Fiberglass. Or better yet, I am a big fan of Sterling Vikrell products instead of using fiberglass. These problems allow shower water to penetrate the wall and cause damage, and they are generally found low on the shower wall, down where the tile meets the shower base. Wear your safety glasses and gloves. If you have to replace wall tiles, get bigger tiles, that means less grout lines to have to clean. The first step to getting started is to remove the old bathtub as well as any tub framing that is in place. Doing so can save you money on tile work, plus this system has functional value because it gives you the best of both worlds: tile's beauty, acrylic/fiberglass' practicality. There is no overlapping fiberglass wall to impede the removal of the pan. Conversely, if the bathroom happens to be located on a concrete basement bathroom floor, flexibility is not much of an issue. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series. This project costs an average of $20 to $240 , depending on the extent of repairs needed and whether you hire a professional or handle fixing the damage on your own. Because the shower pan has no seams or grout, the shower is easier to clean. As a result, you often see multiple shower heads around the shower, or an overhead custom sprayer that comes in from the ceiling. Replacing a fiberglass shower with tile over a weekend is a challenging task that will require a few ..… If it has, you might have to redo the whole shower. With this type of set-up, the shower pan can flex and thus avoid the cracking associated with tile shower pans. Bathrooms vary from house to house and can feature bathtubs, bath and shower combinations, stand-alone showers and walk-in showers. All the walls have to be covered with some type of waterproofing underlayment, which overlaps the membrane or flange of a pan as it comes up the wall studs. 39 Tub, Tile and Shower Repair Kit, 5oz Fiberglass Porcelain Acrylic Bathtub Repair Kit, Brown and Gray Series Tile Gap Filler for Cracked Stone, Ceramic Floor 4.2 out of 5 stars 129 $19.39 $ 19 . Over time, your bathroom tiles may get damaged or look outdated, but fortunately, you can replace them in an afternoon. Once that foam hardens the only way to separate the tub is with a reciprocating saw. Slight flexing will quickly crack the grout and even the tiles. Shower panels cons This is the traditionalist approach to preparing a shower floor, and requires … Fiberglass/acrylic shower pans are rarely very expensive, so these pans represent only a fraction of the project's overall cost. Because walk-in showers are large enough for you to walk around in, the shower head can go anywhere. Replacing … Called megabloc is then injected underneath the floor tiles to repair the waterproof membrane at participating franchisees only. Take everything down to the wall studs and subfloor. However, some plumbers install tubs on top of expanding foam and forget to include a sheet of plastic. ... You will also need to remove the bottom row of tile on the walls above the height that the pan will occupy and then retile that row to properly overlap the pan edge for drainage. Unless you were dealing with a shower/tub combination in the original installation, there will not be a shower head pipe running up the wall, nor will there be a faucet stub-out or hot/cold water stubs at around waist height. How to Replace a Fiberglass Shower With Tile as a Weekend Project Step 1: Remove the Fiberglass Shower Surround. Most tile companies will take on this type of project. The process can vary wildly depending on installation methods used. Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 12 years. You also have the option for block walls. shower Share. Scribe bottom tiles. Plastic shower pans are easy to install but you are limited by a specific set of dimensions. Fiberglass/acrylic shower pans are pure practicality. Usually these estimates will be "free". Hold a chisel along the grout line near one of the center tiles of the shower floor. Bathrooms vary from house to house and can feature bathtubs, bath and shower combinations, stand-alone showers and walk-in showers. This means running additional pipe to carry the water up to the new locations. The estimated cost to replace a bathtub and shower is around $975 for a 60″ fiberglass or acrylic resin kit with shower walls, new tub, and DIY installation. Install the Tiles. When it comes time to demolish the shower in the future, it is easier because the shower pan will pull up as one piece. Material costs include 4.5% - 8.7% overage commonly needed for on site fabrication and future repairs. Additionally you can also use glass block panels if you don’t mind a completely visible shower. Tear out of old fiberglass shower & building bigger tile shower. This layer is then covered with a 2- or 3-inch thick packed layer of concrete that is sloped 1/4 inch for every linear foot to accommodate for drainage. Is there anything special that needs to go under the new floor tile? Tile the alcove bottom shelf first, sloping it slightly toward the shower. bzz But what about mixing and matching the two materials differently so that the walls are tile and the floor is acrylic/fiberglass? The space between the top of the shower