Bathtub replacement in Tampa Bay.
A tub goes in before the walls are finished around it. That means taking one out is rarely as tidy as it sounds. And before you replace it at all, there are two cheaper answers worth ruling out honestly.
Priced by written scope, never by the hour.
Refinish, liner or replace. The honest comparison.
Two of these three are much cheaper than the one we sell, and each is genuinely right in certain conditions. Here they are side by side so you can rule them out yourself instead of taking our word for it.
| Refinishing | An acrylic liner | Full replacement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What happens | The existing tub is prepared and re-coated in place | A moulded acrylic shell is fitted over the existing tub | The old tub comes out and a new one goes in |
| Right when | The tub is structurally sound and only the finish is worn or stained | The tub is sound, you want a new surface fast and low disruption | The tub is cracked, moving, the wrong size, or the wall behind it is wet |
| Time | Usually a day plus curing | Often one or two days | Longer, and the wall behind gets opened and looked at |
| What it hides | Nothing structural, but it will not fix a cracked tub | Whatever is behind and under the old tub stays there, sealed in | Nothing. What is under the tub is exposed and dealt with |
| Lasts | Years, and it can be redone | Depends entirely on the seal at the edges | The life of the tub |
| We would say | Do this if the tub is fine and the finish is not | Reasonable, as long as nothing under the tub is wet | The right answer when the tub or the wall has actually failed |
Removal decides more of the price than the tub does.
You can pick a tub in an afternoon. What the job costs is what has to come apart to get the old one out and the new one in, and what the old one has been hiding.
How the old tub comes out
On many older Florida builds the tub was set first and the door frame or a section of wall went in around it. Sometimes part of that has to come out with it, and that belongs in the scope before it happens, not as a phone call from the job.
What is under and behind it
This is the most common place in a bathroom to find a soft subfloor or rotten framing. It is priced when it is visible, item by item.
The tub you choose
A standard alcove tub drops into the space that exists. A freestanding tub usually needs its supply and waste in different places, which is plumbing work by the licensed trade and often floor work as well.
The surround
Tile to the ceiling, tile to the tub line, or a solid surround are three different jobs with the same tub in them.
What is included, and where it ends.
A written scope is only worth something if it says where it stops. These are the boundaries we put in writing before anyone starts.
How long the bathroom is out of use.
This is normally a shorter job than a full shower rebuild, because there is less waterproofing and less tile. It still has a fixed point in it: if the surround is tiled, the grout has to cure before the tub is used. The dates are in the scope.
When we tell you not to do it
Every company on your list will say yes to this job. Here is where we say no, and why. It costs us the odd project and it saves you a great deal more than that.
The tub is sound and only looks tired
A refinish or a liner costs a fraction of a replacement and is a real option when the tub itself is not damaged. It is not what we would sell you, which is exactly why it is worth hearing from us.
You want a freestanding tub in a small bathroom
They need clearance on every side to be cleaned and used, and they usually need the plumbing moved. In a compact bathroom the result is often a beautiful tub you cannot walk around.
Nobody in the house has used a bath in years
If the tub is storage for shampoo bottles, replacing it is spending money on the wrong problem. A tub to shower conversion may be the job you actually want.
Lifetime warranty on our workmanship.
If the work we did fails, we come back and fix it, for as long as you own the home. Not one year. Not five. As long as you live there.
A warranty is only worth what its exclusions say. Ours are above, in the same size type as the promise. Ask any other company you are talking to for theirs in writing, and check how long the tile is covered for.
Questions we actually get asked
Should I refinish, line it, or replace it?
If the tub is structurally sound and only the surface is worn, refinishing is the cheapest real answer and it can be redone later. A liner works when the tub is sound and you want a new surface quickly. Replace it when the tub is cracked, moving underfoot, the wrong size, or when the wall behind it is wet, because the other two options seal that problem in rather than fix it.
Can you replace a tub without damaging the tile around it?
Sometimes, and we will try. Often the tile at the tub line has to come off to get the old unit out and to seal the new one properly. The scope says which of the two we are planning for and what happens if we are wrong.
How long before the new tub can be used?
The tub itself can usually be used sooner than a shower. If the surround is tiled, the grout still has to cure first. The date is written in the scope.
Do you take the old tub away?
Yes. Removal and disposal are in the scope. A cast iron tub sometimes has to be broken up to leave the room, and if that is the plan, the scope says so.
Is a cast iron tub worth keeping?
Often, yes. They hold heat far better than acrylic and a sound one will outlive the house. If the enamel is worn but the tub is solid, refinishing an original cast iron tub is usually a better outcome than replacing it with a modern acrylic one.
The other bathroom services
Where we work
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties. If your town is not on this list, call and ask: the answer is often yes.
A walkthrough, then a written scope with one closed price.
Never hourly, never a verbal figure, and our workmanship carries a lifetime warranty. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties.