In last weeks article we quickly touched on alcove tubs. In this weeks article we are going to give you a step by step guide on how to go about removing an alcove tub from your current bathroom.
1. Cut The Old Supple Tubes
You can find the supply tubes inside of your access panel. Once located you want to saw through them with either a reciprocating saw or a hacksaw. Prior to starting to cut you first want to ensure that the water supply is turned off via the stop valves. You want to make your cut in the shower pipe just about the location of the faucet body. Then you want to cut the supply tubes right about where the stop is located.
2. Remove The Hardware
Next, you want to remove all of the hardware in the tub. This step should be pretty straight forward. You want to take off everything faucet handles, shower head, tub spout etc.
3. Remove The Drain Plug
This step will all depend on the type of plug you have in your current tub. If the tub has a pop up drain you will need to twos the plug and then pull it up and out.
4. Remove The Overflow Cover Plate
The over flow cover plate is found on the tub usually right under neath the tub spout. Its job is to remove water as it reaches a level that is too high to eliminate the possibility of overflowing. TO remove this simply unscrew it from the front and then pull out all of the linkage that is attached to it.
5. Disconnect The Overflow Pipe
This step may require some professional help as you may not have access to this location via your current setup. However, if you do you want to disconnect the overflow pipe from where it connects to the drain assembly. If for whatever reason you need to cut more pipes to accomplish this goal, go ahead and do so.
6. Cut The Wall
After you have disconnected the overflow pipe the next step is to cut the wall. You want to cut the wall to a line about 6″ above the tub rim. All alcove tubs are secured to wall studs via nails so you will need to remove a bit of the wall covering so you can also remove those fasteners.
7. Remove The Tub
It may help to use a crowbar in this step. With it, pry out the fasteners and then pull the tub away from the walls. You may also need to remove some adhesive in order to accomplish this.
*Special Note* If your alcove bathtub remove is becoming very difficult to remove in step 7 you have the option to cut the tub in half. This will make it easier to not only manoeuvre the tub out of its current location, but also out of the house after it is out.
Need Help?
Plumbing an alcove tub is not for the novice plumber. You will need to get access to drain lines attached to the tub and you will also have to get into the floor as well which can be quite difficult. In some cases you may find that the current tub was not built to code leaving an access panel that is too small or even non existent. Over the course of the next couple of articles we will be providing you with the steps on how to remove your current alcove bathtub and also how to install a new alcove bathtub. However, if you are looking to have this project done we do recommend hiring a professional. You can book an appointment with Caldwell Plumbing today to help with this project. We service Toronto, the GTA, Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the rest of Durham Region. Next weeks article will touch on how to install an alcove bathtub.
