Bathtub Installation Is Rarely About the Tub
Most bathroom injuries happen bathing or getting out of the tub, not getting in. What that means for replacing one, and what is behind it.
Free to homeowners — the contractor pays us for the introduction, you never do.
Quick answer
Most bathroom injuries happen while bathing or getting out of a tub rather than getting in — CDC puts it at 37.3 percent against 2.2 percent. That is the real argument for changing one, and what sits behind the tub decides what it costs.
Source: CDC, MMWR: Nonfatal Bathroom Injuries Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, United States, 2008.
Go straight to the one that sounds like yours:
- Most Bathroom Injuries Happen on the Way OutCDC counted 234,094 bathroom injuries in a year.
- Replace the Tub or Refinish ItRefinishing is a coating on the surface you have; replacement opens the wall.
- What Is Behind a BathtubThe wall, the drain and overflow, and the subfloor.
- The Drain and Overflow on a BathtubThe overflow gasket fails silently and runs water down the outside of the tub into the floor.
- Grab Bars: The Published DimensionsThe ADA standards give exact heights, diameters and clearances for bathtub grab bars.
- Where TubSet Routes Calls
- You are never chargedContractors pay us when we route them a call. There is no cost to the homeowner, ever.
- Every figure names its sourceThe numbers on this site come from public data and the page says which, so you can check them.
- We say where we coverCalls are routed by ZIP code to independent contractors.See the coverage
- We say when not to callIf the fix is a few minutes of your own time, this site tells you that instead of selling you a visit.
What it was hiding usually is — the wall, the drain and overflow, and the subfloor underneath. And there is one number in the research that should shape any decision about a bathroom.
What this site is
TubSet is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no work, we sell no fixtures, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.The number
CDC counted an estimated 234,094 nonfatal bathroom injuries among people aged 15 and over in US emergency departments, 68.3% of them in the tub or shower. The exit is where the risk is, which is not where people put the handrail.
Source: CDC, MMWR: Nonfatal Bathroom Injuries Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, United States, 2008.
Replace it or refinish it
Refinishing is a coating on the tub you have. It addresses how the fixture looks and nothing behind it. Whether that is enough turns on one question: is the complaint about how it looks or how it behaves?
What is behind it
The wall, the drain and overflow assembly, and the subfloor. All three are exposed when a tub comes out, and the subfloor is the one nobody budgets for — because nobody can price it until the old fixture is out.
A failed overflow gasket runs water down the outside of the tub into the floor and never drips where you can see it. It is the commonest hidden leak in a bathroom.
And the dimensions, if you are changing anything
The ADA standards give exact heights, diameters and clearances for grab bars at bathtubs. They govern facilities covered by the ADA rather than private homes, so in a house they are a reference rather than a requirement — and a better one than guessing.
Source: US Access Board, ADA Standards, Chapter 6: Bathing Rooms.
Where we publish
We publish a page for each of the 38 states we route in, built on the Census count of housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities. There are no town pages, and the reason is a measurement.
Where we route calls
Tap your state for the towns and ZIP codes we route in, and the figures behind them.
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this site is public and attributed. You can go and check any of them.
- HousingUS Census BureauAmerican Community Survey 5-year estimates — the housing figures on every town page, and the table each one comes from is named on the page.
- SafetyCenters for Disease Control and PreventionInjury and scald data behind the safety thresholds quoted on this site.
What happens when you call
No form, no quote tool, no waiting for an email.
- You tell us what the water is doingOne short conversation. If it turns out to be something you can fix in five minutes, we will say so.
- We route the callWe match your ZIP code to an independent contractor who already covers your area — not a call center three states away.
- They quote, you decideWe do not set prices and we never charge you. The contractor pays us for the introduction.
- 2,427towns with a page of their own
- 38states we route calls in
- $0what a homeowner ever pays us
What to do first
Four things worth doing first. They cost nothing and they can keep a small problem small.
- Shut off the water closest to the problemUnder a sink or behind a toilet there is usually a small valve on the supply line. Turning it clockwise stops that fixture without shutting off the rest of the house.
- If you cannot find it, use the mainUsually where the supply enters the building — a basement wall, a crawl space, or a covered box near the street. Then open the lowest tap in the house, which drains the standing water out of the pipes instead of out of the leak.
- Water and electricity: stay out of the roomIf water has reached an outlet, a panel or an appliance, switch that circuit off at the breaker before going near it. If you cannot do that safely, do not go in, and say so when you call.
- Photograph it before anything is movedInsurers ask for it, and a contractor can tell more from a photograph of the leak than from a description of it.
And one case where the answer is not to call us. If the water is surfacing on the street side of your meter, that is the utility's line and not yours. Report it to your water utility — they do not charge a homeowner to repair their own main.
Changing a tub is mostly about what is behind it.Tell us what you want done and we will route you to a contractor in your area, found from your ZIP code, who can look at the wall and the floor before quoting. No charge to you, and we will not ask you why. Anything else needing a plumber is fine to bring up while we have you.
Call (888) 764-3080
