To bodge or not? Bath on old shower tray?

[JP_]

New shower room will be finished soon, which is good news!
Before renovating the old shower room (that will become a bathroom) I need to do the hallways and guest room, so still 6 months from sorting the old shower room out. But my wife really wants her bath back.

The old shower room had a bath, and previous owner replaced with bath sized shower tray. So, idea is to just pop a bath rub in, secure somehow, and shove the bath waste down into the shower waste. Quick job, just so we have a functioning bath.

Is that a good idea? Or will it end up being more work than it's worth by time it is secured in place? Won't need to be sealed, as water will just drop onto shower tray...

 

[ianmcd]

No remove the existing shower tray and do the job right, you are just inviting problems

 

[CBW]

You could bodge, and that way if it leaks it’s got somewhere to go. Done a few for the housing co I work for, not the best idea, but then I just get on with what I’m told to do.

I agree with Ian, rip it out and fit properly.

 

[Jackrae]

Sound a bit like having a pee whilst in the shower - "it all goes down the drain"

 

[Nige F]

Done a few for the housing co I work for, not the best idea, but then I just get on with what I’m told to do.

Interesting that you have to do bodging - back in the 80's I worked for a housing co. same as you . But I was employed , with a pension and other benifits , and we were encouraged to do 1st. class work =and undo previous bodges. It all went tits up by the 90's because the DLO's ( direct labour organisation) were sacked and contractors took over. Shame you just have to do what some " manager" tells you, but we all need to earn £ . Nice being retired

 

[muggles]

If bodging was a good idea, there wouldn't be a name for it, it would just be the way things are done. Do it right to make sure you only have to do it once

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Is this just as a temporary (6 month) job til you get to do it properly? In which case crack on. You might want to put some sort of restrictor in the bath drain so it doesn't overwhelm the shower drain (unless you get lucky/can arrange the bath so the plughole lines up with the shower drainhole). Obvs get rid of the decorative plastic top from shower drain

 

[JP_]

Yeah, temporary. Literally rip out the shower door and side panel, dump bath in, make not wobbly...

I guess I'd need to make some sort of frame for the bath though, then dismantle it? Or do baths come with frame these days? Never bought one before!

When I renovate this room I'll be removing tiles and floor, probably replacing joists (seen some happy looking woodlice go in and out) and insulating it and updating the drainage if it needs it. And change the radiator, and maybe moving the toilet and basin forward ... need to insulate the wall too.

But I have to renovate hallway and guest room first, and do the garden before summer ... so it'll be autumn before I feel like tackling this properly!

 

[oldbutnotdead]

The cheap plastic baths come with support legs & that's about it.
Is that shower tray plastic or solid resin- if placcy then it may not take the weight of the bath, if resin then some plywood under the bath feet as load spreaders should do. Frame for the bath=make it up yourself, bit of 3 x 2 screwed to the wall on 3 sides & a lashup for the open side of your own design, I'd leave a catflap so you can keep an eye on the drainage sketch

 

[JP_]

Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe just put a bit of chipboard floorboard down for the bath to sit on. Probably won't bother with a side panel at all.

Tray is solid, resin I guess.

 

[paulrockliffe]

If it's temporary and the shower tray is being replaced anyway I wouldn't worry about protecting the shower tray. My bath has wood bonded into the resin/fibreglass under the lip and just used L brackets to fix it to the wall, so it should be simple enough to lash the bath up.

For the drain I would remove the shower drain as best you can and then bodge a new pipe in and sealed with whatever you can. In an ideal world you'll get enough access to solvent weld a new pipe in, but that might be a long shot. Though temporary, it might be easier to make enough space to get the drain connected properly. The simplest bodge would be to fit a tap to the waste and set it up as a restrictor so the flow doesn't flood the bathroom, depends if you want it running for 30 mins to empty it.

To be honest I'd just lash everything up and restrict the flow.