Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - new shower

Hi. My husband and I are buying a new (old) house, (built in 1961), and we want to redo the bathroom. Currently, it is all tiled, and we would like to put in one of those fiberglass one piece showers. It is a shower stall only, no tub. Is this something we can do on our own? Is it something that is even possible to do in this old of a house? Any help you can give would be appreciated!!

thank you,
Laurie

In a retrofit, it's best to find a surround that comes in more than one piece. This makes it easier to fit out-of-square walls and don't forget trying to get it through the door. I just put one in in my 1935(?) bathroom and it worked fine. Went right above the original cast iron tub. Just be sure to clean all the old caulking off the tub and caulk the new surround really well.

Fiberglass shower stalls for remodeling are usually 2 or more pieces, as KC~76 mentioned. Just measure the size of your current stall (width, depth, and height) and purchase a unit with the same dimensions. It may have to be ordered, in which case it will take about a week to get it. I would suggest that you replace the valve while you are at it. You will not get a better chance to do so, and if this is the original 40 year old valve, it is due.

Hi again. If I decide to put in a retrofit in the shower stall, do I need to pull up all of the tiles first? Would this include wall tile? Also, I have been reading in some bathroom repair books, that we may have to build some support for the new piece. Is this something that is difficult to do?

You will have to remove all of the old tile off of the wall and floor of the original shower, and the sheetrock behind it. I would remove the wall sheetrock all the way to the ceiling. Figure the size of the new stall to fit into the opening from stud to stud. Once the new stall is in, sheetrock from the top of the shower to the ceiling. Before you install the new stall, look at the subfloor under the shower. If it needs to be replaced/repaired, do it now.

Lefty, you're not telling them to install a surround over bare studs are you? I agree with ripping out the tile, and the drywall will of course have to go with it, but it should be greenrocked from tub to ceiling. And you were right about the valve, there's no better chance to replace it. That was the case in my situation, the trim and handles were frozen on so thoroughly I broke both valve stems trying to get them off.

KC~76, LaurieLY8 didn't say just what size shower stall they are dealing with, and I jumped (rightly or wrongly) to a conclusion. If they have room, of course they should use either greenboard or Wonderboard behind the stall. However, a very common floorplan in CA in the mid-50's and early-60's has a 30" shower stall, and there is simply no room to add anything behind the walls of the new stall. I have redone 3 of them in the past 2 months, and therefore jumped to this conclusion. Need to hear back from LaurieLY8 with some dimensions, THEN we will make the call about whether it is possible to add the sheetrock or Wonderboard behind the stall walls. Of course, a 30" shower is no longer code, but if you are replacing what is already there (as they are), that is a bit of a different story.