Advice - 59" tub in a 60 1/4 finished bathroom

Ok so I have a bathroom that is rectangle and is 60 1/4 inches wide finished drywall and all etc.

The current tub / surround is mounted to the finished walls & measures 60 x 31

The new tub will measure 59 x 32 x 24 (tall) with removeable skirting.

Without the skirt I estimate the tub at the edges is about 2 inches thick. So with all the testing, measuring, re-measuring etc. In my head I see myself standing the tub on end to get through the doorway. Then getting it into the corner and bringing it down flat to lay in place. The tub being only 59 inches long and the finished room being 60 1/4 wide.

I shouldn't need to cut any drywall or anything. I should simply be able to slide it in place and lay it down and level it off.

Anyone had an similar experience or see anything wrong with this idea.

I also have another issue I want advice on.

The tub/unit I am installing is a full tub/steam room unit. So its plumbing is actually separate from wall mounted plumbing. I need to remove the existing diverter and faucet/handles and shower arm etc.. and drop the water pipes down and bring them up through a different hole in the floor. So they are no longer running into the wall cavity. I also will have a emergency shut off valve accessible behind the skirt of the tub for both lines.

That being said. This plumbing has no access hatches. BUT I still need to get at the back of the plumbing to remove the faucet and handles and a way to unscrew and remove the shower head arm.

My thoughts were to cut a small hole in the bathroom wall beneath the faucet/diverter and remove it. So I am making an access hatch on the facing wall not from behind in the adjacent room.

Then I am thinking of simply cutting the shower arm and pushing it back into the cavity since I won't need it anymore. Then I can simply cover the hole it left.

Once I remove the faucet and handles I can cover the holes it left and that should effectively clean up that wall and plumbing. I will now have hot/cold pipes free to reposition somewhere else under the unit.

Anyone have any advice on a better way to tackle this portion of the job. Remove the old faucet and shower arm without cutting a hole in the wall is ideal.

The absolute easiest way I can think of is to cut the pipes below floor level to make moving them easier and then just remove the handles and spout and push the entire thing into the wall cavity. Same with the shower arm itself. Unscrew the outer cover and push it entirely into the wall cavity.

I am just not sure how to remove the handles and spout. They all seem to be a solid piece and non-removable. I guess worse comes to worse I can just break them off.

Then I can patch small holes and be done. Just leave the old plumbing loose in the wall. Since it is no longer hooked to any live pipes it will just sit and gather dust.

Is there any real reason not to just push the old fixtures into the wall cavity and leave them? I mean I don't plan to ever use them again.

This is a manufactured home so I am betting the entire faucet piece itself is 3 connections hot/cold/shower arm and no separte diverter is mounted in the way anywhere. So pushing the piece back into the cavity should be easily done.

Thanks for reading my very long post & I appreciate all the advice.

 

Well the shower neck should be easy. Just unscrew it and leave the piping in the wall.

Does your bathroom have good ventilation? You will need good ventilation when operating the steam shower and even better when you open the door to get in or out. When I get out of mine there is a cloud about 4' thick in the bathroom and it starts to condense on everything so you need to get the moisture out as soon as possible.

 

Several flaws in your reasoning. There is no way you will get a tub that thick into the space without removing at least some drywall and most likely a couple of studs. If you remember back to geometry class and the Pythagorean theorem the hypotenuse is going to be longer than either side of the other legs. In your case, the diagonal tub length is going to be around 64 1/2". Finding your clearance without removing any drywall won't be happening. Most plumbing is secured to blocking in the wall. You can't simply push it into the cavity. The tub spout may be an drop elbow or it may be a sweat elbow. The latter will not unscrew. Flooring is another concern as the new usually does not fit into the hole of the old.

Anyway, with such an extensive remodel planned, why are you not just gutting and starting from a framed room designed to fit your new unit? Maybe Pilot can explain steam units better, but a sectional steam unit mounted on drywall? Is that even feasible? Not something I would have a lot of confidence installing. I think the high moisture would cause the drywall to mold behind the seams in the surround.

What is the make and model of the steam unit?

 

I am horrible with math and I will admit that but I was able to take a 2x4 at 60 inches and lay it wall to wall. It was a bit snug but it being 60 inches and the tub itself being 59 inches the tub should lay down flat or am I missing something.

This is a manufactured home and the plumbing in this bathroom is simply 2 pex lines coming up to the faucet and from the faucet a third line goes up to the shower arm.

The shower arm is simply locked to the wall using a lock nut on the back and a chrome flange screwed tight from the front.

See the product at the url below for a better understanding. This is not your typical in wall plumbing.

Foremost Faucet 3310CP/4010CP Mobile Home Two Handle Non-Metallic 8" Tub Shower Diverter with Shower Head/Arm/Flange, Chrome Finish - Amazon.com

These faucets actually have to be removed FROM the back because you have to remove water lines and unscrew the locking nuts. My thought was to simply cut the front completely off and push it into the wall cavity. The shower arm is probably too long to simply push into the cavity so I would have to cut it off as well.

The entire reason behind attempting to avoid any holes in the drywall is 1. This is covered drywall so the pattern/color is embedded into the drywall. There is no patching holes and repainting without painting the entire wall or the bathroom for that matter.

The unit I want to install has a glass panel on the side the plumbing is currently on so I don't want patched holes unless I have to. I do plan to use some sort of contact paper, wall paper or covering down that wall beside the new unit as sort of an accent wall or something alike.

This is the unit and it is the only one that works with our bathroom due to door configuration and sizes.

Ariel Platinum DA328F3 Steam Shower - Ariel Bath

I have not removed the old bathtub yet but from peeking behind the surround the walls behind the surround are entirely finished. So its possible I pull the tub out and the entire room is finished they simply laid the tub in after building the room. Then again I might pull the tub out and find the wall below is down to the studs and I have easy access to the plumbing anyways. Which makes the entire idea of pushing plumbing into the wall cavity pointless for the faucet portion.

Any more thoughts, ideas, suggestions. My biggest concern is the idea of laying the tub flat without removing drywall. I mean testing it with the 2x4 worked so in my head I cannot see why the full tub cannot lay down the same way...



The unit itself has a vent fan and my bathroom has a large vent fan right in the ceiling where the cloud of steam would hit when I step out.

So I can vent the steam rather fast plus the door way opens right to an open hallway.

Another bonus is the bathroom walls are mold,mildew and stain resistant. I can wipe moisture off easily because they are sealed and don't absorb water.

 

How are you with visuals?

You tub is not a 2x4, it has 3 dimensions - Instead, take your wood and build a box that is 59" long and 24" high and has 4 sides. Stand this box up in your bathroom and now try to rotate it down without removing any drywall. The diagonal of the box you made is longer than the top of the box. That is why you will have issues getting the tub into the bathroom. Diagonal = 64 1/2", wall space = 60", Difference leaves you 4 1/2" too long to rotate the tub into the space.

The steam will peel any wallpaper off the wall in short order.

 

Yea from the start of this I have been measuring and visualizing things in my head on how to work this out.

A box at 59 x 32 x 24 would not fit at all without modifying walls because the sides are a full 24 inches coming down so they would hit for sure.

But a tub is not 24 inches tall all the way around because the tub portion is set back a few inches from all 4 edges.

Its probably what 2 inches set back from each edge and the edges are 2 inches thick themselves

That and the width of the room being 60 1/4 I am seeing just enough play room in my head to bring the tub down without the bottom portion of the tub hitting drywall.

Even if it is not enough the tub width and height is enough to hide any patched drywall anyways. I was just trying to avoid any extra work. So worse to worse I pull the bottom portion of drywall out.


I did run into another problem... That might stop the entire project...

These are stand alone units that you simply assemble and hook connections to. Then slide them into place after testing and leak checking.

I need to get behind the unit to do this and its impossible from inside the bathroom. due to widths

I am seeing in my head cutting a small access hatch in the floor to come up through and check connections etc.. then when I am done the unit simply sits on the hatch.

I mean the hatch sits right on the floor joists so structure shouldn't be compromised

Does that sound feasible. I can't get into it from any adjacent rooms so the floor or outside wall are my options.

I also have a contractor coming in tomorrow as well to look at some things and I am going to have him look at the bathroom and give me a quote for it. So I might just pay the contractor to do it all.

 

Read this only if you need a second opinion. I do this stuff as a contractor, and there is no way I would attempt such an installation without a total gut out, reframing, install, and new walls. Tile is the only way you can ensure a successful steam feature, and I mean on the ceiling as well. By gutting it, you will have sensible access to all your plumbing and can modify the opening for a good fit. Sheetrock has gotta go.

 

Maybe I am not catching on to something here but did you even read the entire thread or look at the url to the product I am discussing?

The new unit replacing the old plastic tub and surround walls is an entirely enclosed stand alone unit. These units have been installed in quite a lot places and have a very high reputation for quality. So I am not sure where you get that I would need to tile anything to be successful or would need to gut the entire room.

You literally assemble the unit, attach electrical, attach plumbing and test the unit for a bit to ensure it works and does not leak then you slide it into its final position.

in my case against the back wall of the bathroom. My issues are that I want to avoid tearing out as much drywall as possible laying the tub down and I need access behind the unit to do the plumbing and electrical work before sliding it in place.

I have a brand new ventilation fan center of the bathroom to pull steam out and my bathroom door opens to a hallway with good air flow. So I am not worried about steam in the bathroom. Plus before exiting the unit I can simply run cold water to condense the steam before I open the door.

They are DIY units but I was looking for advice from others that have done bathroom work themselves. This helps me think of things I have not yet considered and I can throw ideas on how to approach certain issues specific to my project.

 

The link wasn't visible for the tub when I first scanned your posts, so it makes better sense, now. Not perfect sense, but I do believe you are determined to do it. With the drop down front panel,would that not give you access to the plumbing, heater and pump? Does this unit require a dedicated 3/4" supply? I assume you have factored in the exorbitant electrical draw with the 3000 watt heater and dedicated 240 volt GFCI circuit. Could you post a picture ot two of the potential site of installation? It may help us give more concise advice.

 

If you look closely at the schematics in your link you will see that even though the skirt is removable, there are metal supports for the front edge of the tub built into the unit. That makes your tub as large as I have described. Let us know what the contractor says. It looks a little more than a DIY, but can't see what the space looks like.

 

Unfortunately the plumbing and connections are at the far back left corner control panel. So I would not have access without being directly behind the unit.

As for the GFCI circuit that is taken care of.

I am making a space to clear a small access panel in the adjacent room for future service if needed. I want to try that instead of a floor panel. Will talk to contractor.


The schematic you see might not be accurate they have an updated manual for that unit that I have here on my desktop. However that being said I wouldn't put to much faith in either schematic because they are not exactly a schematic but more a representation of the product. This is a china import.

Here is a shot from the updated manual - IF this is accurate the feet are a few inches back from each edge as well. So its possible it may still have just enough room to lay in place.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xxzlkq0nko...2014.00.38.png

After last nights reading here I went digging for even more reviews and after a few hours of digging I am getting half and half reviews. People who gave a good review absolutely LOVED their units and the bad reviews were things like it leaked, or the steam generator died in 3 years etc..

I also just found out this unit only displays in Celsius which I am not a fan of that. I would rather have a temperature in fahrenheit but I cannot build or find a unit like this with all the features for a better cost. So I will most likely just suck it up and go with it anyways.

Will just have to talk to the contractor about everything see what he says. Hell he has probably never installed one of these stand alone units so maybe I can get a deal out of him. Ill do most the demo work and let him install the unit perhaps its something he would like to sell to his other customers in our area etc.