How to Replace a Rusted Bathtub

Cut a square or rectangular hole in the wall behind the tub’s overflow drain opening, if an access panel is not already in place. Undo the connections between the overflow tube and the drain tee, and then the drain tee and the drainpipe below it.

Remove the screws holding the overflow drain cover in place, and then pull away the drain cover so you can pull out the stopper’s linkage from the overflow tube. Insert the handles of a slip-joint pliers into the tub’s floor drain, then twist the pliers counterclockwise to remove it with a screwdriver you insert between the handles.

Remove the overflow tube and the drainpipe under the tub from the access hole you cut. Cut through the caulk around all of the tub’s edges using a utility knife, and unscrew any fasteners you see along the perimeter of the tub.

Lift the tub up at one end and then the other to remove it from its spot in the bathroom. Measure the distance between the new tub’s drain opening and the drainpipe in the floor, then trim the new shoe drain to the proper length.

Apply silicone caulk to the lip of the shoe drain and press it against the underside of the tub as you thread the drain body into the top of the shoe drain’s opening inside the tub. Insert the handles of the pliers into the tub’s drain and use the screwdriver to turn the pliers and drain body clockwise.

Set the new tub in place and put a level on top. If the tub does not sit level, remove it and tack shims onto the feet on the tub’s bottom until the tub sits level. Drive nails through the fasteners on the top edge of the tub and into the wall studs.

Thread the end of the shoe drainpipe onto the pipe tee, and then thread the pipe tee onto the drainpipe in the floor. Thread the overflow tube onto the open connection on the pipe tee, place the overflow drain cover of the drain opening in the tub and drive the screw through the cover to hold it in place.

Spread silicone caulk along the tub’s edges where it meets the surround, the wall and the bathroom floor. Run water down the tub’s drain and the overflow drain for 2 minutes each while you look for leaks from the access hole you cut. Tighten the drainpipe connections with a pipe wrench if you see leaks form.