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Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 8:59 am
by boatwreck
First timer, posting to this forum & lving in a mobile home. It took awhile to adapt to the noises, lack of storage, horrid wallcoverings, limited furniture arranging, etc AND THEN I FOUND THIS FORUM!! I absolutely love this site & have decided adapting is not an option. I started painting the kitchen last week with my husband (who BTW hates that I found this site) complaining the entire time. There is one room in the trailer however that we both agree needs work so I need to strike quickly before he changes his mind. Input & ideas are both appreciated & needed right away.

We have your typical master bath - elbow bruising micro-shower, corner garden tub, no storage & carpeting. We normally shower but the tub does get used so instead of ripping it out we thought of partially enclosing on each end & adding a shower curtain in the center. I would prefer to have the shower head overhead in the center (from ceiling) but my husband says wall mounted would be best. The faucets are located on the open end of the tub so new ones would need to be installed on the opposite end at the existing wall. It may look a little weird having two sets but removing the old & sealing the holes would probably look worse.

Has anyone ever tried this before?

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 9:11 am
by JD
Hi and welcome to the forum. Great post! I am not quite sure about your wall arrangement, but I would not run plumbing to an outside wall if I could help it. If you have build a wall near the existing faucet, I would plumb up that wall. These should be a a hollow area near the faucet and where the supply lines come up to that bath faucet. The plumbing can be changed there to go into the new wall. Again, not real sure of what you got for walls.

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:45 pm
by Greg
Hi & welcome. Just a thought,If you have a second tub, you could pull one out and install a larger walk in shower. I plan on pulling our tub in the master bath and installing a 48" walk in shower, this will still allow me to build a linen closet in the "left over" space.

Kohler does make a ceiling mounted shower head, I have seen them on the home shows on TV, never saw a price - may not want to. Greg

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:10 am
by joedirt63
funny you should ask. just got done with one in my daughters. master bath. i retainedthe old round tub. after rebuilding thedeck and steps. used roman type fuacets looks like old fashsion hand pump from lil house one the prairie. since the old shower next to the tub is gone ,i used the shower plumbing and fabricated a pipe and shower head up along the wall (old shower wall,not and outside wall) it's exsposed so i used chrome pipe. also fabricated a round shower hoop suspended from the ceiling for the shower curtain. th showeris now a linen closet and now you can use the tub and shower. looks like a large version of the old claw foot tub with selfsupporting curtain .not sure how to finish the deck part of the tube,needs to be waterproof ,gut says tile but i know tile is bad idea in m/h floors.

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 10:16 am
by boatwreck
I found a user's post that with exception of window placement has the same setup as mine (Re: Master Bath Tub by Koiflowers) & offer many thanks for her great photos! I had the vision in my head but lacked drawing skills to convey idea to my hubby. Bottom line.....next time I need help convincing him I will search thru her posts for assistance. It's a much better option than using a ball-peen hammer on him!! LOL

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:14 pm
by slapout
Could you tell who the user was that had the pics? I want to do the same thing in my bathroom as we never use the tub and the kids bathroom has one if we needed one. THe shower we have is too small and the tub takes up too much space. I want to do a tile shower but have windows above the tub and am not sure what to do with them yet. Trying to get some ideas.

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 5:21 pm
by Greg
Floor & wall tiles DO NOT mix well with a mobile home. Mobile homes are designed to and do move. Tiles, not so much. Greg

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:17 am
by Mark440
Ok....Me Too!!

I also have one of those massive garden tubs. Most use it has ever seen is giving the dogs a bath in the winters. The other bathroom has a tub - so this garden tub needs to go. Yes! I want a shower that has a bench or ledge where I can actually reach my feet to wash 'em - without smacking my head on the wall -OR- having to fit myself in their diagonally to be able to bend over.

Tearing it out doesn't seem to present much of an issue, but finding a large shower pan that will line up to the existing drain is a bit more daunting - and then coming up with glass panels for the sides without having to order custom sizes is even more daunting.

My ceiling is vaulted with a skylight smack over the top of the tub, so I'm pretty much limited to "partial" walls - hence I thought glass panels would be the easiest. But, again, the sizing just isn't coming together.

I'd be ok with one of those fiberglass/plastic kits - but so far I haven't found any that have a bench or something to that effect. (Hey - I am getting older - and someday I will have to sit down to take a bath! Just planning ahead!)(Besides - like the fire department has nothing better to do than rescue me from the bottom of the shower! LOL!)

Do I ask too much? Any pics out there of re-mods?? Or maybe commercial websites??

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:03 am
by Greg
There are units out there that do have a bench, BUT the ones I have seen are a one piece unit. Unless you have real big doors and hall ways Good luck getting one in place. Greg

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:21 pm
by boatwreck
The user's name is Koiflowers. She has photos of her garden tub to shower conversion posted under two topics. Search her posts & look at 1) Master Bath Tub & 2) Koiflowers. The 2nd one actually has some really good close-up views.

