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Planning estimate · Murray, UTBathtub replacement cost calculator
Swapping an alcove tub for another alcove tub is the cheapest meaningful change you can make to a bathroom, because the drain and the valve never move. This prices that version honestly, and shows you what each step away from it costs.
What is behind the number
The tub is rarely the expensive part
A like-for-like tub replacement is one of the few jobs in a house where almost nothing has to be worked out. The new tub goes in the opening the old one left, onto the drain the old one used, under the valve that is already in the wall. That is why this site's basic range starts at $3,500 while a conversion starts at $4,500 and a walk-in shower starts at $7,000.
The cost arrives when the surround comes off. Once it does, the job picks up demolition, waterproofing, tile, tile labour and usually a new valve, and it moves out of the basic band into the mid one. If the existing surround is sound and merely tired, refinishing it is genuinely worth pricing against replacing it.
The other step change is going freestanding. A freestanding tub is a plumbing job wearing a fixture's clothes: the waste has to come up through the floor where the tub stands and the filler has to be fed to it, neither of which the existing rough-in does. That is what puts a freestanding tub in this site's $11,000 to $18,000 premium band rather than its $3,500 to $7,000 basic one.
What kind of tub
Acrylic is light, warm and drops straight in. Porcelain-on-steel holds heat better. Cast iron holds heat best and lasts decades, and weighs three to four hundred pounds empty — which means a lift, a route in, and a floor that will carry it.
Whether the surround comes off
Keeping it puts the job at the bottom of this site's basic range. Replacing it adds demolition, waterproofing, tile and tile labour at the same time and moves the total into the mid range.
Whether the tub stays in the alcove
An alcove tub reuses the drain and the valve. A freestanding tub needs both brought to wherever it stands, and on a slab that means cutting concrete.
The valve
Reusing a recent valve avoids opening the wall behind it. A new pressure-balanced valve is $150 to $400 plus labour; a thermostatic two-function valve is $400 to $1,100 and holds temperature when a tap runs elsewhere in the house.
The age of the house
The average Murray home was built in 1979. In older stock the surround rarely releases cleanly and the subfloor under a tub that has leaked at the drain often needs $600 to $2,500 of repair.
Access
A cast iron tub has to physically get to the bathroom. A narrow stair, a tight landing or a doorway that has to come off its hinges all add time, and occasionally decide the tub.
What pushes it higher
- A freestanding tub, which means bringing the waste and the filler to it.
- Cast iron, for the weight, the lift and sometimes the route into the house.
- Replacing the surround rather than keeping the existing one.
- Stone or a patterned tile layout instead of plain ceramic.
- A pre-1960 house, where the wall behind the tub rarely survives the demolition.
- A subfloor that has been wet at the drain or the flange.
What brings it down
- Keeping the existing surround, if it releases cleanly at the tub flange.
- Acrylic rather than cast iron — lighter, cheaper, and a single-day fit.
- Reusing a recent valve rather than opening the wall behind it.
- A panel surround instead of tile.
- Staying in the existing alcove rather than going freestanding.
- Tiling to 60 or 72 inches rather than to the ceiling.
Turn the estimate into a real number
Send a couple of photos of the bathroom, rough dimensions, and say roughly when the house was built and what is underneath the floor. You will get a straight answer about what the drain, the subfloor and the panel will allow before anyone talks about tile.
What people ask about this
How much does it cost to replace a bathtub in Murray?
This site publishes $3,500 to $7,000 for a basic replacement where the existing surround is kept or lightly refreshed, $6,500 to $12,000 for a new tub with a tiled or panel surround, and $11,000 to $18,000 or more for a soaking tub with a custom tile surround and upgraded fixtures.
Do I need a permit to replace a bathtub?
For a like-for-like swap in the same alcove, generally not — nothing moves. A freestanding tub does need one, because the drain and supply are being relocated. Murray City Code sets a $50 minimum fee per table plus $10 per supplemental permit; confirm with the Building Division at 801-270-2431.
Can I keep the existing tile surround?
Sometimes. It depends entirely on whether the tile will release at the tub flange without taking the wall with it, and you find that out on the day. If it does, you save the whole surround line. If it does not, the job changes shape rather than simply growing — which is why the estimate above carries a contingency.
Is a cast iron tub worth it?
It holds heat noticeably longer than acrylic and it will still be there in fifty years. The costs are weight and logistics: three to four hundred pounds empty, a two-to-three person lift, and a floor and a route in that both have to take it. In a pre-1960 Murray house with a narrow stair, check both before ordering rather than on delivery day.
How long does a tub replacement take?
A like-for-like acrylic swap with the surround kept is one to two days. With a new tiled surround it is three to six days, most of which is tile and grout curing. A freestanding tub with new plumbing runs one to two weeks.
What about refinishing the tub instead?
Refinishing is far cheaper and it genuinely works on a sound tub with a tired surface. It does not fix a cracked tub, a tub that is the wrong size, or a surround that has failed behind the tile — and a refinished surface has a finite life. It is worth a quote if the tub itself is fine and only looks bad.
Will a deeper soaking tub need more hot water?
Usually yes, and it is worth checking the water heater before ordering. A deeper tub also sometimes wants a higher-flow valve so it fills in a reasonable time. Neither is expensive to allow for in advance; both are annoying to discover afterwards.
Should I add grab bars while the wall is open?
If there is any chance you will want them later, yes. The blocking behind the surround costs almost nothing while the wall is open, and it means a bar can be fitted properly into timber at any point in the future rather than into tile and hope. The bars themselves run $150 to $500 each installed.