Old Shower Shot, What Is The Best Option?
60 yr old shower tile is leaking and needs to be replaced. It is a cast iron tub that has been converted to a shower with tiled walls. Here are the options I have come up with (I am not doing the work myself). What is the best option for a rental? (I am planning to keep the rental for 20-30 years):
-Install new wall tile
-Install new wall tile, take out cast iron tub and convert to "real" standup shower
-Cover failing tile and cast iron tub with plastic liner
sounds like the pan underneath might need to be replaced.
you might look at the "one peice" fiberglass surrounds.
Personally I would tear out the whole thing and replace it with a "real" shower. Chances are, with a 20-30 year timeline, you will want to replace the floor and double the joists under the leaking shower anyway, which will require tearing it out- and there is no point in putting a makeshift setup back in once you have done so.
A one piece prefab is good if you can get it into the room, but that is unlikely on a rehab. Multi piece prefab units are easy, but expensive and not very classy. For the same cost I could put in a nice granite surround, but if you are hiring a professional it will be considerably more expensive. My experience, however, has been that I "sell" the rental the moment the wife walks into the bathroom when I use stone instead of fiberglass.
Chris