Concerning the tub

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I was the one asking about overlay vs replacement. I need to start in the bathroom with the floor replacement as that is the worst spot with the toilet falling through. Now Mark's book covers about replacing the tub, but my tub is fine. What worries me though is the tub squeaks alot when I walk on it. Yet the bottom of tub looks inches higher than he bathroom floor. Is the squeaking a sign of wood rot and if so, what is supporting the tub, some sort of platform?
Our tub does not have a surround so it looks like the faucets do not have to be removed so the water can remain on during the tub removal. See, there are 3 of us living here, and I am concerned that this whole bathroom floor project could stretch in to a week, so I want to be sure and be as prepared as possible. No water for a week is unacceptable. Thanks to everyone! This is definately the right place to come to.

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Hi Angie,

What you are hearing is a slight flexing in the tub. Usually, there is a rectangle of white foam board about 3" thick glued to the bottom of the tub for support. This foam gets compressed over time and allows the flexing that is making the noise. If the water damage under the toilet extends to below the tub, you may want to pull the tub and replace that subfloor also. When you cut out the bad section, you should cut it back to where you do not see any water damaged subfloor. You can tell if it is water damaged because it will be a lot darker than the good wood/particle board. You need that wood to be in good condition to support the foam piece.

Pulling a tub is not very hard to do, but you will need to replumb the drain back in. The surround panels should come down over a lip at the top of the tub so you may need to replace the surround panels to get the tub out. The big home stores have surrounds that will work for you from $60 to $120. Of course you can pay more if you want something better. I have seen some mobile home tub installs where the surround walls are behind the lip of the tub, counting on caulking and trim to keep the water out. This is a bad design and should probably be replaced also. You can usually sand the existing surround with real rough sand paper and liquid nail the new surround to the old one.

Pulling the tub, fixing the floor and installing new vinyl sheet flooring could take a week for DIY. When you are real comfortable with this repair, it may take a couple of days.

Hopefully the water damage to the floor does not go under the tub. This will make the job considerably easier for you. Be sure to brace the floor with blocking everywhere it has been cut. Be sure that blocking also supports the old floor as well as the new floor under the cuts.

Hope this helps,

JD