Drop in tub/shower

[jsteele5]

I am remodeling my bathroom, I have never installed a bathtub before, I am interested in using a drop in tub but I need to use this tub as a shower as well. Can you use a drop in as a shower or should I just use a standard tub for this application?
Any advise is welcome and appreciated.

 

[Jadnashua]

If you are going to tile the walls, and must have a drop in tub, reconsider. The same tub is often available with a factory tiling flange that works better. But, if you insist, then most manufacturers offer what is called a tiling flange add-on kit that keeps the edges from letting water penetrate into the walls. If you can live with a circular shower curtain, then you don't need this. The keys to a tub install are a flat floor usually including embedding it in mortar for support and leveling, and properly supporting the edges, typically with ledger boards. Then, waterproofing.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[jsteele5]

Thanks for the advise, we will probably go with a standard tub. You recommend setting the base of the tub in mortar? I have heard sand as well, my in-laws have a fiberglass tub and when you stand in it, it flexes, I assume a bed of mortar is the solution for this problem. Is there any specific product that is remommedned?
Do you install the tub before wall board or after.
And as for the ledger supports I assume you need them on 2 sides of the tub, the back and the side opposite from the faucet and drain and as long as they are level the tub should be as well?
Thanks for your advise.

 

[Jadnashua]

If you have the choice, the cleanest installation when you are going to tile the walls around the tub will have you make some notches in the studs so that the flange will fit in and then be flush with the outer face of the studs. Then, when you install the cement board (cbu) with the vapor barrier behind it, it can be run down to about 1/4" of the tub surface over the flange and the vapor barrier without bowing out. The ledger boards help support the tub's edges and keep things level. They do not support the tub (i.e., it can't be hanging from the ledger boards). They only keep the edge from deflecting if you lean on it.

The mortar underneath the tub makes it feel more substantial, helps prevent stress fractures from deflection, compensates for an unlevel subfloor, and makes it last longer. There are various things you can use. Some people like stucolite, deck mud, but sand isn't a great thing because it will move.

 

[JohnfrWhipple]

Have you considered installing your drop in tub like an undermount tub?


https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/framing-for-an-under-mount-tub-installation.51168/

I am remodeling my bathroom, I have never installed a bathtub before, I am interested in using a drop in tub but I need to use this tub as a shower as well. Can you use a drop in as a shower or should I just use a standard tub for this application?
Any advise is welcome and appreciated.

Yes you can but its a little tougher to build

 

[JohnfrWhipple]

In this picture I have set the tub and the perimeter mud bed around it.