How much would it cost to remove a bathtub and replace with a shower?

Soon it will be necessary to remove the bathtub from the second floor bathroom and replace it with a shower stall due to age related issues.

Is it advisable to DYI (we know a licensed tiler and an unlicensed plumber) and if not, who should we get to do it and how much would it cost? We are a pensioner household with strict affordability issues.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks crew.

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BIM_Engineer

Hi dingodudette
You will need to put up a photo and more info for further advice
Its preferable you went the other way with a licenced plumber and unlicensed tiler (tilers aren't required to be licenced in WA) You can do it yourself and replace the bath with a shower but it depends on

1. The location of your water waste

2. The height and trap location Is it within the floor depth or a bulkhead beneath

3. The location of your hot and cold water tap

etc

Juliapinkiepie

I wouldn't be comfortable saying yes or no to whether you should DIY as A) I'm not sure what plumbing experience you have and B) I'm no expert lol
but I will tell you the 3 questions I ask myself before any new project

1) could doing this kill or hurt me or family?

2) is my home and contents insurance going to be effected

3) If something goes wrong half way through can I afford to pay an expert

A side note to point 2, it 9/10 times you will have to pay the expert a lot more to fix your mistakes and then continue with the actual job.

Good luck with it though and if you do DIY take photos 🙂

Kermit

Yes, I'd be extra careful with a second-floor bathroom. If you don't get the waterproofing done correctly for example you could have very expensive problems down the track. Probably not an area to cut corners... I'd be looking for savings elsewhere.

dingodudette

Thank you, I'll try to post a photo when I work out how 🙂

dingodudette

Thanks for your advice Kermit, I'll go the "get the pro route" now that I can see the waterproofing issues. This site is very good. Others take weeks to respond (if ever)

dingodudette

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm going with the pro... it may cost more, but will be much less stressful!

Jason

@dingodudette

When you are in the text editor composing a reply on Workshop, just click on the insert/edit image button to upload a photo. I'll add a screenshot below.

Jason

dingodudette

Thanks Jason, I will

dingodudette

Here are the pictures of the bathroom. The shower used to be where the cupboard is in the second picture, so that's already plumbed (I don't know about waterproofed) and the bathtub waste is to the back of the house above the garage and laundry.

2016-10-03 08.22.01.jpg 2016-10-03 08.22.23.jpg

BIM_Engineer

Hi Dingodudette
Thanks for the photos since the pipes are already in place you will need to
1. Assess the condition of the existing plumbing and whether they need replacing or repairing
2. Determine if there are any leaks through the walls and floor below
3. Assess the structural adequacy of the floor below... a photo of the ceiling below would help by showing ie
a. Is the ceiling below water stains, ie leaks
b. Does the plasterboard ceiling look dis-stressed nail/fixing pop marks, cracks, sagging.. initial signs of fatigue
In light of the comments you will need to have it properly assessed what you want to avoid is a cheap initial quote that blows out exponentially once the work is started and that can occur even if the trades are licenced or not.

Kermit

At least you can do the demolition yourself. That's the most fun part anyway.

dingodudette

Ok thanks guys. There is damage to the underneath from water going between the wall tiles and bath surround (Can't supply picture - inadequate lighting) I'll get 3 quotes locally, but I would like a "ball park" figure of what cost I'm looking at - worst case scenario, just to prepare me for the shock! Oh, and how long would it take them to complete the job? I would have to arrange for my dad to be looked after for the duration as well.

BIM_Engineer

@dingodudette it doesn't sound like an easy fix where you can remove bath, minor plumbing and reuse spare tiles you've stored (I always recommend everyone order 5m2+ extra for shower fixes later on)
Renovating your whole bathroom sounds like it will cost $30K+...ouch. it will take at least a month

dingodudette

Oh...my...(insert deity here.) Can't afford even half of that. I'll have to have a physical inspection and quotes. May not be as bad as it seems. Thank you all for your input and I look forward to maybe helping someone else in my next post 🙂

BIM_Engineer

@dingodudette thanks for the reply..lets hope it's not that much.
It does need to be physically inspected make sure you get 3 reliable quotes
that are itemised and priced properly, that way you can compare apples with apples
BTW you will be assisting others if you put up the estimates costs.thanks

su51q

Did you end up getting a quote for this job? I have the same thing to do in my bathroom.

JacobZ

Hi @su51q,

It has been quite some time since @dingodudette made this post, so I'm not sure if they will respond, but I will tag them regardless.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to compare quotes for construction-related topics as there is such great variability in them.

As a gauge, comparison to other project prices can be useful, but for the best estimate, you would be best speaking with a couple of plumbers and then comparing their quotes.

You might like to check out How to find a tradesperson near you for some guidance.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

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