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Home Repair Design Dilemma Bathrooms

Replacing clawfoot tub with regular tub

6 years ago

Hi there.

So I saw one post where someone asked about replacing her clawfoot tub with a standard (modern) bathtub/shower and it devolved into a plea she keep the tub. We just moved into an old house with a clawfoot tub that has to go. Don't worry, it just looks antique --it's actually acrylic. Keeping it won't work. It is our only tub and is too high and precarious for our parents to use when visiting. It's also a pain (with shower curtains sticking to us and no storage for shampoo etc). And my hips are missing some cartilage, so the vault over the top is not workable. So, that's all to say, it's going. ;-)

What I could use help figuring out is ...

1. Is this something our friend who is a handyman could/should do? He's pretty genius, but he's not insured. He helped us out with one plumbing issue before that went fine. But is this a really complicated or risky thing? It seems simpler to go from clawfoot to standard than the other way around.... But am I underestimating what's involved? (He gives us extremely reasonable pricing, so I'd really like to use him unless this is something that is super involved.)

2. The other issue is... is the bathtub going to crash through the floor? (Maybe I watched Money Pit too many times.) I don't want another acrylic tub and I'm worried if we add 50-100 or so pounds of weight we could have a problem. It's over a basement, which was recently seismically retrofitted/reinforced with beams throughout. I *think* if a deep tub could go there before, another tub that might weigh a little more isn't going to be a problem. But am I being naive?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Lisa

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Comments (3)

User
6 years ago
No uninsured friend ever. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
Why noy just replace it with a nice new acrylic tub and stop worring about it crashing through the floor and to behonest this is not complcated other than the new plumbing maybe
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yeah it looks like you guys can try and replace it. I feel like it should be fine in the end. But like who came up with the idea in the first place? It's such a strange solution in my opinion. I've actually been looking to renovating the plumbing in our house and we are going to probably change the bathroom and the kitchen faucets as well. I've been looking for some options online for the kitchen (I want to start there, since it usually is a lot messier and I need the kitchen to be done faster), and I cam across this really nice article that gives you the pros and cons of some of the most popular models on the market. (You can check it here: https://www.kitchenhomelet.com) I feel like it's very helpful when you don't really want to go to Home Depo
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apple_pie_order
6 years ago
Ask your structural engineer about the weight of a porcelain over cast iron tub like those from Kohler. Get a licensed, insured pro to do the installation. Check references and go see their tile work.

An acrylic surround and tub is fine unless tile and cast iron tub are more typical for your neighborhood.

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