On Dec 2, 7:28*am, dgk wrote:
The house is around 70 years old, an 18' rowhouse. The bathroom is 5'
x 11'. They built it with a stall shower and bathtub and the plan is
to get rid of the shower and use the tub for both. That frees up space
for a nicer sink/vanity which is a popular idea with a certain other
member of the household.

Two contractors gave estimates for gutting the whole thing, and both
are over $15k which is too much for us right now. The wall and floor
tiles need to be replaced. Using the tub as a shower means more tiles
around the tub, but does the whole thing really need to be gutted to
the studs and floorboards?

As for the tub, it certainly has lost its shine, but reglazing (or
rather, repainting) seems like a decent option:

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/...efinishtub.htm

Are the pipes going to the tub likely ok? It really hasn't been used
much in the last 30 years or so, but it will be now. I'd hate to
reglaze and then find that the thing needs to be ripped out to fix the
pipes. I suppose that can be done from below (kitchen) anyway.

The wall tiles are stuck to what appears to be cement - it looks sort
of odd, each 4" tile is stuck to around 3" of cement with gaps between
the cement surfaces. The floor is just some stick-on 12" vinyl tiles
stuck onto the original tile floor. I don't see why the vinyl stuff
can't be pulled up and nicer tiles put down on the original surface.

The original sink, right now between the tub and toilet, would have to
be removed and the pipes blocked off. The existing shower pipes would
provide the basis for the new sink/vanity.

I know it would be better to just gut it, but money is quite tight
right now. We're looking to retire in 10 years or so.

Any comments greatly appreciated.

Can't you do any of the work yourself??