tile and the ceiling is often painted waterproof drywall. Saw through drainpipe connected to old shower pan; remove shower pan. A fiberglass or acrylic shower pan is hardly beautiful, but its plain looks can be justified by knowing that most of the shower is made of tile. Benefits of Fiberglass or Acrylic Shower Pans, The Pros and Cons of Prefab vs Custom-Tiled Showers, How to Convert an Acrylic or Fiberglass Shower to Ceramic Tile, How to Fix a Shower Pan That Flexes or Moves, How to Repair Water-Damaged Tile Shower Walls, 33 Small Shower Ideas for Tiny Homes and Bathrooms, Bathroom Tile Size Advice: Floors, Walls, Showers, and Tubs, 7 Tiling Tips for Professional-Looking Results, Installing a Tiled Shower With a Polyurethane Pan, How to Easily Repair Shower Stalls and Bathtubs. Replacing a bathtub with a full walk-in shower means getting into a remodel project that will render your bathroom useless during the process. Tile Shower Floor or Fiberglass Shower pan Tags: Flooring & Stairs My wife and I are currently building a house, and came across the decision of having a fiberglass pan or tile floor for the shower. Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home. Tiling your shower walls gives you the ultimate in design flexibility and beauty. When using these materials for the shower pan, scratching and gouging is a possibility. Mating tile walls with a fiberglass or acrylic shower pan is not only possible but it is a common practice. Though they are strong, fiberglass and acrylic shower pans are still not 100-percent crack-proof. The end result, however, is an expansive and aesthetically pleasing addition which will also increase the value of your home. If your shower is located in an area with a potentially unstable floor, a flexible shower pan may help compensate for some of the floor's instability. Sometimes, the tile rises to meet the ceiling, as well. They are strong enough to hold in water and hold up bathers, but flexible enough to respond to changes in the house's structure over time. tile on the floor of standard fiberglass/acrylic shower pans. His has been published online through GTV Magazine, Home Anatomy, TravBuddy, MMO Hub, Killer Guides and the Delegate2 group. Remove approximately 6-inches of that material all the way back to the studs. Wipe … These will instead be down around your knees. If you want to build a custom walk-in shower with curved walls, for example, you will use a custom-floated concrete shower pan. Sep 1, 2013 - How to Replace a Fiberglass Shower With Tile as a Weekend Project. Concrete board, paint-on latex waterproofing and membrane sheets are common types of waterproofing systems used with tile. In fact, tiled shower walls typically rise about 80 inches above floor level. Significant time and money are at stake. or if the sub-floor is dry and ready to go, can I just re-mud it/level and go? Weekend projects are the mainstay of do-it-yourselfers across the nation, and remodeling a bathroom is a common hobby project that DIYers can tackle. It can be difficult to decide whether to install a tiled shower or a pre-fabricated fiberglass or acrylic shower. Shower floor tile repair. Cool to the touch and easy to clean, tile flooring offers a number of benefits over wood or laminate thanks to natural moisture resistance, and it's often cheaper to install than other options. Apply strong adhesive to the tile and the wall. Steps to Replacing a Shower Pan: Cut old acrylic shower surround with a reciprocating saw, and remove the surround. However, some specialty shower pans such as those made by Tile-Redi are designed for over-tiling. Leak-resistant. However, some specialty shower pans such as those made by Tile-Redi are designed for over-tiling Hammer the end of the chisel with a 3-pound sledgehammer until the tile dislodges. Not only that, the part of the shower that is most visible is tile, while the least visible area underfoot is fiberglass/acrylic. Pros. Check the pan and make sure that's still in good shape. As a rule, tubs are mounted to the wall studs with screws under the finish wall material, and are set on top of a bed of mortar. Slight flexing will quickly crack the grout and even the tiles. I'm assuming that what is underneath is just plywood sub floor. You will need to … Take a look at these 11 Impressive Shower Floor Ideas for Your Bathroom. It is less expensive to install this combination than an all-tile shower because fewer tiles are purchased and less labor is required. There are a lot of tiles for the floor, just make sure that it does say that it can be used on shower floors. Once your installation area is down to the original skeleton framing you can make a decision regarding the shower pan. Often, showers are created out of one type of material only: either walls and pan made from fiberglass/acrylic or walls and pan made from tile. Tile walls are commonly used in walk-in showers. Scribe … Shower Tile Replacement cost estimates may require an onsite inspection. Leave at least 1/4 inch … Tile flooring is a great choice for bathrooms, mud rooms or even kitchens. For some home buyers, these combination showers may be considered aesthetically inferior to all-tile showers, resulting in slightly lower resale value. If