for you.

[madflipper]

Wow, thanks for the info guys. Really appreciated, well looks like I have to cut this thing out, so I am going to get started on it. I'll keep you updated. Thanks!!

[jimbo]

From the town that a beer made famous: Milwaukee:: SAWZALL

[perry2]

Hey guys, new here. I'm doing the same thing but, I want to replace with stone. I understand a water proof mat must be installed and 'lead' is no longer used. I also know I must build a wall where I step in.

That's about all I know right now, any suggestions appreciated.....

Thanks,

Perry

[perry2]

If a moderator will remove my email addess I would appreciate that as well. I tried to find the edit function to change user name??.

Thanks

[Verdeboy]

Hey guys, new here. I'm doing the same thing but, I want to replace with stone. I understand a water proof mat must be installed and 'lead' is no longer used. I also know I must build a wall where I step in.

That's about all I know right now, any suggestions appreciated.....

Thanks,

Perry

I suggest going to this tile and stone forum and searching through the posts:

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/...isplay.php?f=1

[johnfrwhipple]

... I understand a water proof mat must be installed and 'lead' is no longer used. I also know I must build a wall where I step in.

That's about all I know right now, any suggestions appreciated.....

Thanks,

Perry

All shower pans need to be waterproofed and the waterproofing system needs to conform with ANSI Standards. The exact standard is A118.10.

There are countless ways to achieve this;

The most common method is a three piece clamping drain and rubber liner. This method takes up the lions share of all installations in North America. This method is prone to failure for a number of reasons. Lack of pre-slope under the liner, blocked weep holes and fasteners driven through the membrane the top three.

The method above is a traditional approach and the liner can be replaced with a liquid membrane or sheet membrane, or a hybrid approach using a couple systems.

Topical waterproofing measures are better in science and theory but harder to perfect in the field or jobsite. Many companies make topical membranes and some of the top players here are Schluter (Kerdi), Noble Company (Noble Seal TS), Mapei (Aqua Defence and HPG), Latecrete (Hydro Ban), Custom Building Products (Red Guard) and Wedi (Jaeger).

All of these companies produce and make waterproofing products that will meet the A118.1 guidelines.

Your choice will depend on who is installing the product, your local supply and your tile choice.

Most of these membrane allow a broad range of setting materials - Schluter's Kerdi only allows non-modifed so select first your tile and select second your waterproofing approach.

If your looking for quotes on this portion of your home's build incorporate this line into all your correspondence with the plumber and tile man. "All work to conform to the latest edition of either the TTMAC (Canada) or ANSI (USA) specification guides". This sentence will protect your interests and put the "Shower System's" mechanics under a closer microscope.

Many smaller cities in North America have a minium thickeness requirement for this waterproofing. In many cities around NA it is 30 mil or roughly the thickness of your credit card. If this is the case you may be forced to work with Noble Companies Noble Seal TS, Dal Seal TS or a traditional rubber liner. Most of the liquid membranes are about 20 mil thick once installed, the Jaeger (Wedi) is about 20 and the Kerdi membrane only 8mil (the thinnest of the lot and I believe the thinnest you are possible allowed to go).

You can use a belt and suspenders approach and use a rubber membrane, prepare your mud bed and then apply a liquid waterproofing membrane over top. With this approach the liner is only used as a back up and can satisfy your local plumbing inspector at inspection time for the flood test.

Flood tests should never be skipped and should be preformed regardless of the project being inspected or not. You are looking for blocked weep holes. Flat spots in the shower floor and of course that the shower can hold water. A pinhole in your system will leak forever and can cause massive damage to your home. 24-72 hour flood tests should always be preformed. Here is a link to more information on this.

We typically build the bathroom backwards. We look for inspiration on Houzz.com. We select tile. We find out what setting materials we need to install the tile. We find a tile setter. We ask what products they like to work with (some guys like Custom, some Mapei - some laticrete) and then we develop a shower build.

If you do not know the tile installer or tile yet - keep your options open and pick from any and all of the suppliers except Schluter's Kerdi. You might find posters or information online that say it's OK to use any thinset over Kerdi but this is not what the manufacture wants and not what is required by the TTMAC and ANSI when using Schluter's products.

I have missed a great number of waterproofing systems so if you find something you like that I did not list - just check that it meets A118.1 standards and you should be OK.

Best,

John Whipple
By Any Design Ltd.

average 1052 per month