New Bathtub

[dmarino55]

Attempting to put in new manuf. home bathtub and enclosure (1 piece).

Existing space is 54 7/16 length from drywall to drywall (5/16) (which is over the manufacturers specs of 54 max length so how did they install to begin with?).

I will tear out new drywall and put in 1/2 greenboard, so my total finished space will be about 54.82 inches in length.

Manufacturer says space can only be 54 inches long max

What am I missing, what options might I have.

thanks

[admin]

First of all read Replacing a Manufactured Home Bathtub A great article by Mark Bower complete with photos and manufactured housing specific instructions.

The toughest part of the job is putting the tub in place. You will need a bit extra space to drop the new tub into place. It is very difficult if not impossable to put the tub into a space that is the same exact size as the tub.

If you find that you do need to make the space smaller you can pad out the wall opposite the incoming pluming fixtures. This can be accomplished after you remove the old sheet rock by screwing 2x2s onto the side of the vertical framing (2x4s or 2x3s), extending into the tub area, to bring your new wall out what ever amount you need. Be sure that the end that you will be putting the sheet rock on is not necessarily plumb but a consistent distance from the opposing wall that has the incoming plumbing fixtures.

You also want to be sure that you consider the thickness of the sheetrock in your calculations. Prior to setting up the wall padding you might want to drop the tub into the space to be sure that you can fit it in.