I do not want the feel of being boxed-in & thought her re-use of shower doors for the wall panels was a great idea. Plexiglass sheets would be great but none of my local bldg supply stores carry any thick enough & the shipping costs for ordering is almost more than the product itself! Had resigned myself to buying 2 new shower doors when I spotted an ad on craigslist for hurricane shutters! If they are still available, I've got my 2 walls. Hubby is a journeyman pipefitter/welder by trade so I will end up with one-of-a-kind framework for the shutters and overhead mounting which will be about a foot below the ceiling. A shower curtain on a curved rod takes care of the opening between the 2 glass walls.

For the 2 existing walls in lieu of tile I am going to use waterproof wall panels, either DPI tileboard or FRP wallboard. Both are reasonably priced & available locally.

The carpet.....what egghead came up with the idea of putting carpet in mobile home master baths! Regardless, its gotta go. I want wood floors so my choice is the vinyl laminate planks. Hubby says, no way, bad idea for a wet area. Guess we could duke it out in the front yard to see who wins but I'd probably be better off to choose my battles & let him have this one.

Seems Mark440 & I both use our garden tubs in the winter! I live in (extreme) SE Georgia & Mother Nature's freak cold weather joke turned my tub into a greenhouse. No worries with water stains but a few uninvited critters did manage to hitch a ride indoors. :) BTW your existing garden tub already has a "sit & wash your feet" spot of sorts. Not a bench but its still a place to park. Might want to reconsider conversion vs tear out & replace.

Hope this helps!

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:25 pm
by CDG
To answer Greg, that is not true...You can use tile in the Mobile home. I worked for Marathon Coach which is an Prevost bus converted to a 2.5 million dollar home on wheels. The coaches used porcelain, ceramic and marble tile. Not only that we had tile on the slide outs as well. Those coaches have way more flex than a mobile home. The key is to make sure you use plywood and not OSB flooring. Those who want to install travel over OSB screw all the joints down and make sure sub floor is level. Than use 1/4 inch plywood or concrete board in wet areas...

http://www.marathoncoach.com/gallery/index.cfm

You have to prep correctly to prevent the tiles from cracking......

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 4:50 pm
by Greg
CDG, It is NOT recommended that tile be installed in a mobile home on the floors or walls and I will stand by that. You can feel walls move in high winds, In areas that have frost in the ground if you are not on a full below frost line foundation the frost will twist a home up some. There are people here that have a hard time with doors in the winter due to the frost.

I remember one member a few years back that thought he was being shot at one night, the next day he found exploded tiles from frost heave.

I am by no means telling you it can't be done, I am saying it shouldn't unless a LOT of proper preparation work is done. My guess would be that if someone could afford $2.5 million, they might rethink living in a Mobile home!!!

Greg

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:19 am
by joedirt63
i install a tile splash gaurd on the kitchen wall on my daughters home. they are there small1 inch tile mats 12x12 inch i did 2 rows high along the counter and behind the stove, got them from home depot clearance so it didn't cost much. see how it holds up , i figure smaller pieces on a mesh may flex little more than a 3x3 tile. we'll see. hope 20.00 dallor purchase dosen't cost me 300.00 . heh heh

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:20 pm
by CDG
Sorry Greg,

I work on those RV's. They have way more flex and movement going down the road than a manufacture home sitting on cinder blocks. The key is the prep work. Our RVs go thru extreme temperatures just like some of the homes that some may own.

Also the key which I did not mention is wither the home we are talking about are pre 1998 or after 1998. I would apologize for not saying this. If the home is after 1998 most manufacture homes have to follow the guidelines set by stick homes...Such as hurricane clips in Florida and other gulf coast states. Most newer manufacture homes come with 3/4 sub floors which is thicker than some stick homes. Another the joust of newer manufacture homes are closer and adding braces closer to the flooring in between the joust will help tighten the floor as well as screwing the 3/4 sub floor..... Side note is they use way to much staples on the floors depending also on manufacture...

Re: Convert garden tub into shower

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:45 pm
by JD
Yeah, sometimes I think the guys at the factory get paid per staple. But on the "tile in a mobile home issue", tile floors and large tile wall areas is not recommended. I don't know much about motor coaches, but I can see where tile could be used in small areas. The whole deal is about flex or should I say deflection. There is an actual measurement of this deflection that is called "L-360". How much is that in inches? I dunno. But I know your tile will have no warranty if this L-360 is not met. This is also the lowest minimum which is mostly for 4" tile and smaller. Larger pieces like 12" tiles will require L-720. The way we figure if our framing and subfloor meets that requirement is math. Basically, for L-360 you will need 2x8 joists, 16" o.c. with a minimum 1 1/8" plywood subfloor, with 1/2" cement board. So basically, no mobile home will pass this deflection test without beefing up the floor. A person could double up (sister) the 2x6 framing and add an additional layer of plywood, and that might meet the deflection standard on the day it is inspected, but if the mobile home is not on proper concrete footers, the home will still tweak as it comes out of level.

Does this mean you can't install tile floors? Or that the tile floor will definitely crack up? No it doesn't. It just means that you are taking your chances and you are on your own if the tile fails. But a person could beef up the framing, add some additional blocking as CDG mentioned, replace the particle board with 1 1/8" sturdi-floor tongue & groove plywood and have a fair chance at having a tile floor. Personally, I would not contract that job unless rock solid disclaimers were in the contract. I would tell my customer to expect some cracking problems at some point.

JMO
JD