What's the cost of replacing an acrylic bathtub and surround with a tile shower?

Rebath quoted me $5000!!!! It's got to be a lot cheaper than that.What's the cost of replacing an acrylic bathtub and surround with a tile shower?
There are 3 main companies doing this type of remodel


1) Luxury Bath


2) Re-Bath


3) Bath Fitter





Luxury Bath is the highest quality by a long shot. It also has a product called microban. Microban is a antimicrobial product that actually kills mold and mildew. It also comes with the best warranty. www.luxurybath.com





Re-Bath would be my second choice. The reason being is they, like Luxury Bath have a one piece ';dog leg'; (The area on the wall in front off the tub. The dog leg goes from the top of the tub rail to the floor.)





The reason I would not recommend Bath fitter is because of the dog leg. This is the area that is most prone to leaking and they piece it together here.





As far as other options there is





1) tearing it out and starting over


2) Ceramic tile


3) re-glazing





With tearing it out you will be forced to use a fiberglass tub, which is very porous making it very difficult to clean. (for those that are reading this, thinking how nice your fiberglass tub is, go in there and rub your fingers over it. It may look o.k. but it will be greasy, that鈥檚 because the porous material is literally sucking the soap scum in. Fiberglass surrounds are also known for cracking and being ';spongy'; when you stand in them.





Ceramic tile is definitely attractive, but unfortunately the grout is the weak point, after all its 80% sand, and sand sucks in the water making it a perfect surface for mold and mildew. Grout also needs maintenance once a month, but before you do the maintenance, you need to clean it with a toothbrush.





re-glazing is when they paint the tub. This is more of a band-aid if your trying to sell the home, but don鈥檛 care how it will look in 6 months to 1 year. It also doesn't address the walls or fixtures.What's the cost of replacing an acrylic bathtub and surround with a tile shower?
Josh is right; there are so many variables. Will they replace pipes? Are you moving the shower controls? Are you using expensive tile? Adding decorative trim? The backing board will need to be replaced. Get at least two more estimates and look at simple tile. Subway style tiles with a simple contrast narrow trim can look wonderful and are far cheaper than some of the glorious tiles out there. Be sure to check out the contractor on the BBB website before signing anything and insist that they provide waivers of lien. That way, no one will show up 6 months from now and repossess your tile because the contractor didn't pay his bills. ;-}
not really.....





It really depends on how you are laying out your shower...





i.e. do you plan on having a tile bench seat? A recess in the wall to hold shampoo bottles?





I work at a place that does interior remodeling and we prices higher end homes and they can cost anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 depending on what the customer wants.








To me, I would shop around a little bit more, but I wouldn't expect for it to get a whole lot cheaper.





You get the quality of work that you pay for in this biz unfortunately.