Tile shower cost?

[TAK]

Do any of you have a ballpark on having someone cut out an existing fiberglass shower and replace it with a shower pan and tile? (i'm looking at you, flipper ;-) ).

I'm looking at a 36"x36" (or 30x30, i don't remember exactly) in my own home and it's pink... nothing else is pink - it must go. i'd need to get it cut out, and have the new one installed.

any feedback and recommendations on resources appreciated - I'm not planning to do the work myself.

Thanks...

tak

[flipper]

Do any of you have a ballpark on having someone cut out an existing fiberglass shower and replace it with a shower pan and tile? (i'm looking at you, flipper ;-) ).

I'm looking at a 36"x36" (or 30x30, i don't remember exactly) in my own home and it's pink... nothing else is pink - it must go. i'd need to get it cut out, and have the new one installed.

any feedback and recommendations on resources appreciated - I'm not planning to do the work myself.

Thanks...

tak

It's probably a bigger job than you might think. Don't forget, you have to re-sheetrock, possibly insulate, probably change out the valve, install a new drain, frame some things...

You could easily spend a couple grand on the labor alone.

Probably another $500 on materials.

Count on $3,000 for a ballpark.

flipper

[TAK]

i was thinking $1500 - $3000...

hmmm... i better stop painting that bathroom and get the shower done first...

any recommendations on who to call (or, better ideas)?

[musicman]

any recommendations on who to call (or, better ideas)?

you can also get cultured marble which would be less maintenance for you.

[TexasArchitect]

yeah that is going to be a job, but i don't think you'll have to frame anything. if you know ppl and can find someone on the side it shouldn't be that costly. here's a diy just to give u an idea of what all needs to be done in taking one out etc...

http://www.thetiledoctor.com/repair/fiberglass.cfm

if u want it done quick then hire someone. if ur willing to take ur time and be without a shower for a couple of days, lol then DIY and save some money. plus it feels good when you do it urself good luck and post how it goes and the steps the installer did for future reference

[texas911]

Yea, DIY, it will only take 30 minutes tops, that's what they show on TV!

[TexasArchitect]

i was thinking $1500 - $3000...

hmmm... i better stop painting that bathroom and get the shower done first...

any recommendations on who to call (or, better ideas)?

i know a plumber that works for the union that does all my jobs. but he does them on the side so he can only work weekends.

and not to sound offensive in any way but you can also go hang out at ur local home depot store and find someone. that's how i found my electrician. he's a licenced electrician that i got to re-wire a property my dad left me. the house was all aluminum wiring and the electrician literally re-wired the whole house to copper, w/ gfi outlets for DIRT cheap as he did it as a side job. oh and he added a new braker box.

side jobs FTW!!

[musicman]

Yea, DIY, it will only take 30 minutes tops, that's what they show on TV!

LOL. spoken like a true doityourselfer.

[TAK]

i would do it myself, but my time is so limited... and my wife is tired of me working on the bathroom perpetually...

i want a side-jobber, but i also want them to come fix it when it leaks because they didn't do something right, so i'll probably not get a side job.

[flipper]

yeah that is going to be a job, but i don't think you'll have to frame anything.

You never know what you are going to find when you open up an old shower

They are going to atleast have to add blocking between the studs to attach the shower pan to.

flipper

any recommendations on who to call (or, better ideas)?

Sorry all my peeps are booked

flipper

[AJXterra]

Sorry all my peeps are booked

flipper

Yeah, on the what...5 houses you're doing this month? LOL...

[mumbles]

You have to watch them to make sure they do it right, then it won't leak. Remind them to use a vapor barrier and tape the seams in the sheetrock

[TAK]

sounds like i need to have YOU watch them

[flipper]

You have to watch them to make sure they do it right, then it won't leak. Remind them to use a vapor barrier and tape the seams in the sheetrock

What is this shower vapor barrier you speak of?

flipper

[jm1fd]

You have to watch them to make sure they do it right, then it won't leak. Remind them to use a vapor barrier and tape the seams in the sheetrock

Tile on sheetrock? That's a disaster of epic proportions in the making.

[TexasArchitect]

i don't think he literally meant on the sheetrock. he'll probably end up using 1/2" durock.

and the vapor barrier doesn't need to be used in a typical bathtub/shower application. you'd have ur studs, durock, taping, mortar, then tile.

[gwilson]

Umberto Garcia is a plumber I've used on several projects. He does GREAT work at really great prices. Additionally, his company also does sheetrock and other services.

281-914-6293

You might get his wife, as she handles pretty much everything.

Good luck.

[jm1fd]

i don't think he literally meant on the sheetrock. he'll probably end up using 1/2" durock.

and the vapor barrier doesn't need to be used in a typical bathtub/shower application. you'd have ur studs, durock, taping, mortar, then tile.

I've heard that sealants like RedGard are popular to put on between the taping and mortar steps. Anybody heard of/used it or similar membrane type sealants?

[gwilson]

Just a note to help you save some money on the project.

If you contact all of the local DalTile offices (even other tile sellers) and ask them what they have that they need to get rid of, you can save a MINT that way.

For example, I needed about 1,000 foot of travertine for a friends house. He was remodeling on the cheap and didn't have a huge budget so he asked me to source some materials in the hopes I could piggy back on one of my larger orders to get a discount. Instead, I called my local DalTile branch and asked them what kind of light colored travertine they had that they needed to get rid of (someone ordered too much or ordered some and never picked it up, etc). I got some travertine that is normally $13 a foot for $3.50 a foot delivered. That was a savings of over $9,000.

Worth a shot.

[jm1fd]

Just a note to help you save some money on the project.

If you contact all of the local DalTile offices (even other tile sellers) and ask them what they have that they need to get rid of, you can save a MINT that way.

For example, I needed about 1,000 foot of travertine for a friends house. He was remodeling on the cheap and didn't have a huge budget so he asked me to source some materials in the hopes I could piggy back on one of my larger orders to get a discount. Instead, I called my local DalTile branch and asked them what kind of light colored travertine they had that they needed to get rid of (someone ordered too much or ordered some and never picked it up, etc). I got some travertine that is normally $13 a foot for $3.50 a foot delivered. That was a savings of over $9,000.

Worth a shot.

Good tip. I'll probably be using it soon for my bathroom redo.

[mumbles]

No I didn't mean sheetrock, something more like hardibacker. From the hardibacker instructions.

When Hardibacker

Edited May 26, 2007 by mumbles

[TAK]

thanks for all of the replies... i think i'm just going to replace this shower with another plastic/fiberglass stall. i don't want to drop too much cash into what will eventually be a rental property.

however, if my wife sticks to her guns (which i hope) and we get an older house in one of the city suburbs (iow, where we are now or closer), i'll need the advice - especially the daltile advice...

[mpbro]

Good move on not going for a new shower pan. Everything I've heard is that it's a serious job, and not one you want to screw up. You might get the hang of it after a few jobs, but you only have one shot.

There is a company called Tile-Redi which makes pre-formed composite shower pans that you can tile over. It's not the low-cost provider, but 1) you can tile it yourself and save money, and 2) you have confidence that it's not going to leak. If you get one of the common sizes, cost shouldn't be too bad.

Edited May 28, 2007 by mpbro

[TexasArchitect]

Daltile ftw!! if u go the daltile route ask for Fabian, he'll hook u up

[TexasArchitect]

Why would you NOT use a vapor barrier? Just to save a few bucks?

it doesn't make sence to use a vapor barrier on an interior tile application. you could but it's excessive and no need for it.

i'd recommend to use denglass product, the paperless type, cuz we all know paper and moisture doesn't mix. here is their website for products

http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=4674

this is y u dont need a vapor barrier.

[mumbles]

I have seen it recommended to put tar paper behind the tile backer and have it overlap the bathtub lip. If water gets behind the wall it drains back into the tub. I thought all the rot in my wall was because they didn't tape the seams on the greenrock. Now tonight I found they never put any plumbers putty or any type of sealant behind the faucets. Whats a few drops of water every day for years? Not enough to show a leak. Just enough to get the wood slightly wet day after day and cause rot.

