Some questions about showers and tubs

I am going to flip a house in the next few months with the help of some contractors and handymen. I have some questions about how the tubs and showers work.

I went to Home Depot and they sell tubs. They also sell shower pans, shower side walls, and shower back walls.

After going back home and looking at the showers/tubs in my house, they look different. I have one shower that has the floor connected to the walls. They are not sold separately like they were at the store. Also, my bathtub seems to be prefabricated with the walls as well. However, both of them have a second piece on top, which I didn't even see at Home Depot.

Did they change the way they make these things? My house was built in 1973. Not sure when the last time the tubs or showers were replaced.

I can take pictures if you need them.

I'm also worried about sized. The bathtubs at Home Depot are all 60" wide. The one in my house is 58". I don't want a couple inches to cause the project to be a lot harder (and more expensive) or for me to have to wait weeks for a special ordered part, so I would like to know that everything will fit snug ahead of time, and so that I can accurately price the projects even before I purchase the house.

Also, do they REALLY make you drill your own holes in the shower walls (for the faucet, knobs, and shower head)? The bathtubs come with holes in them, so why not the shower walls?

60" is from wall to wall does not include drywall,mortar and tile. So measure your 58" again.
You can get one piece showers and tubs but they are to big to go thru doors so stores like H D just don't offer them.

nealtw said:

60" is from wall to wall does not include drywall,mortar and tile. So measure your 58" again.
You can get one piece showers and tubs but they are to big to go thru doors so stores like H D just don't offer them.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

Are they too big to go through patio doors?

If stores like Home Depot don't sell them, does that mean they will be more expensive since I have to go to a specialty store to get them?

As it is, I barely even bother looking at prices at stores other than Home Depot or Lowe's because no one can match their economies of scale.

Do showers and rubs require a "shower top" (I don't know what else to call it). The piece that goes on the top of the showers and shower/tubs at my personal residence? (It looks identical to a shower floor except with no drain and it goes on top).

farmerjohn1324 said:

Thanks.

Are they too big to go through patio doors?

If stores like Home Depot don't sell them, does that mean they will be more expensive since I have to go to a specialty store to get them?

As it is, I barely even bother looking at prices at stores other than Home Depot or Lowe's because no one can match their economies of scale.

Do showers and rubs require a "shower top" (I don't know what else to call it). The piece that goes on the top of the showers and shower/tubs at my personal residence? (It looks identical to a shower floor except with no drain and it goes on top).

Click to expand...

Try a plumbing wholesaler or a specialty bathroom shop

It's not so much the front door It is getting them around the house and into the bathroom.

Some sell the tops for tubs and showers or used to. They are a pain. you need a light in there. And finish around it to make it look right.

If you look far enough you can find one piece to several piece units that you just install and seal.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=acry...trrVAhVLqFQKHQupBW4Q_AUICigB&biw=1682&bih=835

nealtw said:

Try a plumbing wholesaler or a specialty bathroom shop

It's not so much the front door It is getting them around the house and into the bathroom.

Some sell the tops for tubs and showers or used to. They are a pain. you need a light in there. And finish around it to make it look right.

If you look far enough you can find one piece to several piece units that you just install and seal.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=acry...trrVAhVLqFQKHQupBW4Q_AUICigB&biw=1682&bih=835

Click to expand...

Okay.

If I take out a tub/shower that has a fiberglass top and replace it with one that doesn't have a top, what will be exposed? Drywall? Or possibly nothing and I would have to construct some drywall? Would I need to put a finish on it like tile to make it waterproof?

farmerjohn1324 said:

Okay.

If I take out a tub/shower that has a fiberglass top and replace it with one that doesn't have a top, what will be exposed? Drywall? Or possibly nothing and I would have to construct some drywall? Would I need to put a finish on it like tile to make it waterproof?

Click to expand...

The tub is usually attached to bear studs so after installing the new one you would drywall or if tiling you would install backer board.

I was sure that HD had more than you saw: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Bath-Bat...os/N-5yc1vZcd0lZ2bcorlZ2bcooyZ1z0v4w6Z1z0v4w6

Those one piece shower or shower/tub units are used in new construction. You can basically put them in place early in the construction, before all the walls and doors are in the way.

But they are too big to carry through a completed house.

So, for renovation, they come in multiple pieces.

"Also, do they REALLY make you drill your own holes in the shower walls (for the faucet, knobs, and shower head)? The bathtubs come with holes in them, so why not the shower walls?"

The holes in the tub are below the flood rim and are predrilled for the waste and overflow, and are pretty much industry standard.

Faucets and shower heads are a function of choice and your contractors/handyman should have explained that, as well as any vendor.