Replace bath to a shower tray

magpies79

Hello so basically nobody in our house takes a bath just shower it’s not the biggest bathroom so I’ve been thinking for a while of getting rid of the bath.

How hard of a job would it to install a shower tray in place of the bath? If I keep the waste pipe in the same location so no need to move anything we have an electric shower already and in place so no need to change anything there either. 

One thing that would need to sort out is the pipe work that supplies the hot and cold water to the bath taps is that right? Ie moving and capping off? And no doubt adding more tiles when the baths gone.

My father in law is good with this stuff so I’m hoping I can bend his arm and maybe lend a hand he is getting on a bit lol so I’d be basically doing a lot of it he can help out if I get stuck.
Just trying to get a idea of how hard it would be appreciate the advice.

WIAWSNB

It's very DIYable, as I'll confirm early next year.
However, that depends entirely on DIY ability.
You say your fil 'is good with this stuff', so he's the one to ask
Has he done anything this complex before?
What does he think/know about how complex it will be?
In essence, it is as you outline - remove bath, cut and cap bath water supplies (ideally at the furthest point from the bath so no dead legs), install shower base securely and solidly, tile enclosure, fit shower.
And make 110% it is all completely watertight, especially in unseen areas such as under the tray, where prolonged leaks can cause damage. 

WIAWSNB

An associated point - how 'happy' are you with the performance of your electric shower? They generally provide the weakest of showers, especially in winter.
What type of boiler do you have, combi or with a hot cylinder? If cylinder, what type - vented or unvented?
You will almost certainly get a far superior shower using your H&C supplies, although that will involve more expense (a shower mixer) and work (channeling the pipes to it).
Anyhoo, your fil should be aware of this. 

vic_sf49

Just in case you hadn't thought of this, are you going for a tray, that is wider than the bath?

I'd advise you do, if you have the space, or elbows hitting the shower screen/wall, can happen a lot. 

Go and test it out in any bathroom shop, to see how confining some of the narrower trays feel.

gefnew

bath to shower room conversion uk - Search Videos
Have a look at these it will give you an idea what is involved.

Eldi_Dos

@magpies79

Something to check before DIY' ing this is to check height of bath discharge pipe the proposed showers discharge height and if it will marry up with exsisting discharge arrangements.You do not want any flow running back to a newly lowered shower.

dnpark38

Think OP is only going to put a shower tray in, no mention of the glass front and cladding inside the shower.
Is he really able to DIY all this?
Although I knew just what I wanted decided to big a job for DIY and used a fitter who listened to my requirements.

danrv

magpies79 said:

One thing that would need to sort out is the pipe work that supplies the hot and cold water to the bath taps is that right? Ie moving and capping off? 

Yes. Cut and capped off near the source as mentioned. The drained pipes could be left 
in case they might be needed again.
I was able to remove a bidet feed pipe in my bathroom as I was replacing my subfloor and corner soil pipe cover.

Albermarle

vic_sf49 said:

Just in case you hadn't thought of this, are you going for a tray, that is wider than the bath?

I'd advise you do, if you have the space, or elbows hitting the shower screen/wall, can happen a lot. 

Go and test it out in any bathroom shop, to see how confining some of the narrower trays feel.

Then if you go with the bath size lengthways as well , you get a nice big shower .

Although the OP wants to create more space, so maybe not.

You will almost certainly get a far superior shower using your H&C supplies, although that will involve more expense (a shower mixer) and work (channeling the pipes to it).

Another vote for this suggestion, although if you have a cold water tank in the loft, you will probably also need a shower pump to get a really good strong shower.

CliveOfIndia

WIAWSNB said:

An associated point - how 'happy' are you with the performance of your electric shower? They generally provide the weakest of showers, especially in winter.

This - in spades.

It's worth also considering - may not be relevant to you - but resale value?  Yes, I know in the grand scheme of things a new bathroom is not massively expensive.  But if you're likely to sell in the next few years, a family with young children or babies might consider a bath an essential.  It's may not be relevant, but worth bearing in mind.

Slinky

CliveOfIndia said:

It's worth also considering - may not be relevant to you - but resale value?  Yes, I know in the grand scheme of things a new bathroom is not massively expensive.  But if you're likely to sell in the next few years, a family with young children or babies might consider a bath an essential.  It's may not be relevant, but worth bearing in mind.

This in spades. Our house had a single wet room when we bought it. We couldn't move in immediately and rented it out for a while. It took longer than we'd hoped to find someone who wanted to rent a 4 bedroom house which didn't have a bath in it, even though the wetroom was only about a year old and had good quality fittings.  We ended up with a less than ideal tenant.

We've taken the wetroom flooring out and put a bath back in, plus 2 other shower rooms. It was messy and expensive.