Rotted subfloor under cast iron tub, considering my options.

Users who are viewing this thread

jak85

New Member
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Florida
I'm doing a bathroom remodel and after pulling up the floorboards I can see I've got water damage at the edge of the tub on the T&G boards that are nailed to the joists. The tub is off level and seems to sink down 1/2" in this rotted area. It seems pretty obvious to me that to fix this I will have to pull the 300lb tub out and put in a new subfloor.

Since this tub is old and due for a porcelain recoating I considered busting up and removing the tub completely and just buying a new one to put in. However, I plan to put in a tile tub surround and then thought that maybe just a walk-in tile shower might be an option, I'm just not sure how much more expensive it would be. How much more does it cost in materials for a shower floor with the tile, plumbing, etc... ? I assume I would have to buy a custom glass shower door for these angled attic ceilings as I would assume a shower curtain won't cut it for tile shower.

It seems that the easiest and cheapest option is to unhook the plumbing from the old tub, slide the tub out, replace the subfloor, and slide it back. I just don't know how easy that will be to do in this 5x8 attic bathroom. Any suggestions?
 

Newmantjn

New Member
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Michigan
The word on my street anyway, is that walk in showers look trendy, but most buyers want tubs, for kids and so on. Not sure what the situation is in the rest of your house. Maybe you already have a tub elsewhere.

I just put in a new tub and went with an Americast one. Seemed like a decent compromise between the very high cost and weight (you'll have to haul a 300+ pound tub to your attic) and quality. IMO, once you "re-glaze" a tub, it really isn't that great anymore anyway and much of the appeal of the cast iron tub with the indestructible porcelain is gone.

But, I'm not a pro. Just a guy with an opinion.
 

jak85

New Member
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Florida
The word on my street anyway, is that walk in showers look trendy, but most buyers want tubs, for kids and so on. Not sure what the situation is in the rest of your house. Maybe you already have a tub elsewhere.

I just put in a new tub and went with an Americast one. Seemed like a decent compromise between the very high cost and weight (you'll have to haul a 300+ pound tub to your attic) and quality. IMO, once you "re-glaze" a tub, it really isn't that great anymore anyway and much of the appeal of the cast iron tub with the indestructible porcelain is gone.

But, I'm not a pro. Just a guy with an opinion.

It's an attic apartment, too small for a family, I usually rent to just one person so a tub is not really needed. It's looking like a decent tub goes for $500+, certainly don't want to haul a new cast iron tub up those stairs.

It's tempting to just go with a walk-in tile shower, but the cost of custom sliding glass doors is a little scary.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
It's tempting to just go with a walk-in tile shower, but the cost of custom sliding glass doors is a little scary.
Cheapest and easiest would be a shower enclosure that comes with the doors.
 

jak85

New Member
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Florida
Cheapest and easiest would be a shower enclosure that comes with the doors.

You're probably right, but with the angled ceiling it might be a problem. It might even be a problem to have sliding doors with a ceiling at a 45 degree pitch. I'm trying not to be too cheap, those shower enclosures are kind of hollow and ugly in my opinion, but it is an option I didn't consider before, thank you.
 

JRC3

Member
Messages
250
Reaction score
21
Points
18
Location
S.W. Ohio
Post up a pic. How far up does the angle start above the floor on that wall? There are options but a pic would help to narrow them down.
 

jak85

New Member
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Florida
Post up a pic. How far up does the angle start above the floor on that wall? There are options but a pic would help to narrow them down.

http://imgur.com/a/jVbqo

Those are some pictures from a couple weeks back, I've since removed the flooring down to the subfloor.

Ideally I'd just slide the tub back a few feet and patch the subfloor, but I've got a cast iron toilet flange that's sticking up to contend with. I really don't want to remove it, so perhaps I can put a piece of plywood around it and ramp the tub up and over it. I can't image 300lbs sitting on that flange would be good. I've also got the sink and toilet stub outs that would have to be cut off in order to slide the tub out and I'm sure there's a few other things I'm not thinking of. I'm just trying to visualize what I need to do here to minimize any damage or unforeseen complications.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
Could you lift the tub with 4 ratchet straps each lifting about 100 pounds? You would not want to work under there with just the straps holding things up. You could build up some cribbing before reaching under. Just thinking. No experience.
 

jak85

New Member
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Florida
Could you lift the tub with 4 ratchet straps each lifting about 100 pounds? You would not want to work under there with just the straps holding things up. You could build up some cribbing before reaching under. Just thinking. No experience.

Yeah the thought crossed my mind, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get the straps under the tub with such little clearance on either side. Then I'd probably be so lucky as to have the studs leaning inwards instead of straight.

I may just bust it out and buy a new tub, are there any brands or materials you guys recommend? I'm not a fan of those cheap hollow ones.
 

JRC3

Member
Messages
250
Reaction score
21
Points
18
Location
S.W. Ohio
I normally agree that having a bathtub but for a small apartment a shower is fine. To do a shower base two things come to mind to use stock/non custom shower doors.

Option 1: Use a bathtub bypass door. Some are 60" tall and the shower curb will get you a few more inches. That and keep the shower arm a little lower than normal.

Option 2: Stud out a bench and wall on the low angled wall and go with a 48" shower base. That way you could probably use any type of stock 48" shower door. The attached pics are one I did last winter. They wanted a large shower but didn't have the budget for me to build and tile the shower pan and have custom doors done. I used a stock 32x60" Sterling Ensemble shower base. You of course would not do a U-shaped bench and put the shower valve/head on the other wall.

You need to address that window. Glass block or a simple shower curtain.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1626.JPG
    IMG_1626.JPG
    60.8 KB · Views: 461
  • IMG_1628.JPG
    IMG_1628.JPG
    52 KB · Views: 391
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks