first time bath tub install
#1
08-29-06, 11:21 PM
Join Date: Aug 2006
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first time bath tub install
Hello. I am going to install a steel/enamel tub in a basement suite. It is new plumbing so I have no reference as to how the tub goes in. There are no instructions with the tub, only two small sheetmetal brackets w/2screws. Can anyone give me any info? 2x4 braces anywhere?
#3
08-30-06, 08:13 PM
Looking for instructions is a good start, but if you can't find them then here's the basic idea.
The goal is to install the tub level in all directions and install it so that it won't rock or move in any way. If this is on concrete floor, and the floor is uneven, you should use floor leveling compound or something similar. You may need to use shims on a wood subfloor. Level across the back, front and each end. Never level on the bottom surface of the tub because it's tapered toward the drain. Also, never attempt to make the front of the tub (drain end) slightly lower than the back end. The manufacturer takes car of that for you. Too much of a slope is a bad thing for many reasons. Slipping is the biggest.
I always mix up about 2 gallons of drywall mud and dump it in the middle of where the tub will sit. With fiberglass tubs, especially the cheap ones, this takes the spongy feeling out of the bottom of the tub. It takes the tin can sound out of the metal tubs. I always use quick set 90 drywall mud. It sets hard and quick. If you use general purpose mud it may take days to set all the way through.
The metal clips could be to screw to the stud and set the tub on, or to fasten the tub flange to the stud. All depends on the model of the tub. You may also need to run a 2x4 horizontally around the perimeter of the tub stall so the tub flange will rest on it, however, the tub bottom must be sitting on the subfloor.
Good luck.
The goal is to install the tub level in all directions and install it so that it won't rock or move in any way. If this is on concrete floor, and the floor is uneven, you should use floor leveling compound or something similar. You may need to use shims on a wood subfloor. Level across the back, front and each end. Never level on the bottom surface of the tub because it's tapered toward the drain. Also, never attempt to make the front of the tub (drain end) slightly lower than the back end. The manufacturer takes car of that for you. Too much of a slope is a bad thing for many reasons. Slipping is the biggest.
I always mix up about 2 gallons of drywall mud and dump it in the middle of where the tub will sit. With fiberglass tubs, especially the cheap ones, this takes the spongy feeling out of the bottom of the tub. It takes the tin can sound out of the metal tubs. I always use quick set 90 drywall mud. It sets hard and quick. If you use general purpose mud it may take days to set all the way through.
The metal clips could be to screw to the stud and set the tub on, or to fasten the tub flange to the stud. All depends on the model of the tub. You may also need to run a 2x4 horizontally around the perimeter of the tub stall so the tub flange will rest on it, however, the tub bottom must be sitting on the subfloor.
Good luck.
#5
10-06-06, 04:47 PM
Level tub - why
Let me piggy back on this post instead opening another one.
If the tub is not level, what can happen - why is it bad. I just had a plummer instaling a new bathtub for me, and it is slanted toward drain-side inner corner. Water collects there, but aside from faster caulk rot, what else can happen? Is it worth insisting on fixing it up (U know what that incudes!)?
Thanks,
not-so-smiling Smilo
If the tub is not level, what can happen - why is it bad. I just had a plummer instaling a new bathtub for me, and it is slanted toward drain-side inner corner. Water collects there, but aside from faster caulk rot, what else can happen? Is it worth insisting on fixing it up (U know what that incudes!)?
Thanks,
not-so-smiling Smilo
