Replacing bath tub

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ramsey76

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Trying to help my parents replace a hot tub with an easy entry shower. They know what they what and have pictures to show the plumbers. The planned shower would be the entire length of the current tub The issue so far is not the plumbing but the tile. They have a tile floor and floor to ceiling tile for whole bathroom. The issue is when the hot comes there section along the back wall with no tile. My parents hope is to fill that spot with something close 30 year old tile. Both plumbers have balked at doing this. They insist that all the tile on the existing walls be replaced. They greatly increases the cost of the project . They will not do the project without doing they tile . I think thet answers they give on why is resale value goes down and their reputation is hurt for :sloppy work

My questions:

1) Is this common practice for plumbing contractors to take this approach

2 Is it common practice to replace all the tile. My parents have no plans to sell the house for hopefull a long time

3) If they do not re tile what are the options for the blank space


Thank you
 

WorthFlorida

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You would want to take out all the tile. For one, besure the studs behind it are good and no mold on the old drywall. 30 years ago green board was used but it wasn't water proof as the new products on the market today are. Also marrying into the old tile can leave a gap where water can enter. No matter how good a tiler is it wouldn't be guaranteed.

Another solution is to use acrylic sheets or shower surround. (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Peerless-6...rmYrps1O3YULp5E5_RUaAm3GEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds). The problem is the floor pan of the shower to properly meet the surround. The cost for a surround and install may almost be the same as a total tear out.
 

ramsey76

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Thank you The surround is not an option for them. I understand re tiling the shower wall . Not sure why the other walls have to be re tiled for plumbing reasons. I understand that tile on the other walls would not match but that should be their call

Thanks
 

wwhitney

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If the existing tile outside the wet area is in good condition, and doesn't need to be removed for access to run new plumbing, then it should be possible to do the work while saving that tile. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that doing so will save money. Depending on the areas involved, and various practical details we can't see from here, it may well be the case that it's cheaper to demo it all and redo it all, rather than preserve the existing tile. Of course, if the look of the old tile is important, you could then pay more to preserve it.

Also, I'm not sure the plumbers are the right people to do the tile work. You might want to find a tile person or a general contractor who has a tile person.

Cheers, Wayne

P.S. Since you're in Massachusetts, for the waterproofing layer on your shower floor, don't use a flat copper pan as is or was a common practice there. The waterproofing layer should be sloped to drain, not flat.
 
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