Gatorkev Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Hello, I am looking at a house in East Norhill and it has a tub, but does not have a shower line installed. Has anyone had experience with this in pier and beam houses?Any have an idea of what it might cost to add a shower line to the existing plumbing?Thank you for any help you can provide me. I did research the topic, but only found info on adding a whole stand up shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 (edited) Hello, I am looking at a house in East Norhill and it has a tub, but does not have a shower line installed. Has anyone had experience with this in pier and beam houses?Any have an idea of what it might cost to add a shower line to the existing plumbing?Thank you for any help you can provide me. I did research the topic, but only found info on adding a whole stand up shower.It shouldn't be bad at all to simply add the plumbing, but if it's only a tub right now you will very likely need to re-tile and waterproof the entire tub surround, otherwise you will eventually rot out the drywall (or plaster if it's a really old house) or worse. Even if it's already tiled high, tile alone is not waterproof (at all) and you MUST put a moisture barrier in between the wet area and the studs and you'll also need to put in concrete board (or kerdi covered drywall) underneath any new tile you install. You are looking at a fairly involved project, so the estimated costs you have for building a standalone shower is probably not that far off. As far as it being a pier and beam house, that's a non-issue because you'll just use the existing tub drain to drain the shower. If you decided to scrap the tub entirely and build a brand new walk-in shower, then you'll have to install a new drain and then you would need to worry about the subfloor, but this is very easy and cheap to do in pier and beam as opposed to busting holes in, and repouring, a slab. Sorry for the bad news, but you definitely want to do it right. If you just ran a pipe up to a shower head (a "shower riser") and didn't waterproof the space, the eventual mess and cleanup will probably be more expensive than just doing it right the first time. Edited April 10, 2007 by cottonmather0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 technically it is easy. can it be done without damaging the tub surround would probably be the biggest issue. do you know whether the backside of the shower wall is accessible easily? opening up the sheetrock from behind is probably better if you want to salvage the tub surround. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 One more thing, you'll get A LOT of help at this site: http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1Just register and ask your question there, it is basically a website for DIY shower builders, but plenty of professionals and contractors hang out there to pick up business and give advice. Be sure and provide a lot of details (they'll coach you) and you'll get your question answered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Even if it's already tiled high, tile alone is not waterproof (at all) and you MUST put a moisture barrier in between the wet area and the studs and you'll also need to put in concrete board (or kerdi covered drywall) underneath any new tile you install. You are looking at a fairly involved project, so the estimated costs you have for building a standalone shower is probably not that far off.Tile usually is waterproof. it is the unsealed grout that causes the problems. most homeowners really don't "maintain" their grout properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorkev Posted April 10, 2007 Author Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thank you for the information. It sounds a little more involved than I anticipated. On that note, Does anyone have a good plumber that they would recommend???Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thank you for the information. It sounds a little more involved than I anticipated. On that note, Does anyone have a good plumber that they would recommend???Thank Youone other option might be the old timey method. some spouts had a hose coming out of it which at its other end had a hand held shower head that could be attached to the wall. that's how my house was when i bought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Tile usually is waterproof. it is the unsealed grout that causes the problems. most homeowners really don't "maintain" their grout properly.Yep, that is indeed techincally correct.But even so, I have seen too many showers that were just tile glued to sheetrock and once water gets behind it there is no way for it to get out and then bad things happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Yep, that is indeed techincally correct.But even so, I have seen too many showers that were just tile glued to sheetrock and once water gets behind it there is no way for it to get out and then bad things happen...on an old home that would be surprising to me. i know now, the tile people do glue tile for backspashes that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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