They would have had to punch holes in the vapor barrier for the faucets but it still would have done some good. I'm so glad I hired a professional that had been in business for years to do this job. $)#*$#)(*$ Doesn't even use plumbers putty! Some contractors are a frigging disgrace!

The next guy that redoes my bathroom is gonna hate me cause I'm watching everything he does and tossing his @ss out the door if he won't do it right. I am going for excessive next time. Sorry but I'm really pissed, the tile still looks fine on the outside and I am hacking away at my studs replacing what I can without having to gut the whole bathroom. It really needs to be gutted but I only have one bathroom. Yeah I'm gonna gripe about this one for years, maybe it will save someone else from having to go through the same thing.

it doesn't make sence to use a vapor barrier on an interior tile application. you could but it's excessive and no need for it.

i'd recommend to use denglass product, the paperless type, cuz we all know paper and moisture doesn't mix. here is their website for products

http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=4674

this is y u dont need a vapor barrier.

Edited June 6, 2007 by mumbles

[musicman]

Now tonight I found they never put any plumbers putty or any type of sealant behind the faucets. Whats a few drops of water every day for years? Not enough to show a leak. Just enough to get the wood slightly wet day after day and cause rot.

They would have had to punch holes in the vapor barrier for the faucets but it still would have done some good. I'm so glad I hired a professional that had been in business for years to do this job. $)#*$#)(*$ Doesn't even use plumbers putty! Some contractors are a frigging disgrace!

as long as your escutcheon (not sure of the proper term but the cover that is over the hole) is caulked properly there should be no leaking. when you're talking tile you MUST seal the grout fairly frequently otherwise water will go beyond the surface. most don't do this.

as for being a professional, it doesn't surprise me and some of the things contractors try and pull on naive customers.

[mumbles]

There was no caulk, no putty, no nothing over those holes. They were perfectly clean, easy to tell nothing had ever been there. I replaced the overflow gasket which was pretty well crumbled from age, then I still saw water drops and took the faucets apart.

I have sealed the grout several times, they didn't seal it when they put in the new tile nor did they tell me that it needed to be done. They used no caulk anywhere. Grouted everything which I have since learned is not the correct way to do the job. The sad thing is I don't think they were trying to pull anything, I mean how much does plumbers putty cost? They are just stupid. They send cheap labor out to do the job, they know defects won't show up for many years, why bother to train the help.

as long as your escutcheon (not sure of the proper term but the cover that is over the hole) is caulked properly there should be no leaking. when you're talking tile you MUST seal the grout fairly frequently otherwise water will go beyond the surface. most don't do this.

as for being a professional, it doesn't surprise me and some of the things contractors try and pull on naive customers.

[musicman]

I have sealed the grout several times, they didn't seal it when they put in the new tile nor did they tell me that it needed to be done. They used no caulk anywhere. Grouted everything which I have since learned is not the correct way to do the job. The sad thing is I don't think they were trying to pull anything, I mean how much does plumbers putty cost? They are just stupid. They send cheap labor out to do the job, they know defects won't show up for many years, why bother to train the help.

unfortunately i think your situation is probably more common than most realize. tile requires maintenance (certain areas like tub surrounds and on the floor in front of the tub in pier/beam homes even more) but most homeowners don't seal the grout ever. i know old timey pier/beam homes shift a little more than a slab which results in cracks in the grout. this is one reason i didn't use tile for my tub surround, i used cultured marble.

i know that many older pier/beam homes actually have a floating slab floor to affix the tile to and making a more stable platform. i don't think you'd find that in a newly built pier/beam home.

[flipper]

Nobody fills in the holes around the valves with putty or anything. All you're supposed to do is silicone around the escutcheons and the tub filler.

Now if you've got a leak at the valve that's a whole different story.

Everyone reading this should pick up a tube of clear silicone and a tube of white tub caulk and go seal their escutcheons and caulk their tub!

flipper