Your bathtub is looking a little worse for wear, and you’re thinking now might finally be the time to replace it. You’ve saved up money where you can, and you have a little extra room in your budget for this home renovation. The question becomes, how much money will you spend on bathtub repairs?
The cost for a bathtub repair varies on the work, with a job like reglazing costing anywhere from $300 to $1,000. If you decide it’s better to get a brand-new tub, this is somewhere in the ballpark of $2,500.
If you want more specifics on all the costs associated with bathtub repair or replacement, we encourage you to keep reading. In this article, we’ll provide plenty of useful info that can shape your budget as you proceed with professional work on your tub.
The Cost of Removing and Replacing a Tub
Let’s begin with our first scenario: you don’t want to fix up your tub, but rather, get rid of the whole thing outright. You might do this if the tub is in very poor shape. It seems easier to start over, but what kind of money would you pay if that’s what you did?
First, you have to get your current tub removed, and that doesn’t come free. According to the home project planning site Porch, you might pay between $65 and $140 for removal. This can vary by zip code, with some parts of the country costlier than others. Expect to pay at least $100 for this job then, but anticipate that it could be higher.
Now that you have no tub in your bathroom, it’s time to put one in. THE website Angie’s List projects you’ll spend about $2,500 on average for this part of the home reno. Prices can be higher or lower depending on the material you choose for your new tub.
If it’s a fiberglass bathtub, you can save a lot of money. You may pay only $200 to $500 for a tub that’s 60 inches, so that’s not small by any means. Should you want marble, the tub alone would set you back $1,500 to $2,200. You also have to pay for installation costs.
A cast iron tub is an in-between option. It’s costlier than fiberglass but not as expensive as marble. As an average, a cast iron tub might be priced at $500 to $2,000 if you get the tub enameled.
You’d have to tally up both costs to get an accurate project estimate then. If we say tub removal costs $100 and a replacement about $2,500, that’s $2,600 for the new tub. Depending on the material you choose, that price may or may not drive your estimate up even further.
Instead of replacing your tub altogether, you could always consider using a service like Bath Fitter, which we recently wrote about here. Acrylic liner installation from Bath Fitter costs $700 to $1,400 overall. You keep your current tub with a service like this, so make sure it’s in at least decent condition.
The Cost of Repairing a Bath with a Shower Stall
Switching gears here, let’s say your bathroom has a shower stall instead of a tub. You may even be fortunate and have both. You want to get these fixed up if possible, but you’d prefer not to get a new shower stall.
On average, the price for a shower fix-up is between $1,100 and $5,500, says Angie’s List. A shower alone is about $700 and $800 for a new one, and that price includes labor. If you only wanted your shower stall fixed then, the price might be a few hundred dollars lower since you’re not paying for a new shower.
If you have both a shower and a tub in your bathroom, replacement is naturally costlier at $1,400 to $1,600. The installation job on its own is only $1,000, and that may be closer to what you’d pay if you needed repair work done on your shower/tub combo. Angie’s List mentions that the $1,000 covers you for work like fixtures and modifications. We’d say then that setting aside about that much money would be ideal for a shower stall/tub repair.
Once your shower is looking better than ever, you might want to consider fresh curtains to match.
The Cost to Repair Bathroom Tile Damage
Perhaps your tub is in good shape, and your shower stall is, too. Instead, it’s your bathroom tile that makes you wince whenever you look at it. Whether the tile chipped, it’s moldy, or the color is just out of date and unappealing, you’re so ready for a change. What are you looking at in terms of price?
HomeAdvisor says that, for grout and tile together, the reno averages out to $424. On the lower end, you could pay $260, and on the higher end, $593. Now, the price can fluctuate depending on the scope of work, but it’s still not going to be super cheap.
For instance, let’s say you had just a single crack in your bathroom tile. HomeAdvisor notes that the job could still net you a bill of $100 to $150. That’s due to the labor fees through the contractor.
If it’s your shower tiles that have fallen apart, these cost $185 to $425 to fix between the prices for materials and labor fees. If you want all the tiles redone, that’s a very pricy remodel, about $2,000 if you use moderately-priced tiles. Marble, one of the highest-end materials, has a considerable price per square foot, $50!
What if it’s your bathroom floor that needs work? Again, between materials and labor, the costs are decently high, roughly $400 on average for new tiles. Floor tile cracks are the riskiest of all because if the subflooring is saturated with water, other tiles can break. Your floor can also become moldy, rot out, or leak water into surrounding rooms.
It may seem like you can easily fix up your chipped or cracked bathroom tile(s) yourself, but the job isn’t as simple as it looks. It’s crucial to add a waterproof backing membrane, so the tiles don’t rot or get moldy. You also need to use a professional-grade adhesive to keep the tiles in place. Otherwise, you or another member of your family could accidentally kick the tile loose and end up with a cut foot in the process.
Should You Repair or Replace Your Bathtub?
After reviewing the above costs, you’re on the fence about whether you should pay to get your bathroom repaired or the fixture replaced. You may think you’re saving money with a repair versus a replacement, but that’s not always the case.
Money aside then, how do you decide which is best for your bathtub and other bathroom fixtures? It’s a good idea to look at the condition of the tub or shower. How new is it? If your tub is only a few years old but worn, you might not want to replace it quite yet.
Instead, pay for a replacement once and see if that fixes it. If the tub once again needs work another year or two later, that’s problematic. You’ve already likely spent more money on repairs than you would have on the cost of a new tub, or roughly as much. Just bite the bullet and get a new tub at that point.
If your bathtub is an antique, that’s another situation in which you’d want to choose repairs versus replacement. Just keep in mind that the older your tub is, the more susceptible it becomes to damage that could lead to significant leaks.
Perhaps you liked the look of your tub when you bought it a few years ago, but you don’t anymore. You could replace it entirely. That said, if the tub works, but it’s only the looks that are bad, a Bath Fitter or similar tub cover might be your best option. This removes the unsightly bathtub without having to rip your whole bathroom apart.
Conclusion
Repairing a bathtub may cost upwards of $1,000, while a brand-new tub is priced somewhere around $2,500. More expensive materials like marble drive the price up even more. Even other bathroom work, like repairing a tub/shower stall combo and getting bathroom tiles fixed, isn’t cheap.
With the information in this article, you can begin setting aside money if need be for your bathroom remodel. While these prices do not supersede a quote from a bathroom repair/replacement company, they’re a good starting point for budgeting.
Repairing a bathtub is very expensive. That’s why we should be careful to use it and avoid heavy object that might damage it. It should also be installed correctly. Thank you for sharing this article.