you have a fiberglass tub surround, remove that first. A traditional mud pan. These shower pans make it easier for the do-it-yourselfer to tile the shower. Most pans are square or rectangular for walk-in type showers and the pan attaches directly to the wall studs and drain. A tile hammer and chisel are ideal for this task. Install the Shower Surround. How to Replace a Bathtub With a Walk-in Shower. Seal the grout joints with a grout sealer, using a foam brush as an applicator. For example, a second-floor bathroom in an older home with a settling foundation will probably benefit from having a fiberglass or acrylic shower pan. Simply cut the caulking and drain pipe to remove the shower pan. Break and remove tiling around the edges of the pan if it prevents removal. I just want to replace the floor with a fiberglass shower base pan, as it's much easier to maintain and clean. Seal the Joints. Wall tile in wet areas is installed the same as it is in any other area, with the exception being in the waterproofing that is done in advance. Tear out of old fiberglass shower & building bigger tile shower. Note that you cannot tile on the floor of standard fiberglass/acrylic shower pans. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Tiled shower walls receive a significant amount of water, but hardly as much water as received by the shower pans. The same tub replacement kit will cost approximately $2,190 for pro installation from a contractor near you. Cut out a section of the wall approximately 6-inches above the tub on each of the three sides and along the front of the tub. How to Change a Powder Room Into a Full Bathroom, The New York Times: Replacing a Bathtub With a Luxury Walk-In Shower, How to Convert a Tub-Shower Enclosure to a Freestanding Shower, How to Remodel a Bathroom With Ceramic Tile, Taking Out a Shower and Bath Combo and Installing Shower Tile. The two most common materials used in these floors are: Fiberglass; Acrylic; Fiberglass bases are usually the cheapest, so they’re a common sight in bathrooms around the country. Cracks and chips can be repaired by a specialist, but if this type of floor develops a leak, it can’t be repaired like a tile floor and will have to be replaced. Using fiberglass or acrylic shower pans makes do-it-yourself shower tiling a more realistic project than tiling the pans. From there, the platform can be unscrewed or pried loose with a hammer and pry bar. Tub, Tile and Shower Repair Kit Fiberglass Repair Kit,3.5 oz Porcelain Repair Kit,Bathtub Repair Kit White Toilet Ceramic Repair Kit for Cracked Bathtub Scratches - Shower Bases 4.2 out of 5 stars 351 With thousands of available tiles that can be mixed in countless ways, you can create unique shower walls. Step 2: Install a Moisture Barrier. Shower pans consist of concrete mud sloped to the drain, covered by a thin plastic membrane for waterproofing that runs up the walls a few inches and down to the drain. Planning on replacing my fiberglass shower bottom with tile, along with re-tiling the rest of the shower. Improve this question. Since shower wall panels are non-porous, you don’t have to worry about leaks, mold, and mildew, or spending money on expensive bathroom renovations such as replacing the shower, subfloor, or ceiling. Block allows you to run serpentine walls that would be difficult to do with anything other than mosaic tiles. There are other options to replacing your fiberglass shower that can still be a money saver on a bathroom renovation. If the fiberglass is damaged it is a lot less expensive to repair or to replace than … You should expect any estimate to be presented with an in-depth sales pitch/presentation. Remove drywall where the new tile will go. Remove the fiberglass shower surround. Before you install the tiles it is best to comb over the thinset mortar you applied in … Another benefit for the do-it-yourselfer is that these pans immediately establish the shower's footprint: no measuring, no guessing. Whether you’re replacing tiles on the bathroom wall or floor, first cut out and remove the old tiles to clean out the area.When you’re ready to install your new tile, apply a layer of mortar or thin-set to hold the tiles in place before applying grout between them. 5. It is still possible for water to leak below the shower pan if the drain has been improperly installed or if the pan has begun to crack. One of the design bonuses of open, walk-in showers is that they are not limited in space or shower-head location to avoid splash back onto the floor. On top of it all, this is very much a one-way choice; it is not easy to reverse a shower installation if, later on, you think you want something else. Tim Anderson has been freelance writing since 2007. Your budget is the only limitation. Install the drain fitting into the shower pan, and follow manufacturer instructions. The core of any good shower installation is a solid, waterproof shower floor, formally known as a shower pan. Mark the shower tile layout. He spent more than 15 years as a third-generation tile and stone contractor before transitioning into freelance writing. There are two piece fiberglass shower stalls that can be installed in most situations. 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