I am thinking of installing a dbl. sided, cast iron slipper tub 72″ long in new construction. When is the best time to install and do I need to worry about the weight factor? Dry weight is approx. 475lbs. and will hold 50 gal. I have engineered flr trusses 16″ deep, set at 24″ OC and braced underneath with 2×6’s. Floor span is about 14′. If the finished floor is tiled should I wait untill this is installed first? Any other concerns I should know about?
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Before the walls are in.
What does the floor truss manufacturer say? I'd be talking to him....
You describe a load of 875 lbs carried by ~ 18 sq ft of floor (6'x3').
18 sq ft @ 40 lb/sf = 720 lbs ....... 875 > 720; gets worse if the floor is only 30 lb/sf......875 > 540
Install tub before tile but after you get the floor support figured out. Cover with cardboard and plywood to protect during the rest of construction.
Jim
I called the flr truss manufacturer and he said that it was designed for 40 and should be no problem. I agree with you however and see a potential problem and will put a load bearing 2x6 wall in the basement under the flr trusses (as this is a ranch styled home). I want to make sure the tile doesn't crack! Thanks
The claw foot tub will place a decent concentrated load at each of the feet. If one of the feet is placing a 200 lb load on on the subfloor with no joist beneath it that might be an problem. Might be a good idea to put some blocking under the feet.
Also might want to consider that the loads even with out water will cause deflection of the joists. Would it be prudent to reinforce the floor. Sure will be easier now then later.
>>...load bearing 2x6 wall in the basement under the flr trusses..<<
I would too, but I have been accused of being too cautious before....
I would also be considering the load on 4 points rather than even distribution.
875 / 4 = ~220 pounds on each foot --- what's the bearing area of a "foot" ..... maybe 2 sq.in.? Less?
Some sort of blocking arrangement between trusses maybe to help transfer loads and reinforce the subfloor.......
The tile will withstand the force if you can keep the floor rigid at each foot.
JimNever underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
I'd hate to be your tile man
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I didn't know it was a clawfoot tub when I posted that. Read 72", cast iron, 475 lbs, 50 gallons ----- and skipped "slipper" in the description - I was already crunching numbers in my head.
That would be a challenge for the tile guy wouldn't it!
Oh yeah, the tile guy is me......
JimNever underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Get the tub up there and nearby then do the floor.. remember to give the flooring time enough to harden enough before hauling the tub onto it.
Oops! I assumed you are using a claw foot slipper tub and not one of the more modern ones..
Edited 9/30/2009 7:03 pm ET by frenchy
We haven't enclosed the walls yet so I am leary of tiling the floor... with the mess that I expect from drywall. Any suggestions? I guess I was figuring on getting the tub in the room first, enclosing the tub with a crate, let'm drywall, then put down the floor and then the tub. Do you see any potential problems with that?
I've never seen a "modern" tub installed on top of tile. Generally the bottom edge of the tub isn't designed to be exposed.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
This is a claw foot 72" dble sided slipper tub and it's the first for me as well. I hope it's worth all the work and money!
OK, your original post didn't make it clear it was a claw foot. Clearly needs to be on top of the tile, but you need to consider how to get it into the structure safely. Not just absolute door clearances, but potential for damaging trim, etc.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
what is a double sided tub?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
> what is a double sided tub?It has an inside and an outside.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Shirley you jest
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I think you have me confused with someone else.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
It's a tub designed for two with two ends higher than the center.
DanH unless I miss my guess the slipper tub he's speaking of isn't a modern tub.. Claw foot slipper tubs were made in the late 1880's untill about 1930's. There are several companies doing up scale reproduction slipper tubs now for the retro look which remains a viable alternative.
One which I choose. Something that far out of date will never go out of fashion..Every person I've shown the house to comments favorably on the unique look of old fashioned pull chain toilets and clawfoot tubs..
Besides you should feel how comfortable they are to bathe in.. I mean that defines decadence!
I've personally never cared for claw foot tubs. I guess partly it's just that they remind me of all the old, grungy bathrooms I saw as a kid (back before claw foot tubs were "fashionable").
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Some time in the 1970's I began to see the retro look used to good advantage. First since it is retro it never goes out of style and second you should see some of these. The first one I saw that just blew me away sold for $6500 back in the 70's. It was a fantastic deep burgundy with bright brass hardware to offset it.. (hardware was extra) But it looked positively decadent.
I started to notice them here and there and asked a realitor about the saleablity of such a definate retro statement..
Her response shocked me.. She said love it or hate it it improved the chance of a sale.. If they hated it they knew exactly what they would do to change it and if they loved it it would make the sale.. According to her, the single most prevelant reason a house wouldn't sell to the wife was not really feeling confident enough to fix the things she didn't like..
My wife looks at a claw foot tub and instantly thinks about how difficult it would be to clean under the thing.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
We have no such problems with ours.. The dust mop (or wet mop) slides right underneath it In fact It's about time I clean the grout on the rest of the bathroom because the grout under the tub is definately whiter than the rest of the bathroom.
Has she ever bathed in one and learned how comfortable they are?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm sure she has once or twice. She still wouldn't like cleaning around one, though.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
You absolutely need to build a support structure in the basement to support the joists where the tub's feet sit on them. In an unfinished basement, this can be done with two built-up beams made of doubled 2x6 and four Lally columns; in a finished basement the same beams would be needed but you can hold those up with structural stud walls as you propose to do.
Do save yourself trouble and lay the tile floor before bringing in the tub. Once it's done, protect it with heavy rosin paper and put a sheet of plywood on top of the tub itself.
Surprisingly, these tubs can often be put through the rough opening for a standard 24" or 28" bathroom door. Measure it carefully; if it will fit through the RO you'll need for the door, don't bring it in until everything else is done. (But do make sure it will also go around the corners in the house on the way to the bathroom....)
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
I don't understand all this extra support jazz. I have uninstalled a dozen old clawfoot tubs and installed a dozen more. None of them ever had any extra framing support and none ever showed any problems due to that.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I don't understand all this extra support jazz.
What can I say? You're braver than the rest of us.
I have uninstalled a dozen old clawfoot tubs and installed a dozen more. None of them ever had any extra framing support and none ever showed any problems due to that.
And luckier.
;o)
The bigger CI tubs--like the 72" models--weigh as much filled as a smallish 2-person FG hotub, or a king-sized waterbed. Me, I'm just not comfortable plonking that kind of potential load on a floor not specifically built or reinforced to handle the extra weight.
Maybe it's 'cause I'm 'self-insured'....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
For me, the answer would be 'when I have enough help that someone else can do it.
But, as others have said, after the floor, before the walls.
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)
Once it is delivered onto the same floor level, I have a furniture dolly with soft tire/casters that it sits on with legs off. Dolly to position, then put legs on and pull the dolly out from under.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
And I did a cast iron tub demo and re-install when I was in my twenties. Used an appliance dolly to get the old one down the stairs and out the door. (Neither was a 6-foot slipper. This was a traditional tub)Same with the new one going up.Amazing how dumb youth can be..... I had thought a lot about having a "safety man" spot me from below, but figured it wouldn't help. I figured that if I let go, the safety man would get run over, and the tub would still crash to (through?) to floor at the bottom of the steps.I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)