Bathtub Removal Tips - Home Renovations and DIY Advice from BKR Pros

The following is a basic bathroom remodeling guide for removing a bathtub:


If you have a freestanding tub, turn off the water at the shop valves and proceed to step three. Some bathrooms had an access panel the tubs in wall plumbing. It will be located near the floor on a wall adjacent to the plumbing in your tub.


To cut an access panel, locate the wall closest to the plumbing end of your top. Find the two studs on either side of, and closest to, the drain. Turn off the electricity to your bathroom because you may encounter wires in the wall.  Then, starting to inches above the floor or baseboard, use a utility knife to cut out the section of wall between the studs, which are spaced 16 inches on center in most new homes and 24 inches in some older ones.


Turn off the faucets and let the water in the supply line drained out. Remove the overflow plate, which is usually located just below this out, and pull out the entire mechanism.


Disconnect the tub from its drainpipe by removing the drain strainer and the overflow control. You may have to pry out the drain strainer with a screwdriver. When the straightener and overflow controls have been removed, insert the handles of a pair of pliers into the drains crosspiece, and her then counterclockwise.  If necessary, use a screwdriver is a prybar to turn the pliers. When the crosspiece turns freely, you have disconnected the waste pipe from the overflow pipe. If the crosspiece resists all your efforts, you'll have to get at the pipes through your access panel.


Remove the closet in spout assemblies from the wall. If yours is a freestanding tub, remove assemblies from the supply pipes and then remove the top from the bathroom using two or three assistants and a dolly.


Using a pry bar and a couple of assistants, raise one end of the tub until you can slide a 3-4 foot length of 1 by 4 beneath it, al the way to the far wall; then do the same at the other end of the tub.  Pry and pull the tub away from the wall until you or one of your assistants can stand behind it, then pry, pull and push the tub out of its recess.  It may be necessary to stand the tub on end to get it through your doorway; this is where a dolly comes in handy!