Bathtub Installation & Replacement in Manchester, NH

If you (or a future buyer) still want a tub — young kids, someone who soaks, or it is the home's only bathtub — replace it with a new one. If nobody uses it as a tub, a tub-to-shower conversion is often the better spend. And if the tub is basically sound, weigh refinishing vs. replacing first. We will give you a straight recommendation at the free visit.

All the common types: a standard alcove tub (the three-wall recess most bathrooms have), a drop-in tub set into a deck, or a freestanding soaker as a centerpiece. We help you pick based on your space, plumbing, and how the room is used — a freestanding tub, for instance, needs floor space and sometimes a relocated drain.

Cracks or chips through the surface, rust-through on a steel or cast-iron tub, a bottom that flexes or feels soft, chronic staining that will not clean, or a leak showing up on the ceiling below. If the tub is structurally sound and just looks tired, refinishing may buy years for less money — but a cracked, rusted, or leaking tub should be replaced.

Most bathtub replacements in the Manchester area run $3,000 to $8,000. A standard alcove tub with a new surround sits at the low end; a freestanding soaker or a job that moves plumbing sits higher. Pulling and hauling out an old cast-iron tub adds labor. See our cost guide for the full picture.

A like-for-like alcove tub swap with a new surround usually takes two to four days: a day to remove the old tub and open the wall, a day for plumbing and setting the new tub, and a day or two for the surround and finish work. A freestanding tub with a relocated drain, or a tub going in where there was none, takes longer and may need a plumbing permit from the City of Manchester.

Usually, yes — for example, adding a tub back in after an earlier tub-to-shower conversion, or putting a freestanding soaker into a larger primary bath. It means running new supply and drain lines and confirming the floor can carry a full tub of water, so we check the framing and plumbing access at the free visit before quoting.

It is the part people underestimate. A cast-iron tub can weigh 300+ pounds and often has to be broken up in place to get it out of an older Manchester bathroom — especially on a second floor down a narrow staircase. We are set up for that: we protect the floors and walls, remove the old tub cleanly, and check the framing and plumbing before the new tub goes in.

Yes. A new tub is only as good as the walls around it, so we replace the surround and rebuild the waterproofing — cement backer board and a membrane behind tile, or a proper tub-and-surround system — so water stays out of the wall. Replacing just the tub and reusing failing walls is how leaks come back.