How Hard Is It to Replace a Bathtub That Fits From Wall to Wall?

Faucet

• You must remove part of the bathtub’s faucet before you remove the old bathtub. Before you remove the faucet’s water control knobs, you must shut off the flow of water to the faucet. You may use the water supply valves in the wall behind the tub’s faucet to cut off the flow of water to the faucet, but if that does not work, you have to close the house’s main water valve. Removing the tub’s spout can prove to be a little challenging if it is not secured with a small screw on the spout’s underside, but instead it screws onto the water pipe. You must use a pipe wrench or another large wrench with teeth to turn the spout if you cannot unthread it by hand, but first you have to wrap a thick towel around the spout so you do not ruin the finish. After you install the new bathtub, you may then replace the spout and faucet knobs.

Drainpipe Assembly

• The drainpipe assembly under the tub helps keep the tub in place, so you must remove the drainpipes before attempting to remove the tub. The overflow drain cover is only held in place with one or two screws, but the main drain body in the tub has a plumber’s putty or silicone caulk seal you have to break with force. You may insert a wrench’s handles into the drain and use a long screwdriver to turn the wrench counterclockwise to break the seal, or you could use a drain key to exert enough force to break the seal and remove the drain body. Once you have removed the drain body, you must access the drainpipes and undo the connections either from underneath the tub or the wall directly behind the overflow drain. Before you install the new tub, take advantage of the easy access to set up the new drainpipe assembly first.

Surround

• A bathtub’s surround may be made of solid panels or smaller, individual tiles. You must access the upper flange of the tub, which sits above the tub sill behind the surround, so you can remove the anchor nails or screws from the wall studs. This means if you have a solid tub surround, you must tear it off the wall and install a new surround after you have set the new tub in place. With a tiled surround, if you wish to keep the tiles you can carefully chisel away the grout between the tiles and remove enough that you can access the tub sill, and then reinstall the tiles you removed after the new tub is in place.

Bathtub Removal

• With the surround, drainpipes and faucet ready to go, you must cut through any caulk between the bathtub and the bathroom floor or wall before you can begin the removal process. With lighter bathtubs, you can lift it up off the floor with a pry bar, allowing you to pick up the tub and slide it out of its alcove. With tubs made of heavier material, such as cast iron or porcelain, you must throw a drop cloth over the tub and break it up with a sledge hammer before removing it. If you do take the tub out in one piece, you will need a helper since the tub is long and wide.

New Bathtub Installation

• You must install a new bathtub that fits the open spot perfect, which is not hard if the bathtub was a standard size. If the tub was an odd size, you must either have a custom bathtub made or remove one of the walls and frame in a new one, if space allows. Once you have a bathtub and a space that are compatible, you must test-fit the tub in space and attach shims to the bottom if it does not sit level before anchoring the top flange to the wall studs and attaching the drain body and overflow drain cover.