Bathroom "remodel" - thoughts on 1 piece tub/shower combo

[Heather Moore]

Newbie here- we are "remodeling" (if you could call it that) the bathroom in our recently purchased multifamily home. New tub, vanity, flooring, fixtures, lights, etc... What is everyone's thought on the 1 piece tub/shower? We'll need to re-do the walls surrounding the current tub & I was hoping that these all in one's will help us save time & money. With that being said, I also realize that the cheapest/easiest isn't the best way to go. Any advice on this or any other suggestions are much appreciated! 

[Stephen Kiser]

I use them in just about every flip and even some new builds depending on the price point. You don't want one in a luxury home but a multifamily unit should be no problem. 

[Gail K.]

Lots of landlords/flippers like these.  Check to make sure the tubs are substantial.   We had one in a rental (it was already in place when we purchased the property) where the tenants cracked the bottom of the tub and continued to use it; thus rotting the floor out underneath.

Gail

[Luc Boiron]

The 1 pieces are great because there aren't any seams to caulk/that can leak. I would never put these in a flip because of the price point I am at here, but these are great for rental properties at reasonable price points.

Make sure it can fit - if it's one piece, you need a large entry way and doorways to get it in. There is also a two piece option, one piece being the tub, and the shower walls being one piece. These are good too, just some silicone needed where they meet. 

I personally hate the plastic shower walls where they come in several pieces, like one piece for each wall. I find with time, they always leak, as the joints just don't stay sealed as well. The 1 or 2 pieces don't have the same problem.

[Michael Hayworth]

1 piece units are really for new construction. You can't fit them thru a typical 24" bathroom door on a remodel.

You can still do the acrylic surround, you just use the one where the tub and surround come separately. We use the Delta 400 tub and their tub surround. It's about $500 for the combo. You can definitely get cheaper ones, but we've had durability issues with really cheap ones, and even a lot of them arriving with cracks in the surround.

[Deanna McCormick]

Measure all aspects of how to get into the unit,, halls, turns, stairwells.. it's a challenge for 1 piece systems. 

[Brian Pulaski]

I can't imagine one of these fitting into a standard house, unless it was a ranch with a near direct shot to the bathroom. When we did commercial construction, the one piece units were actually brought to the site during framing, placed into the room they were going to be installed in, and then the building framed around the unit. This was commercial work, but one piece shower units.

[Heather Moore]

Thank you all for the feedback, it's incredibly helpful! Thinking now, I'm not sure a one piece would fit through our bathroom door, but good to know that the two pieces are equivalent products. We were going to look at lowes & Home Depot to price check... any other suggestions as to where to purchase? Ive been on BiggerPockets for over a year now, browsing & reading posts, but I never truly realized what an amazing tool it is until I actually purchased a home. What a great community, thanks again all!

[Henry T.]

Here's what I don't like about them. Too short. There's always a mold and water issue above the thing in typical cheap installs.. Often I see only sheet rock above them. You need some sort of tile or waterproof sheets going up the walls to the ceiling.