Replacing tub—keep Tile surround or replace?

[mammoth]

(Feel free to skip to the last paragraph if this background information is too much. Brevity is not my strong suit, but sometimes background info gives someone a background detail that I don’t realize is important)

Hi, folks. My mother moved into a condo 11 years ago and has never used the guest tub. It has a crack on the bottom about 8 inches long. I looked at fixing the crack, but the best method seems to be drilling holes and filling underneath with expandable foam. I don’t feel good about that solution. Especially since my experience with expandable foam is that it expands far more than you have any control over and I bet the tub floor would buckle upward.

But the tub is plastic (not steel/porcelain). So I’m going to take it out. My mother, who is far more confidence in my speed and skill than I do, would like me to take out the entire tile surround and replace it with a backsplash that comes with the tub (likely a Bootz Aloha or the like for the budget). She says tile walls are harder to clean. Removing a decent tile wall seems terrible to me and a far tougher job than the below.

I’m going to pull the bottom row of 4 x 4 tiles out from the surround wall to free the tub lip and take it out (the toilet will be removed to make tub access and replacement easier). I also intend to carefully cut the old tub in half with a reciprocating saw to make removal easier. If that’s a big mistake, someone please let me know. Then I Intend to put the new tub in (with 10-12 concrete piles as I’ve read here). Then I intend to put new Tile in to replace the bottom row (contrasting accent but simple). And deal with the other small pieces around the tub sides and one corner, etc. Is this more realistic and easier than ripping out the whole wall and replacing it with a fiberglass surround? I think so, but you may know something I don’t.

 

[Terry]

To slide a tub in from the front would require removing drywall for at least 30" on both sides. The tub is 60" long, the framing is 60-1/4". When the tub was first installed, it was bare walls.
It's very easy to remove the tile surround and haul it away. I would never take on a job of trying to slip a tub into place under the tile surround.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[mammoth]

Ok—then I’ll pull the drywall to get the tub in and replace the surround. Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

While the walls are open, you may want to sister some segments of 4x4 to the studs to later screw a grab bar or two. Take photos or measurements.

There are also hold bars (a step below a grab bar) that can double as towel bars potentially.

Also, while things are open, you could replace that dribbling diverter spout with a better one. That can usually be done without opening walls.

 

[mammoth]

I did put some more 2 x 4’s in, thanks! The way the walls are I put them in flat.
I did keep the old diverter valve, even though it’s lower than a shower valve (I replaced the tub with a shower, even though the larger drain was challenging). My mom’s budget was pretty tight, so that saved some $$. It may need a new cartridge at some point, but it’s solid right now. It’s an old Moen Château, although you probably see that from the pic.