The Cost of Remodeling, Part 2: Moving a Shower or Tub

This Old House Top 2014 Bath Remodels

When I helped clients a couple of years ago with a major bath renovation, the goal was reconfigure their walk in closet and vanity, and adding a freestanding soaker tub as well.  The garden tub was dated, and blocking a beautiful window view of the Wasatch mountains and a tree lined trail behind their home

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My initial plans for them moved the toilet to a more efficient location, but my plumber nixed the idea.  This was a second story bathroom and the dining room underneath had a beautiful tray ceiling that would be expensive to repair if we pulled it apart.  The solution was beautiful.  I blogged about it Home Design Deluxe 2014/09/master-bath-renovation-last-year.html" target="_blank">here.

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With a bathroom makeover or remodel, moving a shower or tub is a lot different from moving a toilet.  Toilets have at least a 3" diameter pipe.  Showers and tubs can have a drain pipe that is 1 1/2" in diameter.  That is a lot smaller!  This makes moving a shower or tub much MUCH easier to move compared to a toilet.

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Say you want that beautiful shower with the euro glass shower doors or the freestanding soaking tub with some Kohler floor mount fixtures.  What will it take?Sometimes it is just a matter of taking down a partition wall that divides a shower into a teeny weeny room and then ordering some glass from your local glass installer.

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But sometimes you have to move the plumbing around.  The good news is, if you are going to rip up the flooring, this can usually be done through the floor joists of an exposed bathroom floor.  And . . . you have to get into the wall to move the supply plumbing (the place where clean water comes into the shower or tub) to the new location as well. 

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STILL--this is something that plumbers do every day!  And the change in the floor plan can really improve how your bathroom functions.

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Next in the series will be information about bathroom sinks.  How they are plumbed, and how to make them really work for you.