Well Kmcg, you're not the first one to scratch their heads about this one! I had a local plumbing/bathroom remodler come over and take a look at it, and he also suggested redoing the plumbing. But in order to replumb we would have to take out the tub, redo the drain, etc. The estimate he gave me was 8K, but that was also to remove the tub and put in a new one. So yes, it WOULD be so much easier to have the plumbing on the square wall. But it's not, lol! If we go through the trouble to redo the plumbing, really makes no sense to keep the original tub. But it's size and configuration works for the tiny space. I've had this house for 8 years and have been round and round about it. My neighbor had his tub torn out, no change in the location of the drain and water feeds, and had a built-in tub installed. But he also had the whole bathroom redone, including removal of the radiator to give more space in there. We just can't afford to do something that elaborate, nor do we really want to spend that much time and have the bathroom that torn up. We're not sure how much longer we'll be in the house, so we want to keep it as simple as possible. The plastic shower surround setup was not very well installed (I inherited it) and it is getting pretty gunky so we need to do something. We want something better than what we have but want to stick with the original tub, since its size and shape works with the current room set-up. BF is a great tiler and carpenter, but he's no lover of plumbing. It does baffle me why they set it up that way. I seem to recall talking to one of my neighbors who still has the original tub, and I think maybe she said there wasn't a shower originally. These are row houses so are all laid out the same, but there have been MANY changes to them over the years! I do know all of them are plumbed that weird way. The electrical wiring for the bathroom light is on the other side, with the switches outside the bathroom. Here's a picture I found online, but as you can see, the more logical plumbing! And here's a real life example: But I'm sure there was some original logic to the way the tub was done. BF thinks we will be sorry if we don't keep some kind of wall there. If we do have the wall, it will be very tastefully covered with ceramic tile. We may tear out the front of the low wall this weekend to get an idea of what is in there. Right now it is a mystery because the newer hot and cold water knobs on the low wall are located about 3 inches farther away than where they would be on the tub wall. We'd really rather do this job all in one big fast work session, rather than go without a shower for a couple of weeks. This is our only bathroom and we can only work in there on the weekends due to our real jobs. Whatever replica fixtures I get I will have to special order so trying to get an idea of what it will entail ahead of time. We have the tile ordered already, which was probably a mistake, its for the current set up. But when shopping for fixtures we realized we have to change what's going on with the "L" side in some way. We were anxious to get this underway!

I haven't pulled back the caulk. Getting in the space won't be difficult. On the outside edge of the tub, the deck space is slightly over four inches. On the faucet edge, there is no decking; the tub butts up against the wall. On the back end of the tub, there is about eight inches. On the final long side, there is a "garden" type window centered with the tub, which is 25 inches deep and 48 inches long. Basically, it is an extension of the deck. I will try to post a picture once I figure out how to do it!

Hm, I had been wondering if you'd taken the past surround *down* or just put the new surround over it. If you've *taken it down* and you didn't see any rot behind the sheetrock when you removed it, then I'd venture to say that you're safe. There was *no* black or otherwise unpleasant anything where the low point was? Checking downstairs will eliminate the other one possibility, which would be that the rot went straight down and didn't communicate upwards at all into anything you removed. Which would be odd, but I guess possible. Maybe you just had *really good* sealing. We don't.

I bought an AMERICH WRIGHT base level acrylic tub for $1,000 from a bath and kitchen store in 2017 and it is a piece of plastic. After two years It was stained, difficult to clean and never feels entirely clean, the caulk around the tub has needed replacement several times, and the Americh label partly wore off almost immediately. I never use any abrasive cleaning products (all organic). When I contacted the manufacturer they pointed out that I the care instructions said I was supposed to WAX my tub with high-quality carnauba paste type wax. Wax my tub? They also referred me to a very expensive tub cosmetic repair company. Unfortunately I removed an old enamel tub instead of refinishing it. Number 1 worst decision in my remodel after seeking lots of advice. I dream of ripping this one out and replacing it with an enamel tub. Taking a bath in an acrylic tub feels cheap even though it wasn't..